In This Issue

Low Interest Loans

Cut your production costs and improve your dairy operation at the same time by investing in energy efficient systems. The California Energy Commission has just released a Dairy Energy Efficiency Loan program. Up to $833,000 is available through two loan demonstration programs designed to improve energy use in dairy operations. The maximum funding amount that can be requested for any given project or by an applicant is $150,000. The interest rate is fixed at 3.3 percent. Any California dairy producer may apply.

Program One will be used to specifically demonstrate variable frequency drives for vacuum and milking pump systems. The loan applications will be released on April 1, 1999. Loan applications will be accepted on a first-come, first-served basis. A total of $468,000 is available for Program One.

Program Two will be used to demonstrate other innovative dairy energy efficiency technologies. This program is a competitive selection process. Projects funded by this program will be designed to demonstrate commercially available dairy technologies that have not yet been adopted on a widespread basis. Project areas may include milk cooling, vacuum systems, ventilation, manure management, water utilization, or other dairy related operation. Loan applications will be released on April 1, 1999, with completed applications due by 5:00 p.m. July 1, 1999. A total of $365,000 is available for Program Two.

The program will offer technical assistance in the monitoring and evaluation of each energy efficiency project at no cost to the borrower. Applications may be obtained after April 1, 1999, by writing, calling, or e-mailing Elizabeth Boynton at:

California Energy Commission
Energy in Agriculture Program
1516 9th Street, MS-42
Sacramento, CA 95814-5512

In conjunction with the low interest rate loans, an electrical energy saving demonstration will be held at the Bel Martin & Sons Dairy, 12131 Avenue 200, Tulare, on Thursday, May 13, 1 to 2 p.m. The demo will use an overhead, low speed, high air volume fan that can be retrofitted into freestalls and other areas of the dairy. The Martin dairy is easy to reach. From the north take Paige off 99, go east to Laspina, then right or south on Laspina past the Farm Equipment Show and golf course to next stop sign. Turn left on Avenue 200 and then about a mile to the farm. From the south take Avenue 184, go east off 99 to the first left turn or Road 112. Go past UCVMTRC to stop sign, then right or east on Avenue 200 to the dairy. Please call farm advisor, 733-6488, by May 10th for preparations.

The need for cow cooling is just around the corner. It's a well established fact that dairy cattle don't produce well in a hot, still environment. Air movement in conjunction with misting or sprinkling helps enormously. The high speed fans in common usage produce air movement but are relatively expensive to install, to run, and to maintain.

Large diameter (8 to 20 ft), slow turning HVLS (high volume, low speed) fans are a new technology to deliver mass low speed air flow at a fraction of the energy costs of conventional fans. Horizontal (ceiling type) HVLS fans deliver a large gentle downward air column that translates into a horizontal floor jet radiating out in all directions, reaching into remote corners. Vertically mounted HVLS fans can be used to create cross-flow, or positioned to generate continuously circulating horizontal air currents. The lack of gustiness of HVLS fans makes them ideal for use with misting and sprinkling.

Another series of Environmental Stewardship Short Course classes will be offered for dairy producers on May 12th for Session I, May 19th for Session II, and May 23rd for Session III. These can be attended separately as makeup for previous sessions missed to complete the course and receive a certificate. The three sessions are different from each other but tied together to cover the subjects of manure management, regulations and methods to determine lagoon capacity, and other items of importance. All three sessions will be from 10 a.m. to noon at the Edison AgTAC on Laspina across the street from the Farm Equipment Showgrounds. Call the farm advisor at 733-6488 for reservations.

The following are some ongoing research activities at UC Davis that will favorably affect the future of the industry.

Genetics and Breeding

Juan Medrano and Ed DePeters of the Department of Animal Science are conducting a breeding project with the herd based on protein genotypes. Genetic variants of milk proteins exist in the dairy cattle population. Casein is important for cheese yield. Kappa casein influences cheese yields. There are at least two genetic variants of kappa casein, A and B. Milk from cows of the B variant yields about 5% more pounds of cheese per 100 pounds of milk than milk from cows of the A variant. There are also genetic variants of the whey proteins, for example an A and B variant of beta lactoglobulin.

A cooperative research project between UC Davis (Professor Medrano) and Cal Poly SLO (Professor Tong) demonstrated that milk from cows with the BB kappa casein and BB beta lactoglobulin genotype yielded about 8 to 9% more cheese than milk from cows of the AA kappa casein and AA beta lactoglobulin genotype. Therefore, cows with the B variants of these proteins produce milk superior for the production of cheese. Unfortunately, the B variant is lower in the Holstein population than the Jersey population and the reason is still unknown.

The breeding project at UC Davis is creating two distinct populations of cows within the herd. We are measuring daily milk yield and monthly composition of milk including casein percentage. Management information being recorded includes birth weight and health of calves and body weight and condition score, production performance, and reproductive and health of lactating cows. One objective is to determine if there are differences in longevity of B variant animals compared to A variant animals. The study will also provide information to producer about the potential of developing breeding programs for improved cheese yield.

Reproductive Physiology

Embryo transfer and embryo splitting permit the development of clones, animals of identical genetic composition. Clones have been created in dairy cattle, but one problem has been the large size of calves at birth. These large size calves created dystocia or calving problems. Gary Anderson of the Department of Animal Science discovered in earlier research that the incubation of an embryo in an in vitro culture system prior to transfer to the uterus of a recipient cow increased the incidence of large birth weight calves. In contrast, when an embryo was incubated in the oviduct of a ewe prior to transfer, it resulted in a calf of normal body weight.

This finding suggests that there are maternal signals in the early development of the embryo which are important. Researchers are now exploring the effect of in vitro culture on fetal development. The in-utero development of in vitro fertilized and cultured embryos is being studied using ultrasound technology, which allows the measurement of growth following implantation in the uterus to birth.

Milking Equipment and Biosensors

Michael Delwiche of the Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering is working with biosensors for milk progesterone and urea nitrogen. This project involves Bob BonDurant (Veterinary Medicine) and Ed DePeters (Animal Science). The goal is to incorporate biosensors into the milk equipment in the parlor to aid in herd management. Prototypes have been developed to measure rapidly the progesterone and MUN concentrations in milk. The biosensor for progesterone
will allow the measurement of the reproductive hormone in the milk of each cow at every milking.

The data on milk progesterone will be captured by a computer and a history of milk progesterone concentration established for each cow. A drop in milk progesterone could signal that a cow is in estrus (heat). Likewise, the biosensor for MUN will provide data that can be used by the producer and the nutritionist to manage the nutrition program of the lactating dairy cows to optimize nutrient and energy utilization. This technology of including biosensors in the milking parlor offers exciting possibilities to the industry in the future.

Applied Nutrition

Peter Robinson of the Department of Animal Science initiated a study to provide information on the relationships between nutritional characteristics of rations, cow behavior, and productive performance of lactating cows on four commercial dairies across the state. Single 24-hour periods were studied between mid-August and early September in 1998. Samples of ruminal fluid were obtained for determination of rumen fermentation characteristics (pH, ammonia N, and volatile fatty acids). One interesting observation was that there was no evidence that acidosis was a problem on any of the four dairies in this study and, therefore, neither foot health nor subsequent production was negatively affected. A summary of the report is available.

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