Association of THI and light intensity with colostrum production in 18 New York farms

Abstract

The optimization of colostrum quantity in dairy cows is of great concern to the dairy industry due to the importance of transfer of passive immunity to the newborn calf. Previous research has explored various prepartum environmental variables associ­ated with colostrum production including season, temperature and humidity index (THI), and light intensity. Research shows that cows produce less colostrum during the fall and winter, leading to a decrease in farm-wide supply and greater need for careful colostrum management during colder months. In pre­vious work investigating this problem, researchers used local weather data to determine THI and light intensity, rather than measuring these parameters directly on the farm. The objec­tive of this study was to determine if prepartum THI and light intensity in the close-up barn are associated with observed an­nual changes in colostrum production.