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ARS Home » Midwest Area » Madison, Wisconsin » U.S. Dairy Forage Research Center » Environmentally Integrated Dairy Management Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #422806
Research Project: Innovative Forage and Pasture Management Strategies for Dairy Agroecosystems

Location: Environmentally Integrated Dairy Management Research

Title: Plasma folate and vitamin B12 concentrations of heifers raised indoors or on pasture

Author
item DUPLESSISS, MELISSA - Agriculture And Agri-Food Canada
item Hall, Mary Beth
item Jaramillo, David
item Kalscheur, Kenneth
item CAMISA NOVA, CARLOS - University Of Wisconsin

Submitted to: American Dairy Science Association (ADSA) - American Society of Animal Science (ASAS) Joint Annual Meeting
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 2/28/2025
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Folates (B9) and vitamin B12 (B12) are involved in protein and energy metabolism. Our objective was to evaluate plasma B9 and B12 concentrations of Holstein heifers raised on pasture and rotationally stocked on cool-season pastures and supplemented with grain with a vitamin and mineral mix (PAS) or raised in a barn and fed a total mixed ration (CONF). Before the start of the study, all heifers were housed in a barn. Heifers (n=64) weighing 166 [standard deviation (SD):1] kg were assigned to one of 8 groups at 4.8 (SD:0.5) months: 4 PAS and 4 CONF groups. A PAS heifer died due to cause unrelated to the study. Plasma samples were collected by caudal venipuncture in May before treatments began (covariate) and in July, 2 months after treatments began. Plasma B9 and B12 were analyzed by chemiluminescence. The PROC MIXED of SAS was used to separately analyze plasma B9 in May and July with treatment as fixed effect. For July, plasma B9 in May was a covariate. As some samples were below the detection limit of 150 pg/mL for B12, the proportion of samples below the detection limit was analyzed using PROC GLIMMIX of SAS (chi-squared test) with treatments as fixed effect, separately for May and July. Group was the experimental unit. Values are expressed as least squares means ± standard error. In May, plasma B9 averaged 7.19 ± 0.25 ng/mL and did not differ between treatments (P=0.39). In July, plasma B9 tended to be higher with PAS (7.29 ± 0.24 ng/mL) then CONF (6.59 ± 0.24 ng/mL; P=0.10). The proportion of heifers with plasma B12 below the detection limit averaged 75 ± 8% in May with no difference between treatments (P=0.63). In July, the proportion of animals below the B12 detection limit was greater for PAS (63 ± 9%) than for CONF (35 ± 9%; P=0.03) suggesting that overall plasma B12 for PAS heifers was lower than for CONF. In conclusion, although dry matter intake was not evaluated, our results suggested that the diets plus environment affected plasma B9 and B12 statuses of Holstein heifers. More research should be conducted to confirm these results and evaluate if they have a practical implication.