Avoiding milk fat drop during heat stress

Heat stressed dairy cows often suffer milk fat depression, which can be costly to producers in the current challenging dairy market. However, ongoing research suggests that optimising rumen function can help sustain milk fat concentrations in cows under heat stress. Milk fat synthesis depends on fatty acids from 2 sources: Long-chain fatty acids (greater than 16 carbon atoms per molecule) – derive from the uptake of circulating preformed fatty acids, dietary fat absorbed from the digestive t