From the Editor, July 2025

From my perspective the conference’s initial discussion regarding the definition of resilience was particularly useful as it highlighted differences between resilience and robustness. If resilience is based on coping with variability alongside short-term flexibility and elasticity, then robustness is based on coping with harshness alongside long-term plasticity and/or resistance. It occurred to me that while I have been broadly focused over the years on aspects of animal resilience in the face of inevitable variability, in many ways the past few years of research have been exploring animal robustness. I think this is best thought of in terms of elasticity versus plasticity. If elasticity (resilience) refers to an animal’s ability to return to its original form or its ‘normal’ state, then plasticity (robustness) implies that an animal may change (sometimes permanently) when a stressor is applied but still maintains functionality.

As we wrap up the fifth year of a project following cohorts of calves through their second and in some cases third lactations, the power of a robust adaptation in the face of adversity often seems like the best possible outcome. I say this because robustness may provide information about the individual animal (or a farm or system) which can facilitate comparisons based on multiple components including the resilience to each challenge. This is nicely summarized in an Opinion paper by Llonch et al that points out that robustness should be measured as a multidimensional attribute affecting either the whole animal or system, making comparisons between individuals or systems more plausible than resilience, as what is measured is the outcome rather than the relative response.

As we progress through the final stages of the project mentioned above, we are looking forward to fleshing out longitudinal assessments of resilience and robustness. As an example, we have copious data showcasing the ability of pre-weaned calves with pneumonia and lung consolidation to ‘bounce back’ and appear otherwise ‘normal’. I would classify those calves as resilient. However, perhaps more importantly we should recognize the robustness and adaptive responses of the non-diseased calves that maintained functionality in a challenging environment.

In order to assess the degree of robustness and resilience in individual animals (or systems) we need to observe those adaptive responses. We are extremely lucky to have such incredible dairy partners on this project who have allowed us to monitor these animals over the years with a goal of eventually defining more clearly what it is that makes an animal robust. How do they respond immunologically during an exposure to an infectious stressor? How do they respond years later to metabolic stressors? The fact that we were and are able to follow these cattle over the years has provided a treasure trove of information that we look forward to sharing. Stay tuned!

On a (un)related note, our FDIU group is going gangbusters this summer with multiple projects including assessing small ruminant disease prevalence within submissions to WADDL, creating enhanced biosecurity plans for dairies in WA, evaluating uterine health in dairy cattle, and establishing baseline youngstock management practices on organic dairies in WA. But perhaps the best project of all was our outing to the Hiawatha trail which some would argue required both resilience and robustness to survive the dark and the cold of the tunnels, and the dizzying heights of the old railroad trestles! It is a truly beautiful area with some incredible history related to the Milwaukee Railroad, historical mining endeavors, and the 1910 fire. I think all of us who did the ride would highly recommend it for an outing. We hope that all of you had a wonderful 4^th of July holiday and are carving out some time for summer activities as well!