The 2026 University of Florida Ruminant Symposium on ruminant nutrition

The University of Florida Ruminant Nutrition Symposium is organized by the University of Florida and led by Dr. José Santos. It continues to be one of the most important technical forums in North America and the rest of the world, bringing together more than 350 ruminant professionals each year, including nutritionists, vets, consultants, researchers, and industry leaders. Recent advances in dairy and beef nutrition were presented by 18 internationally recognized experts.

A risk-based approach towards establishing net requirements for zinc, copper and manganese for dairy cattle offers a novel perspective to trace metal supplementation of dairy herds, pointing at an opportunity to improve nutritional adequacy by reconsidering supplementation practices. This approach confirms the value of preventive supplementation of Cu, Zn, and Mn to dairy cattle in most physiological phases. It also illustrates the importance of basal dietary supply to fulfill trace mineral requirements of dairy cattle, as except for zinc in lactation and copper during the dry period of dairy cows, basal trace metal supply of zinc, copper, and manganese were estimated to cover trace mineral requirements of two-thirds of dairy cattle. Risk of exceeding trace metal tolerance boundaries with common levels of dairy cattle trace mineral supplementation under common conditions were also demonstrated. Evaluating the effect of the proposed recommendation for trace metal levels in dairy ration against current commercial practice on dairy cattle health and performance would be valuable to confirm the value of this approach.

There are various situations in a dairy herd that hinder dairy production performance, such as heat stress of dairy cows, feed restriction and immune activation. We suggest, based upon the literature on systemic inflammation of dairy cattle and on our supporting evidence, that LPS of intestinal origin may be the common culprit in these circumstances. Immune activation in response to LPS markedly alters nutrient partitioning of dairy cows as a means of fuelling the immune response. More research in dairy cows is still needed to understand the mechanisms and consequences of intestinal permeability and associated inflammation in order to provide foundational information for developing strategies aimed at maintaining dairy cow productivity.

Dietary phosphorus restriction in a dairy diet is a suitable measure to mitigate periparturient calcium balance disturbances of dairy cows. Restricting phosphorus in a dairy diet may stimulate bone resorption and modulate the responsiveness of the vitamin D pathway in dairy transition cows. However, phosphorus binders in dairy rations have the potential to exacerbate phosphorus depletion in dairy cattle by reducing the availability of dietary phosphorus in combination with hampering the reabsorption of endogenous phosphorus origination from saliva. Currently there is no practical tool available to assess if phosphorus deprivation in dairy cows obtained by the use of a phosphorus binder is adequate for the objective to mitigate periparturient hypocalcemia of dairy cattle. If the treated cow is already suffering excessive phosphorus depletion, health and productivity may be jeopardized, particularly in high yielding dairy cows. Circulating inorganic phosphorus in serum is not a suitable parameter for evaluating inorganic phosphorus homeostasis of dairy cows as it is altered by counter regulatory circuits such as bone mobilization. Monitoring the stimulation of bone resorption in dairy cows based on absolute serum plasma concentrations of calcium and C-terminal telopeptide of type I collagen (CTX), a marker for bone resorption, is also difficult to use in practice as this parameter shows high interindividual variability. A potentially informative parameter could be the difference between baseline CTX values and those observed during a dietary intervention.

In addition, the program featured a number of leading experts in dairy cow mineral nutrition, who discussed recent advances in dairy and beef cattle nutrition and management.

Heather White, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Maternal fed choline: game changing results for beef and dairy crossbred calves.

Brad Johnson, Texas Tech University
Choline supplementation of beef cattle in the feedlot: growth, health and carcass impacts.

Stephanie Hansen, Iowa State University
Trace mineral management for the modern beef herd.

Bill Weiss, Ohio State University
Trace mineral requirements of dairy cattle: a practical guide for dairy nutritionists.

Maria Spindola, Balchem Corporation
KeyShure plus: more mineral, greater results.

Jonas de Souza, Perdue Animal Nutrition
Production responses to amino acids and energy supply in fresh and high-producing dairy cows.

Kelly Nichols, University of California Davis
Nitrogen efficiency of dairy cattle and its implications for sustainable dairy nutrition.

Fábio Lima, University of California Davis
Beyond the transition period of dairy cows: the impact of extended choline supplementation on health, production, and reproductive success of dairy cattle.

Deepak Dubey and Pieter Passchyn, Kemin Animal Nutrition and Health
Evaluation and implementation of encapsulated choline chloride to improve dairy farm profitability.

Luiz Ferraretto, University of Wisconsin Madison
Corn silage fiber quality and impacts on feeding behavior and cattle production.

Kurt Cotanch, RUM&N Nutritional Dynamic Systems
Effective use of fiber in dairy rations.

Stephanie Hansen, Iowa State University
Advances in vitamin nutrition for beef cattle.

Mirja Wilkens, University of Leipzig:
An update on vitamin D nutrition for ruminants.

Sebastian Salvatierra, University of Florida.
Replacement of soybean protein with protein from DDGS in diets for dairy cows.

Federico Tarnonsky, University of Florida
Intake limiters, old technology for modern beef cattle supplementation.

Brad Johnson, Texas Tech University
Feedlot nutrition and management programs for heavier carcass weights and improved beef quality.

Jacob Copelin and David Weber, RUM&N Nutritional Dynamic Systems
Using CNCPS biology with the NDS platform for dairy diet formulation.