The objective of this experiment was to investigate the effect of reducing early lactation milking frequency on milk yield and persistency through lactation and early lactation fat mobilization, measured by body condition score (BCS) and BHB in milk. We hypothesized that milking cows twice per day in early lactation before milking them 3 times per day for the remaining lactation would cause less fat mobilization in early lactation, a lower peak milk yield but improved persistency throughout lactation compared with milking cows 3 times per day for the entire lactation. The experiment took place on 2 commercial dairy farms in Denmark. All cows calving in a period of nine months (n = 239) in their current first and later parities were randomly allocated at dry-off to 1 of 3 treatments based on expected calving date. The treatments were (1) cows milked 2 times per day for 1 week after calving, (2) cows milked 2 times per day for 4 weeks after calving and (3) cows milked 2 times per day for 7 weeks after calving. All cows were then milked 3 times per day for the remaining lactation. Milk yield peaked 3.3 and 3.6 d later and milk yield persistency improved with 18 and 19 g per day when cows were milked 2 times per day for 4 and 7 weeks, respectively, compared with milking 2 times per day for 1 week after calving. We found a significant highest milk BHB in treatment 2, but the underlying effect of milking cows 2 times per day for 4 weeks compared with 1 or 7 weeks was unclear. In conclusion, we did not confirm our hypothesis that milking cows 2 times per day compared to 3 times in early lactation would reduce fat mobilization and reduce peak yield. We did, however, find an improved milk yield persistency, which partially offset a numerical reduction in peak yield, and hence there was no significant effect of reducing early lactation milking frequency on total lactation (305 DIM) milk yield.

Improvements in feed intake of dairy cows entering the early lactation period potentially decrease the risk of metabolic disorders, but before developing approaches targeting the intake level, mechanisms controlling and dysregulating energy balance and feed intake need to be understood. This review focuses on different inflammatory pathways interfering with the neuroendocrine system regulating feed intake of periparturient dairy cows. Subacute inflammation in various peripheral organs often occurs shortly before or after calving and is associated with increased pro-inflammatory cytokine levels. These cytokines are released into the circulation and sensed by neurons located in the hypothalamus, the key brain region regulating energy balance, to signal reduction in feed intake. Besides these peripheral humoral signals, glia cells in the brain may produce pro-inflammatory cytokines independent of peripheral inflammation. Preliminary results show intensive microglia activation in early lactation, suggesting their involvement in hypothalamic inflammation and the control of feed intake of dairy cows. On the other hand, pro-inflammatory cytokine-induced activation of the vagus nerve transmits signalling to the brain, but this pathway seems not exclusively necessary to signal feed intake reduction. Yet, less studied in dairy cows so far, the endocannabinoid system links inflammation and the hypothalamic control of feed intake. Distinct endocannabinoids exert anti-inflammatory action but also stimulate the posttranslational cleavage of neuronal proopiomelanocortin towards β-endorphin, an orexigen promoting feed intake. Plasma endocannabinoid concentrations and hypothalamic β-endorphin levels increase from late pregnancy to early lactation, but less is known about the regulation of the hypothalamic endocannabinoid system during the periparturient period of dairy cows. Dietary fatty acids may modulate the formation of endocannabinoids, which opens new avenues to improve metabolic health and immune status of dairy cows.

The importance of spring grass in the diet of early lactation dairy cows has been widely acknowledged. Numerous studies completed on a plot/paddock basis have identified methods of increasing herbage availability in spring, but little focus was placed on how this impacts animal production. The aim of the current study was to investigate the impact of opening farm cover (OFC; grass availability on farm at turnout in spring; 1036 (high), 748 (medium) and 544 (low) kg DM/ha) and spring rotation length (fast – 56 days and normal – 63 days) on animal performance in early lactation and herbage production and quality. Spring rotation length had little effect on animal performance, herbage variables or sward composition. High OFC increased pre-grazing herbage mass, allowing for increased daily herbage allowance (DHA) compared to medium and low OFC. There was a reduced proportion of leaf in the sward of the high OFC compared to the low OFC, resulting in lower organic matter digestibility. Despite the reduction in sward quality observed as a consequence of achieving high OFC in spring, the greater DHA available to animals increased milk production (+1.4 kg milk/cow/day). Additionally, animals grazing a medium or low OFC had a greater requirement for silage supplementation in spring (+1.3 kg DM/cow/day). The benefits of the higher DHA highlighted in the current study suggest that autumn grazing management must be adapted to increase herbage availability in spring. However, the benefits observed in milk production did not persist beyond the first grazing rotation.

Shortening the dry period (DP) has been proposed as a strategy to improve energy balance (EB) in cows in early lactation. This study evaluated the effects of shortening the DP on milk yield (MY), EB and residual feed intake (RFI) in two breeds; Swedish Red (SR) and Swedish Holstein (SH). Cows were blocked by breed and parity and then randomly assigned to one of two treatments; short DP of 4 weeks (4W, n=43) or conventional DP of 8 weeks (8W, n=34). Cows were kept and fed under the same conditions, except for the 4 weeks when the 4W group were still lactating prepartum and thus kept with the lactating cows. Milk yield and BW were recorded and body condition score (BCS) was rated from 10 weeks prepartum to 12 weeks postpartum. Dry matter intake (DMI) was recorded for lactating cows postpartum. Milk yield was reduced by 6.75 kg/day during the first 12 weeks postpartum (P<0.001) for the 4W cows compared with 8W cows, but there was no significant difference in total MY (3724 kg compared with 3684 kg, P=0.7) when the milk produced prepartum was included. Protein content was higher in 4W cows (3.42%) than in 8W cows (3.27%) (P<0.001) postpartum. In the 8W group, cows lost more BCS after calving (P<0.05). Cows of SR breed had higher BCS than cows of SH breed (SR=3.7, SH=3.2, P<0.001), but no differences in BW were found between breed and treatment. Energy balance was improved for cows in the 4W group (P<0.001), while feed efficiency, expressed as RFI, was reduced for 4W cows than for 8W cows (5.91 compared with −5.39, P<0.01). Shortening the DP resulted in improved EB postpartum with no difference between the breeds and no milk losses when including the milk produced prepartum.

The objective of this study was to investigate the immediate and carryover effects of imposing two post-grazing sward heights (PGSH) for varying duration during early lactation on sward characteristics and dairy cow production. The experiment was a randomised block design with a 2×2 factorial arrangement of treatments. A total of 80 spring-calving (mean calving date – 6 February) dairy cows were randomly assigned, pre-calving, to one of the two (n=40) PGSH treatments – S (2.7 cm) and M (3.5 cm) – from 13 February to 18 March, 2012 (P1). For the subsequent 5-week period (P2: 19 March to 22 April, 2012), half the animals from each P1 treatment remained on their treatment, whereas the other half of the animals switched to the opposing treatment. Following P2, all cows were managed similarly for the remainder of the lactation (P3: 23 April to 4 November, 2012) to measure the carryover effect. Milk production, BW and body condition score were measured weekly, and grass dry matter intake (GDMI) was measured on four occasions – approximately weeks 5, 10, 15 and 20 of lactation. Sward utilisation (above 2.7 cm; P1 and P2) was significantly improved by reducing the PGSH from 3.5 (0.83) to 2.7 cm (0.96). There was no effect of PGSH on cumulative annual grass dry matter (DM) production (15.3 t DM/ha). Grazing to 2.7 cm reduced GDMI by 1.7 and 0.8 kg DM/cow in P1 and P2, respectively, when compared with 3.5 cm (13.3 and 14.0 kg/cow per day, respectively). Cows grazing to 2.7 cm for both P1 and P2 (SS) tended to have reduced cumulative 10-week milk yield (−105 kg) and milk solids yield (−9 kg) when compared with cows grazing to 3.5 cm for both periods (MM; 1608 and 128 kg/cow, respectively). Treatments that alternated PGSH at the end of P1, SM and MS had intermediate results. There was no interaction between P1 and P2 treatments. There was also no carryover effect of early lactation grazing regime on milk and milk solids production in P3, given the reduction in early lactation milk yield. The results indicate that the diet of dairy cows should not be restricted by imposing a severe PGSH for all of the first 10 weeks of lactation, cows should graze to 3.5 cm for at least 5 of these weeks.

Grazing pastures to low post-grazing sward heights (PGSH) is a strategy to maximise the quantity of grazed grass in the diet of dairy cows within temperate grass-based systems. Within Irish spring-calving systems, it was hypothesised that grazing swards to very low PGSH would increase herbage availability during early lactation but would reduce dairy cow performance, the effect of which would persist in subsequent lactation performance when compared with cows grazing to a higher PGSH. Seventy-two Holstein–Friesian dairy cows (mean calving date, 12 February) were randomly assigned post-calving across two PGSH treatments (n = 36): 2.7 cm (severe; S1) and 3.5 cm (moderate; M1), which were applied from 10 February to 18 April (period 1; P1). This was followed by a carryover period (period 2; P2) during which cows were randomly reassigned within their P1 treatment across two further PGSH (n = 18): 3.5 cm (severe, SS and MS) and 4.5 cm (moderate, SM and MM) until 30 October. Decreasing PGSH from 3.5 to 2.7 cm significantly decreased milk (−2.3 kg/cow per day), protein (−95 g/day), fat (−143 g/day) and lactose (−109 g/day) yields, milk protein (−1.2 g/kg) and fat (−2.2 g/kg) concentrations and grass dry matter intake (GDMI; −1.7 kg dry matter/cow per day). The severe PGSH was associated with a lower bodyweight (BW) at the end of P1. There was no carryover effect of P1 PGSH on subsequent milk or milk solids yields in P2, but PGSH had a significant carryover effect on milk fat and lactose concentrations. Animals severely restricted at pasture in early spring had a higher BW and slightly higher body condition score in later lactation when compared with M1 animals. During P2, increasing PGSH from 3.5 to 4.5 cm increased milk and milk solids yield as a result of greater GDMI and resulted in higher mean BW and end BW. This study indicates that following a 10-week period of feed restriction, subsequent dairy cow cumulative milk production is unaffected. However, the substantial loss in milk solid yield that occurred during the period of restriction is not recovered.

The objectives of this study were to compare the effects of post-ruminal and intravenous infusions of wheat starch or glucose (CHO) or a mixture of amino acids (AA) on milk protein yield, nitrogen utilisation, plasma metabolites and mammary extraction rate of dairy cows in early lactation. Eight cow, ruminally fistulated, was assigned to two 4 × 4 Latin squares during 14-day periods, where the last 7 days were for infusions. Infusions were: (1) starch in the abomasum (SP), (2) glucose in the blood (GB), (3) AA in the abomasum (AP), and (4) AA in the blood (AB). The experiment started 54 ± 4 days (mean ± s.e.) post partum (milk yield 33.4 ± 1.7 kg). Daily amounts of nutrients infused were 378, 365, 341, and 333 g for SP, GB, AP and AB, respectively. The cows were fed a basal diet consisting of a concentrate mixture and grass silage (55:45 on dry-matter (DM) basis), and DM intake was 17.2 kg/day. Milk production was affected by site of infusion within substrate, whereas infusion substrates within infusion site (CHO or AA) were of minor importance. Compared with SP infusion, GB infusion increased ( P < 0.05) milk protein yield and concentration by 55 g and 1 g/kg. The AB infusion tended to ( P < 0.10) increase milk yield and ECM and increased ( P < 0.05) protein yield and concentration by 1.8 and 2.2 kg, 83 g and 1.1 g/kg compared with AP infusion, respectively. Nitrogen balance data indicated higher losses of metabolic faecal nitrogen (MFN) by abomasal than by intravenous infusions, and an increased ( P < 0.05) catabolism for AP and AB infusions compared with SP and GB infusions. GB infusion did not increase ( P>0.10) plasma glucose or insulin concentrations above that of SP infusion. Compared with the SP infusion, the GB infusion had minor effect on plasma AA. AP infusion increased ( P < 0.05) plasma non-essential AA (NEAA) concentration compared with AB infusion, whereas infusion site of AA had no effect ( P>0.05) on essential AA (EAA) or branched-chain AA (BCAA). Although a higher milk protein synthesis was observed for AB infusion, the mammary extraction rate was not higher ( P>0.05) than for AP infusion. Across infusion site, AP and AB infusions increased plasma concentration of EAA and BCAA, but compared with GB infusion, the mammary extraction rates tended ( P < 0.10) to be lower. It is concluded that abomasal nutrient infusion increases loss of MFN and that the gastrointestinal metabolism influences the nutrients available for milk synthesis. Our conclusion is that when glucose was infused, AA limited a further milk protein synthesis, but when AA was infused, glucose or energy substrate might have been the limiting factor. Our results verify that glucogenic substrates are limiting when cows are in negative energy balance.