How methionine improves transition health
Channel: AdisseoFeedsolutions
Date: 2022-10-10

When the cows’ nutritional requirement for methionine, an essential amino acid, goes unanswered, the incidence of metabolic disease increases. A methionine shortage is also associated with low dry matter intake, lower-than-optimal milk and milk component levels, reduced reproductive performance, and an increase in involuntary cullings.

Methionine is heavily involved in the metabolic pathways of dairy cows. It is considered the
enabler of all protein synthesis and, thus, the origin of life. Today’s increasingly precise dairy rations are formulated with a focus on amino acid content that replaces the previous focus on metabolizable protein (MP).

Methionine is a first-limiting amino acid. The cows’ need cannot be fully met by feedstuffs
alone. Dairy nutritionists can best answer the cows’ nutritional requirement by using a rumen-protected methionine in a ration balanced for amino acids.