Probiotic Use in Cattle

Probiotic use in cattle can be beneficial.

The health benefits of probiotics in cattle have become the subject of growing interest. Dairy farmers and cattle ranchers look to the use of probiotics as a way to increase the overall health of their animals.

Probiotics

Probiotics refers to the beneficial microorganisms found in the intestinal tracts of animals as well as to the dietary supplementation of live bacteria added to the diet. A range of positive results have been noticed in cattle when they are fed probiotics.

Newborn Calves

A study by Timmerman et al. showed that calves given probiotics grow faster and remain healthier than the calves that do not receive added probiotics. The same study also showed that calves that became ill with digestive or respiratory diseases, who did not previously receive probiotics, recovered more quickly and with fewer deaths when probiotics were added at the onset of symptoms.

Dairy

Depending on the probiotics used, dairy cattle have an increased milk yield while others produce milk with a higher fat content.

Beef

Beef cattle fed probiotics have less occurrences of outbreaks of infection with Escherichia coli, which reduces human exposure to the pathogen when consuming beef products.

Prudence

Stanley E. Gilliland, Ph.D., of Oklahoma State University states that not all probiotics are effective for any given ailment and prudence must be exercised when considering their use. For example, an experiment he conducted showed that only four of the six strains of L. acidophilus were effective in controlling E. coli 0157:H7.

References

• Oklahoma State University: Probiotics Provide Benefits for Livestock
• Journal of Dairy Science: Health and Growth of Veal Calves Fed Milk Replacers With or Without Probiotics
• Journal of Dairy Science: Prevotella bryantii 25A Used as a Probiotic in Early-Lactation Dairy Cows: Effect on Ruminal Fermentation Characteristics, Milk Production, and Milk Composition
• Journal of Dairy Science: Effects of Monensin on Ruminal Forage Degradability and Total Tract Diet Digestibility in Lactating Dairy Cows During Grain-Induced Subacute Ruminal Acidosis
• Oklahoma State University: Technological & Commercial Applications of Lactic Acid Bacteria; Health & Nutritional Benefits in Dairy Products

Resources

• The National Academies Press: Beneficial Microbial Cultures, Probiotics, and Competitive-Exclusion
• Alabama Cooperative Newsline: Becoming Proactive With Probiotics to Fight Foodborne Illness
• Dictionary: Probiotic
• Probiotic: The Leading Source Guide To Probiotics, Prebiotics, Yogurt, Acidophilus, Lactobacillus, Kefir and Other Sources of Friendly Bacteria and Yeast Organisms.