D
DAFF:
Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food
Daily Gain:
Rate of gain per day in a defined period
Daily Income Over Feed Cost (IOFC):
This is the amount of income left after subtracting test day feed cost from test day milk income
Daily Milk Weight:
Milk production in a 24-hour period. A cow may be milked from one to several times in this period of time. Milk is recorded in pounds to nearest tenth of a pound as 39.6
Dairy
A place where milk is processed or stored. On farms the building housing stainless steel tanks where milk is stored and cooled
Dairy Beef:
Beef animal bred from cows of dairy breeds
Dairy Breed:
Breed with the qualities for quality milk production
Dairy Bull:
A male dairy animal which has been used in the dairy herd for breeding
Dairy Calf:
Calf of a mating between a bull and a cow, both of dairy breeds
Dairy Character:
Should be free of excess fat which indicates the cow's ability to produce milk. Cows are healthier when they don’t have a lot of extra fat
Dairy Cow:
Cows kept for producing milk or for rearing calves for a dairy herd
Dairy Factory:
Any factory engaged in the manufacture of dairy products and includes a skimming station, a buying or receiving station, or any other premises ancillary to a dairy factory
Dairy Follower:
Young stock on a dairy farm not yet in milk but growing to become dairy cows
Dairy Herd Improvement (DHI):
A specific testing plan which requires supervision and compliance with all official DHI rules
Dairy Herd Improvement Association:
An organisation with programs and objectives intended to improve the production and profitability of dairy farming. Aids farmers in keeping milk production and management records
Dairy Herd Improvement Registry:
A modification of the DHIA program to make milk production records acceptable by the specific dairy breed associations
Dairy Manufacturer:
Operator of a dairy factory processing dairy material
Dairy Material:
(a)animal material that is
(i)milk extracted from a milking animal; and
(ii)any material derived or processed from milk extracted from a milking animal, up until delivery of the material at the place of sale for consumption or for end use for purposes other than consumption, or its export; and
(b) includes dairy product that, having been purchased or imported, is further processed
Dairy Nutritionist:
An animal health professional, specialising in the nutritional needs of dairy cows. Nutritionists recommend optimal diets to farmers and monitor how cows respond to their feeding program
Dairy Processing:
All processing activities in relation to dairy material; and includes
(a) the extraction of milk from milking animals for the purposes of export or sale;
(b) transport of dairy material from a farm dairy to a place where processing or manufacturing involving the dairy material occurs;
(c) processing of dairy material, including heat treatment, cooling, separation, concentration, filtering, blending, and extraction of milk components;
(d) the addition of other material (including food, ingredients, additives, or processing aids as defined in the Food Standards Code) or other dairy material to dairy material;
(e) the manufacture of products, including milk, butter, cream, milkfat products, cheese, processed cheese, whey cheese, dried milks, milk-based infant formula, evaporated milks, condensed milks, whey, whey powder, whey products, casein, milk protein products, ice-cream, low dairy fat ice-cream-like products, yoghurt, other fermented milks, dairy desserts, lactose, and colostrum products;
(f) the packaging of dairy material;
(g) the storage, transportation, and handling of dairy material prior to (i) delivery of the material at the place of sale for consumption or for end use for purposes other than consumption; or (ii) its export (h) further processing of dairy material that was previously dairy product with or without the addition of other material (including food, ingredients, additives, or processing aids as defined in the Food Standards Code), including reprocessing, repacking, reconstitution with water, and recombination of dairy products with or without water to make any dairy products
Dairy Processor:
A person who, for reward (otherwise than as an employee) or for purposes of trade, carries out dairy processing; and
(a) includes
(i) a farm dairy operator;
(ii) a transporter of dairy material from a farm dairy to a place of processing or manufacture;
(iii) a transporter of dairy material from one place of processing or manufacture to another;
(iv) an operator of any premises where dairy material is processed or manufactured or stored;
(v) a transporter of dairy material to the place of export or sale for consumption or end use for purposes other than consumption;
(b) does not include persons (such as airline or shipping staff, stevedores, retailers, or wholesalers) handling the relevant product at the port of export or at the place of sale for consumption or use
Dairy Steer:
A neutered male of any of the dairy cattle breeds. The "dairy steers" are raised for meat production and usually managed like beef cattle
Dam:
A female parent
DARD:
Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (N.I)
Dark Cutter:
Colour of the lean (muscle) in the carcass that has a dark appearance, usually caused by stress to the animal before slaughter
Data Collection Rating:
Squared correlation of estimated and true yields multiplied by a factor of 104 to give monthly testing a rating of 100 and daily testing a rating of 104
Data Collection Rating for Milk (DCR Milk):
An indication of the accuracy of lactation records from a wide variety of test plans. The squared correlation of estimated and true yields is multiplied by a factor to give monthly testing a rating of 100 and daily testing a rating of 104. DCR is computed as soon as 305 days have lapsed. Herd average DCR is the average of all cows that qualify for inclusion in genetic analysis
Data Dictionary:
ISO 11788-2 dictionary for cattle
Data Element (DDI):
Unique and clear definition of each item and code set appearing in the Data Dictionary
Data Structure:
The hierarchy of different types of data and the general format in which the data should be recorded and stored
Database:
A collection of information that has been systematically organised for easy access and analysis
Date Bred:
(see Bred Date)
Date Due:
Estimated calving date computed from the bred date using normal gestation lengths for each breed
Date Entered Herd:
The date recorded when a cow was purchased or the freshening date for a first lactation animal
Date of Test:
Date when the herd test was completed; when the last milk weight and sample were taken
Date to Breed:
The estimated next expected heat date, or if days in milk are less than the voluntary waiting period (VWP), the VWP date. The default VWP date is 60 days
Date to Check:
Date bred plus the herds days to check option (default is 35 days)
Date to Dry:
Date Due minus the herd’s goal of days to stand dry (default is 60 days)
Date to Prep:
(see Calving Prep Date)
Daughter-Herdmate Comparison:
Amount by which a daughter of a bull differs in yield or other traits from the average of cows of other bulls' daughters of the same breed in the same herd during the same period
Daughters Calving Ease:
Daughter Calving Ease (DCE) measures the ability of a cow to calve easily. Evaluations are expressed as percent difficult births (categories 4 & 5) for first calf heifers
Day Order:
An order in the futures market that automatically expires if it is not executed on the day it is entered. All orders are assumed to be day orders unless otherwise specified
Days 3X:
The number of days during the lactation that a cow was milked 3X or three times a day
Days Carried Calf:
Days from conception to a specific reference date such as the end of the test period; also known as “days pregnant”
Days Dry:
Number of days from dry date to next calving date
Days in Milk (DIM):
The number of days during the present lactation that the cow has been milking, beginning with the last date of calving to the current test date
Days in Test Period:
The number of days between tests, beginning on the day after the previous test and ending on the current test date
Days on Feed:
The number of days the cattle are being fed
Days Open:
Days between pregnancies; days from calving until successful breeding date if pregnant; also known as “days not pregnant”
Days to 1st Service:
Days from calving until the first breeding date
DCE:
(see Daughters Calving Ease)
DCR Milk:
(see Data Collection Rating for Milk)
DCT:
(see Dry Cow Therapy)
Dead Weight:
The weight of the dressed or prepared carcass
Deads In / Deads Out:
Refers to the method used to calculate closeouts, cost of gains, and breakevens. ‘Deads in’ refers to leaving the dead cattle in the calculations, while ‘deads out’ refers to leaving the dead cattle out of the calculations
Debt Servicing Capacity:
Annual whole – farm net cash flow available to meet interest and loan repayments
Decision Analysis:
A procedure for rigorously and methodically assessing the expected benefits and costs of a possible action. A way of ensuring that decision – makers make decisions that are consistent with their personal preferences for possible consequences of the decision
Decision Evaluator for the Cattle Industry (DECI):
A decision support system available through the U.S. Meat Animal Research Centre that simulates the impact of alternative breeding or management strategies on production and profit within a producer’s herd
Decision Support System (DSS):
A set of rules usually coded into a computer program, that helps a producer evaluate the impact of alternative breeding or management strategies on one or more aspects of a beef production enterprise
Decision Tree:
A diagrammatic representation of the alternative and sequential actions of a risky decision problem
Deckle:
The coarse strip of lean and fat located between the rib bones and deep pectoral
Decoquinate:
A coccidiostat sometimes added to feed to control coccidiosis
Deep:
(1) away from the surface;
(2) internal;
(3) close to the centre of gravity;
(4) near the centre of an extremity or cut
Deep Pectoral:
The major muscle in the brisket. It also extends into the short plate and to the shoulder joint (juncture of the humerus and scapula) in the chuck
Defect:
Fault or imperfection
Deficiency:
A shortage of a nutrient. If animals are not properly fed, they will develop a nutritional deficiency causing sickness and slow growth
Definitive Host:
Animal in which a parasite reaches sexual maturity
Deflation:
General decrease in prices that increases the purchasing power of a dollar
Defra:
Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (U.K)
Degraded Intake Protein (DIP):
It is all the protein degraded to ammonia in the rumen
Dehorn:
(see De-horning)
De-horning:
The process of removing the horns from an animal when they are young. This is often done to help minimise injury to other cattle or handlers
Dehydration:
The excessive loss of body water
Delay phase of Rigor:
A phase during the rigor process in when ATP is present in the muscle, maintaining a state of relaxation
Deleterious Alleles:
Genes which in their homozygous state (and sometimes in their heterozygous state as well) have undesirable effects on the individual's viability or usefulness
Deliverable (physical) Settlement:
Where settlement involves delivery and receipt of the underlying commodity
Delivery and Delivery Date:
The date on which the seller will deliver the cattle to the specified shipping point, normally the seller's Pens/Corrals, at which location the transaction will be completed and the buyer will take "delivery" of the cattle
Delivery Month:
The specified month within which a futures contract matures and can be settled by delivery
Demand:
Level of interest by buyers to purchase supply at physical market (prime or store)
Denaturation:
Changes the native structure of a protein by heat or acid
Denitrification:
The biochemical reduction of nitrate or nitrite to gaseous nitrogen, either as molecular nitrogen or as an oxide of nitrogen
Dental Plate:
An extension of the gums on the front part of the upper jaw of certain animals, it is a substitute for top front teeth
Dentition:
Number of permanent incisor teeth an animal has; relates to age
Deoxyribonucleic Acid:
(see DNA)
Deoxyribose:
The sugar present in nucleotides of DNA (the D of DNA)
Depopulation:
The elimination of diseased and susceptible animals
Depreciation:
Decrease in the value of an asset due to age, use, and obsolescence; the prorated expense of owning an asset
Derived Trait:
A recorded trait that has been standardised for a given effect such as age or for environmental factors
Dermal:
Pertaining to the skin
Dermatitis:
Inflammation of the skin
Desertification:
A process characterised by a declining number of plant and animal species and a lack of plant productivity. Accelerated soil erosion, a poorly functioning mineral, energy and water cycle can also be measured
Desquamation:
Loss of the surface layers of the skin due to normal friction
Deterministic:
Often taken to mean causal determinism, or cause – and – effect. It is the concept that events within a given paradigm are bound by causality in such a way that any state (of an object or event) is completely determined by prior states with no random effects
Development Budget:
A budget of cash flows used to assess expected profitability and financial feasibility when planning major farm system changes that will take some time to reach for capacity
Deviation:
The difference between an individual record and the average for that trait in the individual’s contemporary group. For all animals within a contemporary group, these differences sum to zero when the correct average is used. A ratio deviation is an individual’s ratio minus the group average ratio or 100
Devils Rope:
(see Barbed Wire)
Dewclaws:
Hard bony structures above the hoof on the rear surface of the legs of cattle
Dewlap:
Loose skin under the chin and neck of cattle
Deworm
The use of chemicals or herbs to rid an animal of internal parasites
Dewormer
An anthelmintic, a substance used to rid an animal of internal parasites
Dexamethasone:
Medication used for treating inflammatory conditions, like skin conditions and breathing disorders
DHI:
(see Dairy Herd Improvement)
DHI Records:
Generic term used to refer to records computed by the Dairy Record Processing Centres
DHI Supervisor:
An officially trained and DHIA-certified employee qualified to collect milk samples and record milk weights on the farm for all official types of testing plans
DHIA:
(see Dairy Herd Improvement Association)
DHIR:
(see Dairy Herd Improvement Registry)
DI Particles:
Defective virions lacking portions of the infectious genome RNA and which may interfere with virus replication
Diabetes Mellitus:
A disease where the body is unable to absorb sugars (glucose). It is commonly treated with insulin
Diagnosis:
1. The nature of a disease; the identification of an illness.
2. A conclusion or decision reached by diagnosis. The diagnosis is rabies.
3. The identification of any problem. The diagnosis was a plugged IV
Diagnostic Imaging Services:
Provides access to imaging tests (such as Magnetic Resonance Imaging)
Diagnostic Test:
A test to determine the presence or cause of disease
Diaphragm:
The large sheet of muscle and facia that separates the thoracic (chest) and abdominal (belly) cavities. This muscle may be commonly called the "outside skirt
Diarrhoea:
Excessive and frequent evacuation of watery faeces, usually indicating gastrointestinal distress or disorder
Dicoumarol:
A chemical compound found in spoiled sweet clover and lespedeza hays. It is an anticoagulant and can cause internal haemorrhages when ingested by cattle
Diestrus:
The period within the estrous cycle when the corpus luteum is functional
Dietary Adjustment Period:
Period of time which should be allowed in experimental studies when changing from one diet to another, so that excreta collected for analysis are representative of the experimental diet being fed
Diff:
The difference in fat % and protein % used to identify cows with an inverted fat-protein ratio
Difference from Herdmates:
The number of pounds of milk, fat and protein that the current 305-day ME record is above (+) or below (-) the average of herdmates. Herdmates are all other animals of the same breed that freshened in the same herd-year-season. Seasons are monthly if sufficient (15) herdmates are available. For very small herds, the maximum season size is nine months
Differentiation:
Process of change in cells, tissues or organs during development
Digest:
Enzymatic, mechanical or chemical breakdown of large complex molecules into absorbable size nutrients in the gut (mouth, stomach, intestine)
Digestibility:
The percentage of feed that can be used by an animal. Chemicals in an animal’s stomach break down feed so that it can be used. Some feeds are more easily broken down than others
Digestive Dead:
A death resulting from a digestive disorder
Digestive Energy:
Gross energy (caloric value) of food intake minus fecal energy
Digestive System:
The organs responsible for the transit and metabolism of food in the body. These organs include salivary glands, mouth, oesophagus, stomach, small intestine, liver, gallbladder, pancreas, colon, rectum, and anus
Dilated Cardiomyopathy:
A disorder in which the chambers of the heart are dilated (enlarged). The heart muscle is weakened and cannot pump effectively
Diminishing Marginal Return:
The phenomenon that increases in variable inputs added to fixed inputs in a production process results in smaller and smaller increases in total output
Dioxin:
An organic compound found throughout the world in air, soil, water and food. It is the by‐product of natural events like forest fires and man‐made processes, such as manufacturing and vehicle exhaust. Humans are exposed to dioxins through the air they breathe and the water they drink. Humans can also be exposed to dioxins in the food they eat. Due to the efforts of many industries, including beef, human dioxin levels have declined more than 72% during the past 20 years
DIP:
(see Degradable Intake Protein)
Dipping:
Chemical control of cattle in order to control ticks
Diphtheria:
Bacterial disease of calves in the mouth and throat
Diploid:
The normal number of chromosomes in cells after fertilisation (60 in cattle). After fertilisation, the chromosomes from the sperm and the egg which each contain a haploid number (which is 30 in cattle), pair up to give 30 pairs or 60 chromosomes
Diploid Zygote:
A single diploid cell resulting from the fusion of male and female gametes at fertilisation (sperm and ovum)
Direct Contact:
Close contact between animals (e.g. nose-to-nose, social interaction, breeding)
Direct Effect:
For weaning weight that portion of pre-weaning growth that is due to the calf’s genetics
Direct EPD:
An EPD representing the effect of the individual’s own genes on the trait of interest. A calving ease direct EPD, for example, represents calving ease of an individual’s progeny
Direct Genetic Effects:
The effect of an individual's genes on its performance. This term is used when referring to traits that have both direct genetic effects and maternal effects on the expression of the trait, e.g birth weight of mammals has a direct component (due to growth capacity of the youngster) and a maternal component (due to the uterine environment provided by the mother)
Direct Microscopic Somatic Cell Count (DMSCC):
Microscopic count of the actual number of somatic cells in milk. This system is used to check and verify electronic cell count machines used in DHI laboratories
Direct Sale:
The sale of cattle on farm, direct to feedlot, processor, backgrounder or re-stocker, where there has been no intermediary party or process
Directional Selection:
Animals chosen to be parents are above (or below) the average of their contemporaries for the trait in question. The goal of directional selection is to improve phenotypic merit of the selected traits in progeny of the selected individuals
Disbud:
To destroy the emerging horn buds of a young animal by the application of a red-hot disbudding iron
Discounting:
The process of adjusting the value of a benefit or cost to be received in the future to its equivalent value of the present time
Discovery:
The discovery phase of DNA markers and an economically important trait is first identified in a population of cattle that has been accurately measured for the trait of interest
Disease:
Illness in general. A sickness that has specific symptoms
Disease Complex:
A multitude of factors – pathogens and management practices – that result in a disease event such as BRD
Disinfectant:
A chemical capable of destroying disease‐causing microorganisms or which inactivates viruses
Disinfection:
A practice that inactivates or destroys disease organisms, and that must be preceded by cleaning
Dispense:
To give out medicine
Disposal Method:
Disposal method of animal. Includes: Slaughter, Cull, Natural Death, Theft, Sale
Disposition (temperament):
A measure of an animal’s docility, wildness, or aggression toward unfamiliar situations, human handlers, or management interventions
Disqualification:
One or more defects, deformities, or blemishes that render an animal ineligible for registration, breeding or showing
Distal:
(1) farthest from the centre point of attachment or origin;
(2) terminal. This term usually applies to the limbs e.g. the foreshank is distal to the elbow
Distemper:
An infectious viral disease occurring in dogs. Clinical signs include loss of appetite, a discharge from the eyes and nose, vomiting, fever, lethargy, partial paralysis and sometimes death
Distillers Dry Grains Plus Solubles (DDGS):
A byproduct of the dry milling (ethanol) industry. Commonly used as an ingredient in feedlots in proximity to dry milling plants. Can be produced from a variety of grains (corn, milo, barley, wheat). Contains 10 to 12 percent moisture
Distillers Grains:
The by-product resulting from the production of ethanol from cereal grains (typically corn)
Diuretic:
A drug or agent used to increase flow of urine
DLS:
Dairy Lab Services
DM:
(see Dry Matter)
DMI:
(see Dry Matter Intake)
DMSCC:
(see Direct Microscopic Somatic Cell Count)
DMSO:
Dimethyl Sulfoxide; solvent with medicinal values used as an anti – inflammatory, swelling – reducing drugs in cases of pneumonia
DNA (Deoxyribonucleic acid):
The chemical compound that stores within each cell genetic information unique to an individual. A DNA molecule is composed of two strands of nucleotides bound to one another by chemical bonds between each complementary (A-T and G-C) base pair. The molecule has the appearance of a twisted ladder. The sequence of bases within DNA molecules determine amino acid sequences of proteins, control development, and establish the genetic potential for production of the individual production of the individual
DNA Fingerprinting:
A method of visualising similarities and differences between individuals based on genetic makeup. The DNA fingerprint is usually displayed as a series of bands. Differences in banding patterns indicate differences in the DNA sequence between individuals. This procedure can be used to verify animals identification or parentage
DNA Genotyping:
The use of the genetic information to establish or confirm the pedigree of an animal
DNA Marker:
A DNA marker is a specific sequence of nucleotides within a particular gene that can be detected through laboratory analysis and can be used to determine which alleles are present at that locus in an individual. See also marker-assisted selection
DNA Probe:
A method to determine an animal’s genotype for a particular gene or marker
Docile:
Able to be quiet and gentle, especially under strange conditions
Dock:
To remove a cow's tail. This practice may keep cows udders cleaner, but may also result in cows being less content, especially in fly season
Dogie:
(pronounced with a long "o" as in "own") A calf with no mother. A term used more often in Texas. Derived from the Spanish word "dogal" meaning a short rope used to keep a calf away from its mother during milking
Domestic Animal:
An animal that is not wild and is kept as a pet or to produce food
Domestic Market:
Also called the trade market. Cattle are consumed in the country they are produced in. Generally, this will be young and lighter cattle compared to the export meat
Dominance:
An interaction between alleles at a single locus so that in heterozygous animals the effect of one allele is greater than the other. The allele with the greater effect is considered to be dominant over the other allele
Dominance Genetic Effect:
The effect that an allele has on animal performance which depends upon the genotype at the locus. For example, the "a" allele may have a different effect on animal performance in "aa" animals than in "Aa" animals
Dominance Genetic Variation:
Variability among animals due to the dominance genetic effects of their genes
Dominant:
An allele is dominant when its presence prevents a recessive allele from affecting the phenotype of an individual heterozygous at the locus in question. E.g. the allele for polledness (P) is dominant to the allele allowing growth of horns (p), so an animal with the genotype Pp shows the polled form of the trait
Dominant Follicle:
Generally the largest follicle within a wave of developing follicles which eventually suppresses the continued growth of other follicles. Toward the end of the estrous cycle, the dominant follicle becomes the ovulatory follicle
Donor:
Selected high-quality female from which embryos are taken
Dorsal:
(1) of, on, near, or toward the back;
(2) the opposite of ventral
Dorsum:
The back, superior surface of an organ
Double Muscling:
A simple inherited trait evidenced by an enlargement of the muscles with large grooves between the muscle systems especially noticeable in the hind leg. Dressing percentage – (Chilled carcass weight / live weight) x 100
Double Sampling:
A sampling scheme that involves using two independently drawn but related samples, a first sample and a second sample, if needed, which is added to the first to form a total sample size. The first sample must be inspected first, and if possible, a decision must be made to either accept or reject the lot. If a decision cannot be made on the first sample, a second sample is inspected; the decision to accept or reject is based on the total sample size
Double Standardisation:
This refers to standardisation of milk for both fat and non-fat solids (or protein)
Down Calver:
Cows about to calve
Downer:
Term for animals that are disabled due to illness or injury
DPR:
Daughter Pregnancy Rate
Draft:
Animal for pulling a plough or a cart
Drained Weight:
The weight of the product and nutritious media; water, other non-nutritious media, packaging and packing materials are excluded
Draw:
The number of cattle rostered for sale at a physical market (auction). Usually made available the day before the sale is concluded
Drench:
Liquid medication, given orally to animals
Drenching:
(see Drench)
Dressed:
The removal of the animal's head, feet, hide and internal organs during processing. The carcass is now ready for further processing, which will be dependent on its market destination
Dressing Percentage:
The percentage of the live animal weight that becomes the carcass weight at slaughter. It is determined by dividing the carcass weight by the live weight, then multiplying by 100
Dried Meat:
Substantially dehydrated fresh or cured meat. The product may be dehydrated with or without the application of heat
Dried Milks:
Dried milk is made from whole milk; nonfat dry milk is manufactured from skim milk. In drying milks, about 95 to 98 percent of the water is removed by concentrating the solids in vacuum pans and then drying by spraying milk into a chamber of hot air or onto a slowly revolving heated drum under vacuum
Drift Grazing:
Encouraging a herd of cattle to walk and graze at a slow pace for the purpose of helping them understand that a rider will not be aggressive or forceful and won't do the things that bother them and that pressure has a release. Drift grazing is used to get a herd to move calmly for a rider, stay mothered-up, or slow down prior to stopping and placing a herd
Drive:
Method of rounding up cattle by scattering cowboys over the range and pushing the cattle to one place
Driver:
A pressure of influence on human behaviour
DRMS:
Dairy Records Management Systems
Drop:
Body parts removed at slaughter-primarily hide, head, shanks, and offal
Drop Credit:
Value of the drop
Dropped:
Born. Given birth to
Drought:
Below average rainfall for an extended period of time
DRPC:
Dairy Records Processing Centre
Drunk Cattle:
Cattle experiencing acidosis due to over consumption or too rapid consumption of high grain diets
Dry Cow Therapy:
Mastitis control used when the cow is dried off at the end of lactation. The dry cow tube contains a long – acting antibiotic that is inserted into the teat to treat existing udder infection and to provide protection against new infection
Dry Cows:
A cow that is not producing milk (lactating). The “dry” period lasts 50-70 days when a cow is preparing to give birth to a calf, which begins a new lactation period
Dry Date:
First whole day a cow is not milked
Dry Donor Dam:
A dry cow used only for embryo donor purposes. Days dry for this cow are not included in the Rolling Herd Average. No data on the Dry Donor Dam will be included in herd average or management information. Dry Donor Dams that later calve will be returned to the milking herd, and a 365-day dry period with 0 production data applied against the herd average in the current test interval
Dry Eye:
Also known as keratoconjunctivitis sicca (KCS), is a condition that results from the inadequate production of tears
Dry Lot:
An open lot that may be covered with concrete, but that has no vegetative cover. Generally used as exercise areas in most of US, but may be used as primary cow housing in the more arid climates
Dry Matter:
Portion of a feed remaining after water is removed usually expressed as a percent
Dry Matter Basis:
Feed that is adjusted to zero moisture to account for variation in moisture content
Dry Matter Intake:
Amount of forage or feed an animal will eat excluding the water content of the feedstuff; intake estimate based on results from animal feeding trials and measured neutral detergent fibre concentration of a feedstuff
Dry Period:
The mammary gland of the dairy cow requires a non-lactating (dry) period prior to an impending parturition to optimise milk production in the subsequent lactation
Dry Period:
The mammary gland of the dairy cow requires a non-lactating (dry) period prior to an impending parturition to optimise milk production in the subsequent lactation
Dry Rolling:
Grain processing method in which grain is rolled without steaming
Dry Season:
The low rainfall season
Dry Supplement:
Supplement that is generally in pellets and fed in a dry form in a mixed ration
Drylot:
A relatively small area in which cattle are confined indefinitely as opposed to being allowed to have free access to pasture
Dryoff:
To change a lactating animal to a non-lactating one. Usually done 6 to 8 weeks prior to freshening
DTRS:
(see Daughters Calving Ease)
Dual Identification:
The identification of an animal, using visual and other forms of identification such as electronic
Dual Purpose Breed:
Cattle breed exhibiting beef and dairy characteristics
Due Date:
(See Date Due)
Dumb Rabies:
Alternative name for paralytic rabies
Dummy Calf:
Also, known as Weak Calf Syndrome, calf that fails to thrive
DUMPS:
Deficiency of Uridine Monophosphate Synthase
Dung:
Farmyard manure
Duodenum:
The first part of the small intestine. The duodenum extends from the stomach to the jejunum (the second part of the small intestine)
Dura:
The tough outermost membrane enveloping the encephalon and spinal cord
Duration of Immunity:
The length of time an animal is protected from a disease after vaccination. Vaccines for some diseases provide a long duration of immunity, others only provide immunity for up to a year
Duty of Care:
The obligation of an individual to adhere to a standard of reasonable care while performing acts that could foreseeably harm the environment or others
DVM:
Divisional Veterinary Manager to whose office all incidents of notifiable diseases should be reported
DVO:
District Veterinary Office
DVS:
Doctor of Veterinary Science
Dwarfism:
A recessive trait in which the skeleton is quite small and the forehead has a slight bulge
Dysentery:
Severe diarrhoea
Dysfunction:
Difficult function or abnormal function
Dysphagia:
Medical term for the symptom of difficulty in swallowing
Displasia:
A term used in pathology meaning abnormal development of tissues
Dyspnea:
Difficult or laboured respiration
Dyspnoea:
(see Dyspnea)
Dystocia:
Abnormal or difficult labour causing difficulty in delivering the fetus and / or placenta. Difficult births lead to increased calf and cow mortality and to more difficult rebreeding of the cow
Dysuria:
Painful or difficult urination