This episode examines whether feeding additional vitamin A to cows before calving can improve the vitamin A status of their calves. Reviewing two dairy research studies, the hosts explore how late-gestation supplementation affects vitamin A levels in colostrum, milk, and newborn calves. In the first study, cows received vitamin A at levels slightly above recommended requirements, but researchers found no increase in colostrum vitamin A content and no meaningful improvement in calf blood vitamin A concentrations.

The second study supplemented cows with much larger amounts of beta-carotene, a precursor to vitamin A. While this significantly increased beta-carotene levels in colostrum and resulted in more calves having detectable beta-carotene after birth, it still failed to increase retinol, the active form of vitamin A, in calf blood samples. The findings suggest that transferring additional vitamin A from cow to calf through maternal supplementation is more difficult than many producers might expect.

The discussion reinforces that newborn calves receive very little vitamin A through placental transfer and rely heavily on colostrum as their primary source after birth. However, even feeding cows three to four times the recommended vitamin A levels produced only modest changes in calf vitamin A status.

The hosts also compare these dairy studies to previous beef cattle research, noting that very large supplementation rates may be required before measurable improvements occur in calves. As a result, simply increasing vitamin A intake in pregnant cows may not be an efficient solution for improving calf vitamin A status. The episode concludes by raising important questions about whether calves born to cows consuming stored hay during late gestation may benefit from alternative strategies, such as direct vitamin A supplementation, and emphasizes the need for additional research to better understand vitamin A requirements in modern beef production systems.

This episode examines a 2026 study that explored whether pre-breeding behavior can predict which bulls will sire the most calves in multi-sire breeding pastures. Researchers fitted bulls with collars containing accelerometers and proximity sensors to objectively measure activity levels and social interactions before the breeding season. The goal was to determine whether behavioral traits such as activity, social connectedness, and interaction patterns were associated with a bull’s eventual siring capacity.

The study found that more active bulls tended to sire more calves, and bulls that were more socially connected within the group also appeared to have greater breeding success. Researchers used complex network-analysis measurements, including eigenvector centrality and relative strength, as indicators of social influence and interaction among bulls. Bulls with more diverse interactions across the bull group generally had higher siring capacity than bulls that spent most of their time with only a few herd mates.

The hosts found the concept particularly intriguing because previous efforts to predict breeding success often relied on subjective observations, while this study used objective monitoring technology. However, they also highlighted several limitations, including a relatively small sample size, missing sensor data, differences in bull grouping between years, and challenges associated with bulls entering or leaving breeding groups due to injury.

Another important finding was that some behavioral traits, especially activity level and social connectedness, showed moderate repeatability from year to year, suggesting they may reflect inherent characteristics of individual bulls rather than temporary conditions. The hosts emphasized that while the results are promising, the study should be viewed as an early step rather than definitive evidence. They concluded that larger studies across more herds and breeding environments will be necessary to determine whether wearable technology can reliably help producers identify the most effective breeding bulls before turnout.

This episode explores how vitamin A nutrition in late-gestation cows affects both maternal health and the vitamin A status of newborn calves. The discussion builds on previous conversations about calf vitamin A deficiencies, emphasizing that colostrum is the primary source of vitamin A for newborn calves and that deficiencies early in life can persist for weeks or months.

The hosts review two research studies examining how vitamin A and its precursors are affected by rumen fermentation. The first study found that beta-carotene, the precursor to vitamin A found in green forages such as alfalfa, remains relatively stable during rumen fermentation, suggesting that high-quality green hay can be an excellent source of vitamin A for pregnant cows. They note that protecting hay from sunlight is important because ultraviolet light accelerates degradation of carotenoids, reducing the vitamin A value of stored forage.

The second study evaluated supplemental vitamin A and found that degradation of common vitamin A supplements increased substantially in higher-concentrate diets. In some cases, only about 30% of the supplemented vitamin A remained after 24 hours of fermentation in rumen fluid from cattle fed more concentrate-heavy diets. Interestingly, the form of the supplement had little effect on degradation, while diet composition had a much larger influence.

The practical takeaway is that producers should focus first on preserving and feeding high-quality green forage during late gestation, while also considering whether additional vitamin A supplementation may be necessary when hay quality is poor or concentrate feeding levels increase. The episode reinforces that thoughtful forage management and nutrition planning before calving can improve vitamin A delivery to cows, support colostrum quality, and help set calves up for better health after birth.