Special Edition: Early animal nutrition
Boosting calf diets
Some researchers and companies take a more immediate look at calf diets, with a focus on improving or supporting production with alternative ingredients or feed additives.
The startup Bactana is currently working to commercialize a novel probiotic for use with beef and dairy calves. The goal of the effort is to improve calf survival rate and reduce incidence of scours.
Also focused on improving calf diets, researchers in China are looking to boost the average daily gain for dairy calves with a branched-chain volatile fatty acid supplement. The additive also may play a role in improving feed efficiency.