The long-awaited release of new national dairy nutrition guidelines has spawned a flurry of activity in the dairy nutrition industry.
Nutrient Requirements of Dairy Cattle, Eighth Revised Edition, was published by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine (NASEM – formerly known as the National Research Council [NRC]) in September 2021. The 2021 NASEM document replaces the NRC 2001 standards.
This update to dairy nutrition standards is an ongoing effort that started with the first publication of recommended nutrients in 1944. According to its authors, the NASEM 2021 is built on the review of a large body of new, published research. They said the final publication “represents a comprehensive review of the most recent information available on efficient, profitable, and environmentally conscious dairy cattle nutrition and ingredient composition.”
Since it was issued, a number of dairy nutrition researchers and affiliated industries have deeply explored the new recommendations and held discussions regarding the on-farm implications of the changes to previous standards and new recommendations. Among them:
- A comprehensive presentation addressing the new NASEM nutrient requirements for dry and transition cows; calves; and growing heifers, by University of Illinois animal scientist Jim Drackley, published by Balchem.
- A deeper dive into NASEM 2021 changes for transition cows by Drackley at the 2021 Four State Dairy Nutrition Conference.
- A paper providing a brief introduction to the NASEM 2021 standards and discussion of changes for lactating cows, by Ohio State University animal scientist William Weiss, from the Proceedings of the 2022 Cornell Nutrition Conference.
- A webinar by Weiss on the impact of the NASEM 2021 on dairy nutrition, presented by Weiss and sponsored by Trouw Nutrition.
- A discussion of changes to trace mineral standards in NASEM 2021 by Trouw Nutrition.
- A webinar addressing NASEM protein and amino acid requirements in dairy cows on the FeedChannel by Adisseo, led by Helene Lapierre with Agriculture and Agri Food Canada.
- A webinar demonstrating how to use the new, associated NASEM 2021 model and formulation software to evaluate diets, by Mark Hanigan, Virginia Tech University, sponsored by Balchem.
Drackley, Weiss, and Lapierre all were members of the committee selected by NASEM to review published literature and make recommendations for updates to the standards.
Additional committee members were Richard Erdman (University of Maryland); Michael Allen (Michigan State University); Lou Armentano (University of Wisconsin); Jeff Firkins (Ohio State University); Mary Beth Hall (USDA Dairy Forage Research Center); Ermias Kebreab (University of California-Davis); Paul Kononoff (University of Nebraska-Lincoln); and Michael Vandehaar (Michigan State University).
The complete, hardback edition of the new Nutrient Requirements of Dairy Cattle is available for purchase directly from NASEM, or on Amazon.com.
