Mark Curry (989) 984- 7027 Route Services and Sales/ OvSynch AI groups
Sue Palen (989) 277- 0480 Order desk/ Product program manager
Greg Palen (989) 277- 6031 Certified Seed Specialist/ AI Refresher training
Mich
Livestock Service, Inc “For the Best
in Bulls” and the forages to feed them
110 N Main St (PO Box 661) Ovid,
MI 48866 office phone (989) 834- 2661
www.michiganlivestock.com email: greg@michiganlivestock.com
There are three major proteins found in milk composition: Alpha, Beta, and Kappa caseins. In the dairy industry, there is a growing consumer demand for milk that is only A2A2 Beta Casein. This is of benefit to people with auto-immune diseases or the underlying DNA related to them, as having the best digestibility of that protein form. (A2A2 is the “normal” beta variant for all mammalian species, but sometime in pre-history a mutation occurred in the Bos Taurus species [cattle of European origin] sometime before breed characteristics were segregated. Mutations are called A1, B, and a few further mutations of the original mutation. A1 molecule looks like a histamine molecule, and that interferes with digestibility.
Thus you can find the mutated beta caseins in beef breeds as well as their dairy breed cousins. Some enterprising Angus breeders in Kansas and Nebraska decided to find out if A2A2 offered any benefit to newborn calves nursing their mommas (or surrogates). They DNA tested all the bred cows for their Beta Casein markers, then tracked their next crop of calves.
What was the result? Calves born from cows with A1 genes had more scours and digestive issues; calves born from A2 cows were healthier and weaned slightly heavier. As big a deal as this has become for specialty milk marketing, it surprises me that no dairy research into effects on calves has been done. (Maybe big Pharma can’t figure out how to patent it??)
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