Ketosis has been indentified as a significant factor associated with disease and poor performance in dairy cows enteringlactation

The Department of Agriculture National Institute of Food and Agriculture awarded The Trustees of The University of Pennsylvania $569,429.86 on December 15, 2025, under the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI), CFDA 10.310, to conduct research establishing the metabolic roles of ketones in dairy cattle during lactation.

The research addresses gaps in understanding ketone metabolism and health outcomes in dairy cows entering lactation. Ketosis and its complications represent a significant welfare concern and an economic burden of hundreds of millions of dollars for U.S. dairy farmers. Evidence indicates that ketones can have positive effects on metabolism and inflammation control in some contexts, yet ketosis is also associated with disease and poor performance. The study performs complementary investigations to unequivocally establish the conditions under which ketones promote normal, healthy metabolism versus those conditions that produce negative health and performance outcomes. Results are expected to generate new knowledge and management tools to optimize lactation performance and welfare in dairy cows and support dairy industry sustainability.

Work is performed in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The period of performance extends from the award date through April 14, 2027. The project grant assistance type supports investigator-initiated research under AFRI's Foundational and Applied Science Program track.

Put together, ketosis and its associated complications constitute a welfare concern, and represent an economicburden of hundreds of millions of dollars for dairy farmers in the united states alone. Despite decades of research and collectiveefforts to reduce the incidence of ketosis and its presumed negative impacts, our ability to mitigate this disorder and itsconsequences remains limited.an increasingly strong body of evidence indicates that ketones can have positive effects on metabolism and the control ofinflammation in rodents and humas; furthermore, ketosis can sometimes be associated with normal COW health and productivity. This apparent contradiction indicates that our understanding of ketones themselves and their roles on animal metabolism andmetabolic health is currently imperfect. Our goal is to directly address our gaps in knowledge by performing a series ofcomplementary studies that unequivocally establish the roles of ketones during health and disease. We anticipate that our research will reveal the specific conditions of metabolism and COW physiology in which ketones maypromote normal and healthy metabolism, and separate these from those conditions that lead to negative outcomes of health andperformance. This research is expected to provide new knowledge and management tools to optimize lactation performanceand welfare in dairy cows, thus promoting the sustainability of the dairy industry.