Maristela Rovai

BackgroundWater is the most important nutrient for calves and plays an important role as solvent of nutrients, rumen development, thermoregulation and other functions in the body. In addition other researchers found that calves started feed consumption earlier and consumed more when unlimited access to clean drinking water is available. Generally, water comprises 70 to 75% of the weight of the cal ...

INTRODUCTION Today’s dairy farms are changing dynamically, with increasing herd size and more hired employees. On larger U.S. farms, there is a reliance on non-family immigrant or contract laborers. Latinos have surpassed African-Americans as the nation’s largest minority group, constituting 17% of the U.S. total population in 2014 (1). This is reflected within the dairy industry, and ...

BackgroundA recent study by the SDSU Dairy and Food Science Department investigated the effects of water quality on heifer preference and drinking behavior. Providing good quality water to livestock is a major challenge in the Midwest. Eastern South Dakota groundwater, which is used for drinking, industry, and agricultural purposes is hard, with high mineral content. Calcium and magnesium concentr ...