In a series of short write-ups, I will be sharing with you our thoughts, opinions, or reviews about articles we read, topics, or events that are relevant to animal agriculture. It is important to touch on the classics and at the same time on all newly published work to evaluate how far we have advanced or not advanced in certain areas. What problems have we solved? And what problems are still pending or have since “timed out”? Regardless of how complex our approach was in solving a given issue, was our solution simple and implementable?
Happy reading,
Ousama AlZahal
Lately, an article in Social Media was used to spread false information regarding the healthfulness and quality of our Canadian dairy products, namely butter. This kind of attack on our industry is powered by a plain misunderstanding of our animal production systems,...
The transition period -defined as three weeks before calving and three weeks post-calving- is a critical phase of the cow’s life. Proper management of nutrition and health is vitally important during this period. Cows post-calving are susceptible to a plethora of disorders/diseases due to low nutrient intake, ..
In the past few decades, we have learned valuable information about the rumen ecosystem, but we are still far from unveiling the complex interplay between the different microbial groups and their functions. Microbiology and the laws of kinetics and thermodynamics can...
Vitamin B12 is an essential nutrient in human nutrition. It is synthesized by bacteria and archaea, in the rumen. Therefore, dairy and beef products are considered the main source of vitamin B12 in the human diet (Martens et al., 2002). Vitamin B12 acts as a co-factor...
One of the articles that I read a while ago was “Maximizing efficiency of rumen microbial protein production” written by T. Hackmann and Jeffry Firkins. The article reignited my interest in the topic of ruminal microbial protein efficiency and its impact on overall...