Project Reports
Dairy UP currently has 22 active projects. Project reports, journal articles and conference papers will be added to the list below as they become available.
| Project | Report Name | Article Type | Summary | Publication Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| P2a - Cattle longevity | Associations among body condition score, body weight, and serum biochemistry in dairy cows | Journal Article | This study examined the relationships between body condition score (BCS), body weight (BW), and blood biochemistry indicators of metabolic status in cows. Albumin showed a consistent positive association with both BCS and BW across various production stages, highlighting its role in protein metabolism. | 2025/04/01 |
| P9a - Producing milk with less lactose | Sources of variation underlying the production of lactose by dairy cows | Journal Article | This study explored variability in the production of lactose by dairy cows, and the factors underlying it, using herd testing data from New South Wales, Australia. | 2025/04/01 |
| P1d - Carbon on NSW dairy farms | Potential applications of a low-cost gas sensor to monitor enteric methane emission from ruminant animals | Journal Article | The low-cost MQ-4 gas sensor was evaluated for its potential to monitor enteric methane emissions from ruminants by comparing its data with the well-established GreenFeed system. The MQ-4 sensor showed a moderate correlation (r = 0.62 for weekly averaged data and r = 0.47 for minute-by-minute data) with the GreenFeed system but had lower repeatability (0.13 vs. 0.31) and detected fewer, slower peaks, indicating that it requires refinement for reliable use. | 2025/03/01 |
| P2a - Cattle longevity | A large, multi-site lipidomic investigation of parity and aging in dairy cows | Journal Article | An investigation of biomarkers associated with increased aging and number of calvings (parity). Reduced levels of the omega-3 fatty acid, DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) in older cows, may be associated with increased susceptibility to adverse health events, reduced reproductive performance, and herd removal. Further research is needed to determine if feeding diets rich in DHA could increase longevity of dairy cows. | 2025/03/01 |
| P9b - Milk as an indicator of headload | Detecting HSP70 in milk, blood and saliva of dairy cows exposed to different climatic conditions | Abstract | Heat shock protein 70 (HSP70) is a highly conserved stress protein that is known for its integral role in cellular function under elevated temperatures, thus it could serve as a biomarker for heat stress (HS) in dairy cows. | 2024/11/11 |
| P2a - Cattle longevity | Associations among body condition score, body weight and serum biochemistry in dairy cows | Abstract | This study examined the relationships between body condition score (BCS), body weight (BW), and blood biochemistry indicators of metabolic status in cows. Albumin showed a consistent positive association with both BCS and BW across various production stages, highlighting its role in protein metabolism. | 2024/11/11 |
| P9b - Milk as an indicator of heatload | Potential use of HSP70 as an indicator of heat stress in dairy cows – a review | Journal Article | Heat stress is a serious issue for dairy cows, affecting their milk production, reproduction, and overall health. Heat Shock Protein 70 (HSP70) is an important protein that helps protect cells from damage and maintain proper function during heat stress. | 2024/12/01 |
| P1a - Remote Pasture Management | Accounting for minimum data required to train a machine learning model to accurately monitor Australian dairy pastures using remote sensing | Journal Article | Paper published in Scientific Reports (a Journal of the Nature Portfolio) about Dairy UP results on machine learning satellite training. | 2024/07/23 |
| P6a - Resilient Cattle (Heat Tolerance) | Ruminant Heat-stress terminology | Journal Article | This paper examines the historical and contemporary use of the terms ‘resistance’, ‘tolerance’; ‘resilience’, and ‘susceptibility’, and proposes new definitions in relation to ruminant heat stress. | 2024/09/01 |
| P2a - Cattle Longevity | Associations among body condition score, body weight and serum biochemistry in dairy cows | Abstract | This paper explored associations between body condition score, body weight and blood biochemistry that reflect a cow’s metabolic status, with the view to identifying risk factors for early culling of dairy cows. Page 286 | 2024/06/16 |
| P2e - Calf Husbandry | Shifts in rumen profiles of Holstein steers fed antimicrobial and starch diets | Abstract | This abstract reports that antimicrobials and a low-starch diet fed to male Holstein steers from 3 to 452 days of age produced better weights than a higher starch diet and had more fermentation control. | 2024/06/16 |
| P9b - Milk as an Indicator of Heat Load | Influence of management and storage factors on detection of HSP70 in raw bovine milk | Abstract | Reports on a foundational study to demonstrate the influences of management and storage on the detection of the HSP70 protein in raw milk, which paves the way for practical guidelines for farmers to preserve sample integrity for potentially monitoring heat stress in their cattle. Page 423 | 2024/06/16 |
| P2e - Calf husbandry | Milk consumption and behaviour of calves in automated calf-feeders as early indicators of weaning liveweight | Journal Article | Causes of variability in weaning weight in calves in automated calf-feeders. Potential intervention points for the improved calf management on farm after 15 days old (5 days old if on an automatic calf feeder). | 2024/09/01 |
| P2c - Milk as a diagnostic fluid | Milk as a diagnostic tool | Editorial | Editorial in Australian Veterinary Journal January 2024 | 2024/01/01 |
| P1d - Carbon on NSW Dairy Farms | Dietary Concentrate Supplementation Increases Milk Production and Reduces Predicted Greenhouse Gas Emissions Intensity in Pasture-based Commercial Dairy Farms | Journal Article | Increasing dietary concentrate supplementation for dairy cows resulted in increased milk production per cow, reduced greenhouse gas emissions per unit of milk produced, and increased income and profit. | 2024/08/01 |
| P2c - Milk as a diagnostic fluid | Milk as a diagnostic fluid to monitor viral diseases in dairy cattle | Journal Article | There are examples of tests on BTM samples providing efficient assessments of the herd disease status and supporting disease control programmes for viral diseases. However, challenges arise in pooled milk testing due to the need for accurate estimates of the imperfect sensitivity and specificity of the assays. | 2023/10/09 |
| P2c - Milk as a diagnostic fluid | Milk as diagnostic fluid for udder health management | Journal Article | There is a growing array of diagnostic assays that can be used to detect markers of inflammation or infection in milk. The value of some of these methods in on-farm udder health improvement programs is yet to be demonstrated whilst methods with proven value may be underutilised | 2023/10/05 |
| P2c - Milk as a diagnostic fluid | Milk as an indicator of dietary imbalance | Journal Article | There appears to be increasing potential for the use of milk as a diagnostic fluid as more in-parlour tests become available for individual cows. However, the BTM appears to have under-utilised potential for herd monitoring. | 2023/10/02 |
| P3 - The Economics of Intensification | Intensification of dairy systems: Project Summary | Report | Transitioning towards intensification. Internal and external triggers are leading some NSW dairy farmers to consider transitioning their businesses to more intensive farm feeding systems such as total mixed rations (TMRs), and housed facilities. | 2023/08/01 |
| P2f - The Infectome | Untargeted meta-transcriptomic methods to characterize the enteric infectome of calves with and without diarrhea | Abstract | Rectal swabs from 56 healthy calves (4 to 54 d old) and 4 calves with diarrhoea from two farms in NSW were taken to characterize the bacteria and viruses in the enteric system to guide the next phase of investigation into associations with disease and to develop laboratory culture, experimental infection models, and diagnostic assays. Page 397 | 2023/06/25 |
| P2f - The Infectome | Expression of virulence factors and antimicrobial resistant genes in total RNA sequenced from rectal swabs from diarrheic calves. | Abstract | The objective was to evaluate antimicrobial resistance genes in faecal swab samples in a pilot study with 55 calves without diarrhoea and 5 with diarrhoea. Page 397 | 2023/06/25 |
| P2f - The Infectome | The respiratory infectome of dairy calves characterized by a total RNA sequencing approach | Abstract | Bacteria and viruses in the nasal passage were characterized in a pilot study from 60 calves (5-54 d) old from two farms in NSW. Page 396 | 2023/06/25 |
| P4 - Feedbase (Intensive Systems) | Field and in-silico analysis of harvest index variability in maize silage | Journal Article | Maize silage is a key component of feed rations in dairy systems due to its high forage and grain yield, water use efficiency, and energy content. However, maize silage nutritive value can be compromised by in-season changes during crop development | 2023/06/19 |
| P2 - Unlocking the potential of the cow | Raising the Roof – Unlocking the potential of the cow | Conference Paper | The intent of this paper is to identify and exploit the opportunities provided by the investment of the dairy industry in high quality genetics and to take better advantage of the Australian production environment to unlock the potential of the cow and our industry. The body of work reported is associated with the Dairy UP initiative but also with other studies and implementation of the research on farm being conducted by Scibus, an independent consultancy and research company. | 2023/03/24 |
| P3 - The Economics of Intensification | Economics of Total Mixed Ration Systems in Australia | Conference Paper | Proceedings of the Australasian Dairy Science Symposium 2022, p67-7. | 2022/12/01 |
| P2a - Cattle Longevity | Associations of parity with health disorders and blood metabolite concentrations in Holstein cows in different production systems, Journal of Dairy Science 105 | Journal Article | This retrospective study evaluated the lactational incidence of diseases. The incidence of clinical hypocalcemia, lameness, retained placenta, and ketosis increased markedly with parity. Cows in parity 1 had greater odds of dystocia, metritis, and endometritis than cows of higher parity. Parity 1 and parity ≥ 5 cows differed in concentrations of blood glucose, non-esterified fatty acids, BHB, BUN, and total protein. Calcium and phosphorus homeostasis was also impaired in cows of higher parity. | 2022/10/19 |
| P2a - Cattle Longevity | Parity, milk production, and reproduction in different production systems | Journal Article | This retrospective study found that the hazard of not being bred increased with parity and the hazard of pregnancy and odds of pregnancy in a lactation declined with increased parity. Milk, milk fat, protein, and solids yield accounted for some of the difference in reduced reproductive performance. Milk, milk protein percentage, and yields of protein or fat were associated with reproductive performance as a linear and quadratic response. The associations of parity with production system or milk and constituent yield were much less evident for pregnancy at first insemination. | 2022/08/18 |
| P2a - Cattle Longevity | Holstein dairy cows lose body condition score and gain body weight with increasing parity in both pasture-based and total mixed ration herds, Journal of Dairy Science Communications | Journal Article | Body condition scoring (BCS) and body weight (BW) measurements are associated with health and reproductive efficiencies of cows. We used raw datasets from 16 studies to evaluate associations of parity and feeding system (pasture-based or total mixed ration) with BCS at pre-calving and peak milk and change in BCS and BW at peak milk. With increasing parity, there is a general decrease in BCS and increase in BW regardless of feeding system, with most young cows having low BW and high BCS and older cows having high BW but low BCS. | 2022/08/05 |
| P9b - Milk as an Indicator of Heat Load | Skimming and storage factors affect the detection of heat shock protein 70 in raw bovine milk. | Journal Article | Heat shock proteins (HSP) play a vital role in maintaining cellular function under elevated temperatures | 2025/07/03 |
| P6a - Resilient cattle (heat tolerance) | The diversity in dairy cattle reticulorumen temperature: Identifying water intake events | Journal Article | Climate change and associated weather variability across the Australian landscape has lent themselves to an increased incidence of cattle heat stress. | 2025/08/01 |