Nutritional strategies to improve calf survival in Rangeland Beef.

1. 1
Assoc Prof Luis Silva
Nutritional strategies
to improve calf
survival in rangeland
beef

2. Most calf losses happen during
the first week of life
What is the problem we are trying to solve?

3. What is the problem we are trying to solve?
0 5 10 15 20 25
Southern Forest
Central Forest
Northern Downs
Northern Forest
Southern Forest
Central Forest
Northern Downs
Northern Forest
Foetal/calf loss (%)
First Lactation Cows
Mature Cows
Poor
nutrition &
environment
Disease
Poor
management
Cow factors
CashCow project – Data from 51 (heifers) and 118 (mature cows) mob-years.
Associated with poor nutrition
and environmental stress
during late pregnancy

4. Calf Survival 90% 95%
Cattle number 3000 AE 3000 AE
Fertility rate 85% 85%
Weaning rate 76.5% 80.75%
Saleable LW (kg) 490,438 513,300
Weaner price (¢/LW) 450 450
Saleable LW (AUD) $ 2,206,971 $ 2,309,850
Total emissions (t CO2-eq) 6,850 6,890
Emissions intensity (kg CO2/kg LW) 13.97 13.42
What is the financial impact of improving calf survival?
Other benefits:
• Faster genetic gain (greater capacity to cull less productive females)
• Lower number of empty and skinny cows
+ 22,862 (↑4.7%)
+ $102,879 (↑4.7%)
- 0.54 (↓3.9%)

5. What is the physiological mechanism behind calf losses?
0
5000
10000
15000
20000
25000
Jul/Sep Oct/Nov Dec/Jan Feb/Mar Apr/Jun
Number
of
cows
Period of calving
Most cows calve between October and
January
Last trimester of gestation before the
break of the season (end of dry period)
Calving distribution in Northern Australia
Cash Cow Project (McGowan et al., 2014)

6. The cows need more protein around calving
Big spike in
requirements at the
end of dry season
30%
35%
40%
45%
50%
55%
60%
65%
70%
DMD_offer DMD_req
5%
6%
7%
8%
9%
10%
11%
12%
CP_offer CP_req
??

7. The growing foetus needs more protein for…
10% Acetate
38% Glucose + lactate
52% Amino acids (Protein)
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200
400
600
800
1000
1200
Protein
requirement
(g/day)
Cow
Foetus
tissue deposition energy source
A late pregnant cow needs >1 kg of protein per day.
In northern Australia, they will get < 500 g/day.

8. Poor nutrition 5 weeks before calving decreases birth weight and
colostrum yield
89%
48%
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
Birth Weight Colostrum yield
%
of
Control
Good nutrition 50% restriction
Norgaard et al. (2008)
Animals with very good
body condition score

9. Delay in milk delivery will kill a calf in < 3 days
Hydration of 8 non-suckling
neonatal Brahman-cross calves
over time
Fordyce et al (2015)

10. Lower passive immunity increase sickness and death
Scours Mortality Rotavirus Crypto
0
20
40
60
80
43
2
15
26
63
15
29
38
Incidence
(%
of
calves)
IgG >10 mg/ml
IgG <10 mg/ml
0 10 20 30 40 50 60
90
92
94
96
98
100
Days after birth
Calves
surviving
(%)
IgG >10 mg/ml
IgG <10 mg/ml
Lora et al. (2018)
calves need 3 L of colostrum on the first 12 hours of life
NAHMS (1993)
4X increase in
death rate
n = 78 calves
n = 2,117 calves

11. Active metabolism happening around calving needs protein
Progesterone decline before
parturition is required for normal
labour and for milk secretion to occur
IF NOT
Dystocia Delayed milk
delivery

12. Material and Methods
Spyglass Droughtmaster heifers Fletcherview Brahman cows
129 cows divided into three blocks (9 pens, 14 or 15 cows per pen)
Control: ad libitum Rhodes grass hay with 4.1% CP
Protein: hay + 1 kg dry lick (43% CP)
Protein+YFP: hay + lick + Yeast Fermentation Products*
*NaturSafeTM 14g/cow/day
Average 14d of supplementation
before calving

13. Material and Methods
Gatton Brahman cows
36 cows divided into four blocks (12 feedlot pens, 3 cows per pen)
Control: ad libitum Rhodes grass hay with 6.0% CP
Protein: hay + 1 kg dry lick (39% CP)
Protein+YFP: hay + lick + Yeast Fermentation Products*
Average 36d of supplementation
before calving
*NaturSafeTM 14g/cow/day

14. Experiment timeline
Calving
d -1
d -2
d -3
d -4
d -5
d -6
d -7 d +1 d +2 d +3
Blood sampling
Calving
d 1 d 2 d 3 d 4 d 5 d 6 d 7 d 8 d 9 d 10 d 11 d 12 d 13 d 14
Weighing

15. Prepartum supplementation reduced cows’ weight loss
Item CTR PRO YFP SEM
P-value
Supp YFP
Exp. 1
Body condition score at calving 3.1 3.1 3.0 0.09 0.86 0.40
Live-weight at calving (kg) 483 496 503 9.4 0.15 0.63
Live-weight change per week (kg) -5.8 -1.1 0.9 1.9 0.01 0.47
Exp. 2
Body condition score at calving 3.2 3.4 3.5 0.10 0.40 0.27
Live-weight at calving (kg) 522 549 542 18 0.11 0.72
Live-weight change per week (kg) -2.4 3.2 0.6 1.5 0.03 0.22

16. Item CTR PRO YFP SEM
P-value
Supp YFP
Exp. 1
Glucose (mmol/L) 3.75 4.28 4.02 0.09 <0.01 0.03
Triglycerides (mmol/L) 0.33 0.35 0.30 0.01 0.89 0.01
NEFA (meq/L) 1.59 1.02 0.99 0.07 <0.01 0.74
BHB (mmol/L) 0.99 0.77 0.86 0.05 <0.01 0.13
Exp. 2
Glucose (mmol/L) 4.29 4.35 4.37 0.09 0.61 0.90
Triglycerides (mmol/L) 0.33 0.39 0.34 0.02 0.19 0.17
NEFA (meq/L) 1.13 0.91 0.67 0.07 <0.01 0.04
BHB (mmol/L) 0.77 0.60 0.54 0.04 0.01 0.47
Prepartum supplementation reduced body fat mobilization

17. Item CTR PRO YFP SEM
P-value
Supp YFP
Exp. 1
Urea (mmol/L) 1.58 4.91 4.64 0.24 <0.01 0.40
Albumin (g/L) 35.9 34.1 34.0 0.41 <0.01 0.84
Total Protein (g/L) 71.1 66.4 67.5 1.1 <0.01 0.46
Globulins (g/L) 35.1 32.4 33.5 0.93 0.05 0.33
Exp. 2
Urea (mmol/L) 2.52 4.24 3.86 0.28 <0.01 0.34
Albumin (g/L) 38.4 38.4 37.2 0.39 0.28 0.08
Total Protein (g/L) 72.2 71.0 69.7 1.46 0.33 0.57
Globulins (g/L) 34.7 32.2 32.8 1.34 0.15 0.78
Protein supplementation likely
increased the transfer of
immunoglobulins from blood to
colostrum
Prepartum supplementation altered protein metabolites

18. Strategic supplementation increased calf health and growth
Supplementing cows during late
pregnancy (14-28 days prepartum)
increased milk delivery
Exp. 1 Exp. 2
800
900
1000
1100
1200
1300
Initial
growth
(g/d)
CTR PRO YFP
Exp. 1 Exp. 2
10
20
30
40
50
60
Calf
IgG
(g/L)
CTR PRO YFP
Items
P-value
Supp YFP
ADG (Exp.1) 0.09 0.42
ADG (Exp.2) 0.01 0.69
IgG (Exp.1) 0.08 0.10
IgG (Exp.2) 0.28 0.02

19. Strategic supplementation improved colostrum composition
C
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F
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2.5
5.0
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10.0
12.5
15.0
40
60
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120
Colostrum
components
(%
w/v)
Colostrum
IgG
(g/L)
True Protein Fat Lactose Bovine IgG
Items
P-value
Supp YFP
Protein 0.07 0.77
Fat 0.04 0.61
Lactose 0.07 0.42
IgG 0.03 0.93

20. How is poor nutrition reducing milk delivery?
Progesterone decline before parturition
is required for normal labour and for
milk secretion to occur
IF NOT
Dystocia Delayed milk
delivery

21. Supplementing cows during late pregnancy facilitates the necessary decrease
in progesterone and increases milk delivery
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
-9 -8 -7 -6 -5 -4 -3 -2 -1 0 1 2 3
Days after calving
CTR
PRO
YFP
*
* * * * * *
Exp. 2
0
5
10
15
20
25
-7 -6 -5 -4 -3 -2 -1 0 1 2 3
Progesterone
(nmol/L)
Days after calving
CTR
PRO
YFP
*
*
*
Exp. 1

22. Supplementing cows during late pregnancy facilitates the necessary decrease
in progesterone and increases milk delivery
It appears that nutrition modulates progesterone concentration
through the initiation of luteolysis or reduced progesterone
synthesis by the placenta, rather than progesterone clearance rate.
0
5
10
15
20
25
-7 -6 -5 -4 -3 -2 -1 0 1 2 3
Progesterone
(nmol/L)
Days after calving
CTR
PRO
YFP
*
*
*
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
-9 -8 -7 -6 -5 -4 -3 -2 -1 0 1 2 3
Days after calving
CTR
PRO
YFP
*
* * * * * *

23. Foisnet et al. 2010 (J. Anim. Sci. 88:1672–1683)
Relationships between
colostrum production by
primiparous sows and sow
physiology around parturition
The same relationship between progesterone and
colostrum is found in other mammals.

24. Strategic supplementation to increase calf health and growth
Ig Total at 8h Ig Total at 48h
30
40
50
60
70
Ig
Total
(mg/mL)
Straw Silage
Data from Ireland
Better nutrition for 15 days before
parturition increased milk delivery in
suckler beef calves
All calves received the same volume
of colostrum (8 h)
McGee et al (2006)
↑ Absorption
efficiency
↑ Ig mass in the
colostrum

25. Long-term consequences of poor nutrition during pregnancy
Cafe et al. (2006); Cafe et al. (2009); Greenwood et al. (2006)
Only difference was
pasture quality during
late gestation
90% 90%
89%
109%
80%
85%
90%
95%
100%
105%
110%
Birth Weight LW at 30
months
Feedlot ADG Adjusted P8
fat depth
%
of
Control
Poor Nutrition Improved Nutrition

26. Heat stress before calving reduces milk delivery
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Colostrum
total
IgG
(g)
Absorption
efficiency
(%)
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Calf
birth
weight
(kg)
Calf
serum
IgG
(g/L)
Seyed Almoosavi et al (2020a, 2020b)

27. Problem
- Cows are being underfed during late gestation,
which reduces milk delivery and calf health
What have we learned?
- Protein nutrition around calving is important for
normal labour and good colostrum yield
- Probable mechanism is a delay in hormonal
changes (progesterone)
Solution
- Targeted supplementation around calving
- Maternity paddocks (legumes)
- Selection of breeders better adapted to low-
protein diets
Summary so far…

28. CALF ALIVE
Assessing practical innovations to reduce calf
wastage and herd mortality in northern systems
Assoc Prof Luis Prada e Silva
The University of Queensland

29. Innovation on farm to determine...
• the impact of nutrition and environmental stress on
calf wastage
• if more resilient breeders can be identified
• the incidence of mortality in calving 2-year-olds
heifers
• applicability of sensors on collection of useful data
in extensive grazing conditions
• the impact of interventions on whole-of-business
productivity, profitability and sustainability

30. The Calf Alive Team
UQ: Luis Prada e Silva, Kieren McCosker, John Gaughan,
Geoffry Fordyce, Michael McGowan, Ben Hayes, Mary
Fletcher, Sarah Meale, Nigel Perkins, Gry Boe-Hansen,
Ben Wood, Solomon Woldeyohannes, Karen Eyre
CQU: Mark Trotter, Thomas Williams, Pam
NTDITT: Tim Schatz, Christie Pearson
DAF: Jane Evans, Kaitlyn Hay
Research Assistants: Elle Fordyce, Gemma Somerset
Industry Partner
Feedworks Inc.
Industry Collaborators
Stocklick Trading
Causeway Beef Nutrition
CiboLabs
Ceres Tag
Tru-Test (Datamars)
https://futurebeef.com.au/resources/calf-alive-project/

31. Enrolled properties

32. Benefits to industry
Network of producers assessing the applicability of
interventions that reduce calf wastage
Determining production and financial implications of
alternate nutrition and management strategies
Ready-to-use evidence-based recommendations to
consistently increase calf survival
Validate a practical test that identifies efficient breeders
Up to 11,700 t of additional annual liveweight sales by 2031