Ruminant Nutrition: Dairy--Behavior, Modeling, and Production.

The article presents abstracts of various papers related to animal nutrition that were presented during the symposium held on July 28, 2005 in Cincinnati, Ohio, which was organized by the American Dairy Science Association, the American Society of Animal Science, and the Canadian Society of Animal Science. One of the papers discussed is "Effect of Stocking Density and Fence Line Barrier on the Behavior of Dairy Cattle," by J.M. Huzzey, P. Valois, T.J. DeVries, M.A.O. von Keyserlingk, and D.M. Weary. The objectives of this study were to evaluate the effect of using a headlock or a post-and-rail barrier on the behavior of dairy cows, and to determine how this effect interacts with stocking density. Thirty-six lactating Holstein cows were divided into four groups, two assigned to each barrier design. Groups were followed for 40 d and then switched to the alternate barrier for a subsequent 40 d. Another paper discussed is "The Cornell Net Carbohydrate and Protein System: An Evolving Model," by T. Tylutki and D. Fox. The Cornell Net Carbohydrate and Protein System, a cattle nutrition model, has been under continuous development since the early 1980s. The upcoming version has undergone a comprehensive review with the addition of recent biological advances.