Investment in scientific and economic research are critical to U.S. agricultural trade and competitiveness in the global marketplace. As a net producer of many agricultural products, the United States helps feed the world. Likewise, robust trade strengthens America’s agriculture economy as a whole and the many communities that contribute their bounty and talents to it. The U.S. agriculture community, from research institutions to producers to policy makers, are deeply invested in and support a science-based approach to trade and food import policies.

Join the National Coalition for Food and Agricultural Research’s 2022 Lunch-N-Learn webinar to learn more about how USDA research contributes to America’s agriculture leadership and our nation’s ability to navigate the international trade challenges that lie ahead. The webinar is free, but registration is required. Click here to register.

California Dairies to acquire DairyAmerica

California Dairies Inc. (CDI), the largest dairy farmer-owned cooperative in California, announced this week that it has agreed to acquire DairyAmerica, effective January 1, 2023.

DairyAmerica, a globally recognized supplier of quality and sustainable dairy ingredients, is a federated cooperative currently co-owned by CDI, Agri-Mark Inc., and O-AT-KA Milk Products. As part of the acquisition, CDI will purchase the ownership rights currently held by Agri-Mark Inc. and O-AT-KA Milk Products, making DairyAmerica a wholly owned subsidiary of CDI.  Read more

Senate approves legislation enacting rail agreement

The Senate passed a bill this afternoon on an 80 to 15 vote to put in place the tentative rail labor agreement brokered by the Biden administration with rail labor unions and management. The bill now heads to President Joe Biden to be signed into law ahead of the scheduled December 9 rail strike. 

The separate vote on adding seven days of paid sick leave to the agreement failed. The sick leave amendment with strong Democratic support failed on a 52 to 43 vote, just eight votes short of passing. Read more

Fonterra, Nestlé to create New Zealand’s first net zero dairy farm

Fonterra and Nestlé have announced a new partnership designed to help reduce New Zealand’s on-farm emissions, including a New Zealand first – a drive to develop a commercially viable net zero carbon emissions dairy farm.

Over the five-year project, the farm, run with co-partner Dairy Trust Taranaki, will examine all aspects of farm operations to reduce carbon with the aim of cutting emissions by 30% by mid-2027, and a 10-year ambition of reaching net zero carbon emissions. Read more

Mitigating methane emissions in dairy cattle

A review published in the Journal of Dairy Science® suggests trade-offs be considered when reducing emissions to address climate change. Methane mitigation has been identified as essential for addressing climate change. Intensive research in the past decade has resulted in a better understanding of factors driving enteric methane emissions in dairy cattle.

In a recent article in the Journal of Dairy Science, researchers from The Pennsylvania State University (University Park, PA, USA) and the International Livestock Research Institute (Nairobi, Kenya) shared their findings from a meta-analysis of studies on possible mitigation solutions. The authors concluded that some methane inhibitors and dietary changes could decrease emissions with no negative effect on milk production.

Livestock is responsible for 94% of methane emissions within agriculture in the United States.

“Governments and the public are interested in finding solutions to climate change, and it is believed that mitigation of agricultural greenhouse gas emissions is part of the solution,” said lead author Alexander N. Hristov, PhD, The Pennsylvania State University. The authors estimated that implementation of available mitigation measures including reducing methane emissions in dairy cattle could slow global warming by about 30% in the next decade.

Some of the mitigation strategies may result in rebound effects or come with higher costs or more labor-intensive practices for the livestock industry. “Therefore, efficacy, although critically important, is only one piece of the complex puzzle of adoption of mitigation strategies for livestock GHG emissions,” said Hristov. “We conclude that widespread adoption by the livestock industries of mitigation strategies with proven efficacy will depend on cost, government policies and incentives, and willingness of consumers to pay a higher price for animal products with a decreased carbon footprint.” (MORE)

FASS SPC Provides Comments for NIFA Listening Session

The FASS SPC provided written comments for the recent USDA NIFA Listening Session. They supported the broad goals included in the USDA Strategic Plan for 2022 to 2026; the White House Strategic Plan on Hunger, Nutrition and Health and the NASEM recommendations on Enhancing Coordination and Collaboration across the Land-Grant system and noted that these efforts will help identify any knowledge gaps that need to be addressed. They indicated support for significant increases in funding across the entire scope of activities listed above but noted that animal research appears to have been a lower priority and be addressed moving forward. They also urged that that graduate students and young scientists be fully integrated into the planning and conduct of projects. They also noted that outreach to the public will be even more important for the future as we rebuild trust in science. 



Click here for this and past letters.

2023 ADSA Annual Meeting Call for Abstracts

The abstract submission site for the 2023 ADSA Annual Meeting in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada is open! You can now submit your abstract. Submission instructions, quality standards, answers to frequently asked questions, and student competition guidelines are available on the page. There is no abstract submission fee to submit an abstract to the ADSA Annual Meeting.

The deadline for abstract submission is February 15, 2023, at 11:59 p.m. (CST).

The 2023 ADSA Annual Meeting website will be updated frequently with the latest meeting information, so bookmark the site and visit often. Housing will open in November 2022, and meeting registration will be available in early February 2023.

The 2023 ADSA Annual Meeting scientific program will feature 1,200 oral and poster presentations from around the globe. Make sure yours is included, as 2,000 scientists from 50 countries meet in person in beautiful Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Benefit from symposia, workshops, and preconference events presented by the world's leading animal and dairy scientists. Topics will include dairy food science, dairy production, animal health and well-being, animal and human nutrition, food safety, and production and management. As always, the success of the ADSA Annual Meeting begins with the quality of the science presented; we look forward to your contributions to this global gathering of animal and dairy scientists.

Thank you!

2023 ADSA Annual Meeting Program Committee

44^th ADSA Discover Conference on Food Animal Agriculture:

Why Cheese from Milk?

March 7-9, 2023

Northern Illinois University Conference Center in Naperville, IL and presented virtually

This ADSA Discover Conference^SM will inform some of the latest research on the nutritional and health promoting aspects of milk and cheese. The overarching goals of this conference are to provide attendees with the following opportunities:

•       Access to the latest science-based information from dairy science experts

•       Engage with production and dairy foods colleagues in the cheese sector

•       Gain access to evidence-based messaging about dairy

Conference Topics

·      What is Milk and its Role in a Healthy Human Diet

·      Health Aspects of Milk and Milk Components

·      Cheese to Deliver Nutritional and Health Benefits

·      Consumer Messaging Based in Science and the Next Steps

Who Should Attend? Various stakeholders in the cheese industry including cheesemakers, dairy farmers, cheese retailers, allied organizations, as well as university and industry scientists are encouraged to participate. Graduate students and early career professionals are especially encouraged to attend. Both in-person and virtual participation options are available.

Early Registration Deadline: February 7, 2023

Registration fees increase by $100 after February 7.

For Complete Conference Information https://www.adsa.org/Meetings/44th-Discover-Conference

Dec 6, 2022 at 9 AM CDT Farm Foundation Forum - What to Expect From the 2023 Farm Bill, Click here for registration 

Dec 7, 2022 at 3PM CST  US Dairy Forage Webinar Series - “Taxonomic and predicted functional signatures reveal links between the rumen microbiota and feed efficiency in dairy cattle raised in tropical areas.” With Dr. Priscila Fregulia, Join with ZoomGov Meeting at https://www.zoomgov.com/j/16141396271

Dec 8, 2022 at 2:00 PM CST      DCHA webinar “Achieving Better Outcomes When BRD Comes Knocking” with Tiago Tomazi, of Merck Animal Health, Click here for details

Dec 14, 2022 at 5:00 p.m. EDT  Dairy Cattle Welfare Council Webinar Series Spanish Webinar: Soluciones para optimizar el consumo de materia seca en vacas lecheras en transición with Dr. Gustavo Schuenemann – The Ohio State University, Click here for more information and registration

Dec 15, 2022 at 5:00 p.m. EDT  Dairy Cattle Welfare Council Webinar Series English Webinar: Cow welfare in Irish pasture based systems of milk production with Dr. Laura Boyle - TEAGASC, Ireland, Click here for more information and registration

2023

Jan 10-11, 2023 Coffee, Tea, and Creamers - The Science and Art of Milk in Beverages, Chapman University, Ranney Processing Lab, Orange, California. Contact: Robyne Kelly (714) 289-2040 rokelly@chapman.edu. 

Jan 12, 2023         ADSA Webinar: Scientific Publishing – Choosing a peer-reviewed journal and highlighting your scholarly and creative activity – with Paul Kononoff, Editor in Chief of the Journal of Dairy Science, Watch for details

Jan 16-17, 2023     Pacific Northwest Animal Nutrition Conference, Grove Hotel, Boise, ID, Click here for more information.

Jan 16-18, 2023     Georgia Dairy Conference, Savannah, GA, Click here for more information and registration.

Jan 16-19, 2023     49th Annual IETS Meeting, Lima, Peru, Click here for more information and registration.

Jan 17-20, 2023. Better Process Control School - Dairy Processors. Chapman University, Ranney Processing Lab, Orange, California. Contact: Robyne Kelly (714) 289-2040 rokelly@chapman.edu. For more information visit https://www.chapman.edu/scst/graduate/ms-food-science/better-process-control-school.aspx

Feb 9-10, 2023. Dairy Operations Workshop. Dairy Products Technology Center, CalPoly, San Luis Obispo, CA.  For more info: klees@calpoly.edu Registration: https://dairy.calpoly.edu/short-course-symposia

March 7-9, 2023        44thADSA Discover Conference on Food Animal Agriculture: “Why Cheese from Milk?”, Northern Illinois University Conference Center, Naperville, IL, Click here for more information

March 13-15, 2023   ADPI Dairy Ingredient Technical Symposium, Hilton Beachfront, Santa Barbara, CA, Click here for more information

April 10-12, 2023    Tri-State Dairy Nutrition Conference*, Grand Wayne Center Fort Wayne, IN, Click here for more information

April 23-25, 2023   ADPI/ABI Annual Conference, Sheraton Grand Hotel, Chicago, IL, Click here for more information

*An S-PAC Partner Conference

If your organization’s conference isn’t among the ever growing list that contribute proceedings and presentations to S-PAC®, ask your conference organizer to contact Ken Olson for more information about the benefits of participation.

If you would like to have an event included in the “Dates to Note,” please contact Ken Olson at keolson@prodigy.net or keoagconsulting@gmail.com