Michael A. Steele

IntroductionBovine colostrum is largely known for its crucial role in providing the newborn dairy calf with immunoglobulin G (IgG) to establish passive immunity. However, IgG is only one of numerous colostral bioactive compounds – including hormones, fatty acids, and sialylated oligosaccharides (OS) – that have an unrealized potential to positively stimulate calf development (Fischer-T ...

IntroductionThe Canadian beef industry produces over 1.5 million tonnes of high-quality protein annually while maintaining the highest standards in animal care and environmental sustainability (CCA, 2020). In Canada, access to in-feed antibiotics has been limited to veterinary prescription and growth claims have been removed. To keep up the high standards of efficient production and prudent antimi ...

IntroductionMaternal nutrition during gestation and early life events impact offspring development throughout life, in a phenomenon known as developmental programming. The Barker hypothesis explains that undernutrition during specific developmental periods in pregnancy can create a scenario of pre- and post-partum metabolic mismatch (Hales and Barker, 2001). Metabolic mismatch occurs when offsprin ...

IntroductionThe nutritional management of young dairy calves can have both short- and long-term effects, from influencing morbidity and mortality rates (Urie et al., 2018a) to reproductive efficiency and first-lactation milk yield (Faber et al., 2005; Soberon et al., 2012; Gelsinger et al., 2015). Although major improvements in calf nutritional strategies have been made over the pas ...