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Special Report - ADSA Annual Meeting Coverage |
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ADSA Annual Meeting Coverage |
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Welcome to the ADSA Annual Meeting Dair-e-news
The ADSA 2021 Virtual Annual Meeting took place this week in homes and offices around the world. While COVID-19 caused the format to change again this year, the purpose, to present the premier global dairy science meeting in the world, was achieved! Preliminary figures showed that there were over 1350 participants from 40 countries, demonstrating the global impact of ADSA. It was gratifying that 400 graduate students, 53 Post-doctoral students and 79 undergraduate students participated. This year’s meeting featured over 970 abstracts that were presented in oral and poster sessions. One advantage of this being a virtual meeting is that most live events were being recorded and will be available for on-demand viewing after the meeting. If you are registered, you have unlimited access to the recordings for three months following the meeting…another great reason to have registered. AN ADDED FEATURE of the virtual meeting is that there are still six symposia that will be held as webinars this fall. Your meeting registration includes them, so watch for details to be coming soon.
We were pleased to again be providing "Special Editions" of this newsletter to you from the virtual meeting. We had an outstanding group of graduate and undergraduate students working with us to provide daily coverage of scientific sessions and other activities throughout the meeting. I expect that from their summaries you are likely to find some additional presentations that you will want to view at your convenience. Each writer included a byline with a bit of information about themselves. Please thank them for their efforts when you have an opportunity,
A reminder: Next year's annual meeting will take place in June 19-22, 2022 in Kansas City, MO. Start making your plans now to attend. We look forward to seeing you there in person!
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Paul S. Kindstedt Begins Term as ADSA President
Paul S. Kindstedt, a professor in the Department of Nutrition and Food Sciences at the University of Vermont, assumed the role of president of the American Dairy Science Association® (ADSA®) during the 2021 ADSA Virtual Annual Meeting held July 11 to 14. He will serve as president of the association for one year. Dr. Kindstedt served as vice president of the organization for the past year. He has been a member of ADSA since joining as a graduate student in 1979. Kindstedt has served the association in many capacities over the years, most recently as a member of the ADSA board of directors, member of the Overall Programming Committee, founder and chair of the Dairy Foods Division International Partnership Program, and chair of the board of trustees of the ADSA Foundation. (MORE)
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Graduate Student Division Award Winners, Officers for 2021-22
A total of 400 graduate students from around the world attended the just completed ADSA Virtual Annual Meeting. Members of the Graduate Student Division (GSD) were active in many ways throughout the meeting. In addition to numerous presentations and providing articles for our daily special editions of the ADSA Dair-e-news they did find time for some virtual social activities and to conduct the business of the organization. They are pleased to introduce incoming officers for the 2021-22 year. They are:
- President: Lautaro Rostoll Cangiano, University of Guelph
- Vice President: Luke Qian, Cornell University
- Treasurer: Caitlin Zaring, University of Tennessee
- Secretary: Sarah Bennett, Penn State University
- Dairy Foods Director: Sonali Raghunath, University of Minnesota
- Dairy Production Director: Conor McCabe, University of California, Davis
- GSD Liaison: Holly Miller
They also recognized outstanding work by their peers. The following are this year’s winners:
3 Minutes thesis Award Winners
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1st Place - Sheetal Jha, M.S. Student, South Dakota State University
"Bio-sanitizer of Natural Origin for Dairy Industry"
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2nd Place - Gabriel Dallago, PhD Candidate, McGill University
"Long Live the Cow: A machine learning approach to analyze the welfare, longevity, profitability, and productivity of dairy cows"
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3rd Place - Shayanti Minj, PhD Candidate, South Dakota State University
"Probiotics loaded whey protein encapsulants offer new applications for healthful dairy products market"
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People's Choice - Gabriel Dallago, PhD Candidate, McGill University
"Long Live the Cow: A machine learning approach to analyze the welfare, longevity, profitability, and productivity of dairy cows"
Other graduate student competitions
- Schreiber Foods Graduate Student Poster Contest in Dairy Foods Research
i. First Place- Shayanti Minj, South Dakota State University
ii. Second Place-Erica Kosmerl; The Ohio State University
iii. Third Place- Heather McCain Keefer; North Carolina State University
- National Dairy Council Graduate Student Paper Contest in Dairy Foods Research
i. First Place-Abigail Krentz; The Ohio State University
ii. Second Place-Daniel Wilbanks; University of Wisconsin-Madison
iii. Third Place -Karthik Sajith Babu; Kansas State University
- Purina Animal Nutrition Graduate Student Poster Contest – MS Division
i. First Place- Lindsay Larsen; The Ohio State University
ii. Second Place- Lucas Wise; Cornell University
iii. Third Place- Camila Castro; Utah State University
- Purina Animal Nutrition Graduate Student Poster Contest – PhD Division
i. First Place- Brittney Davidson; University of Wisconsin-Madison
ii. Second Place- Jordan Kuehnl; University of Wisconsin-Madison
iii. Third Place- Padraig Lucey; University of California, Davis
- National Milk Producers Federation Graduate Student Paper Contest in Dairy Production – MS Division
i. First Place- Hailey Galyon; Virginia Tech
ii. Second Place- Allie Carmickle; University of California, Davis
iii. Third Place- Ali Wolfe; University of Alberta
- National Milk Producers Federation Graduate Student Paper Contest in Dairy Production – PhD Division
i. First Place- Lucas Rocha Rebelo; The Ohio State University
ii. Second Place- Sena Field; University of Wisconsin-Madison
iii. Third Place- Adriana Garzon; University of California, Davis
- Novus International ADSA/EAAP PhD Student Travel Award
i. Lucas Rocha Rebelo; The Ohio State University
Congratulations to all the winners! We hope to see everyone in-person at next year’s Annual Meeting in Kansas City.
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Dairy science students announce award-winning and 2021-22 Officers
Dairy science students from across the country participated in the 2021 virtual Annual Meeting of the American Dairy Science Association® (ADSA®) July 11-14, 2021. The meeting attracted more nearly 90 students and their advisors along with more than 1300 professionals and guests from the US, Mexico, Canada, and beyond.
During the meetings, students participated in professional development, educational and networking events along with multiple competitions including paper and poster competitions. Students also had the opportunity to attend virtual symposia, oral sessions and poster sessions presented by professional members of the organization.
The students attended the meetings as members of the American Dairy Science Association Student Affiliate Division (ADSA-SAD). The ADSA-SAD is a division of the parent organization that works to develop leadership and promote scholarship among students interested in the dairy industry, and to encourage students toward careers in dairy science. There are nearly 300 undergraduate student members in ADSA.
Here are this year’s award winners and the officers for the 2021-22 year. Please congratulate them when you have an opportunity.
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Student Affiliate Division
2021-2022 New Officers & 2021 Contest Winners
July 13, 2021
Genevieve Christen Award Winner - Cynthia Hamlett, Iowa State University
Chapter with the most students registered - The Pennsylvania State University
1st Place Chapter Yearbook - Iowa State University
2nd Place Chapter Yearbook - Pennsylvania State University
3rd Place Chapter Yearbook - Virginia Tech
1st Place Chapter Scrapbook - Pennsylvania State University
2nd Place Chapter Scrapbook - University of Tennessee
3rd Place Chapter Scrapbook - University of Georgia
1st Place Annual Report - Pennsylvania State University
2nd Place Annual Report - Virginia Tech
3rd Place Annual Report - University of Georgia
1st Place Website - University of Georgia
2nd Place Website - Penn State University
3rd Place Website - University of Kentucky
Dairy Foods 1st Place - Mary Kenne Hillis, University of Georgia
Dairy Foods 2nd Place - Taylor Van Hout, University of Tennessee
Dairy Foods 3rd Place - Yvonne M. Longenecker, The Pennsylvania State University
Production 1st Place - Kelly Forbes, The Pennsylvania State University
Production 2nd Place - Alyssa Rauton, University of Georgia
Production 3rd Place - Loren Foley, University of Tennessee
Original Research 1st Place - Maia Machiela, Michigan State University
Original Research 2nd Place - Clayton J. McWilliams, University of Guelph
Original Research 3rd Place - George M. DeMers, The Pennsylvania State University
Poster: Original Research 1st Place - Gaelan Combs, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Poster: Original Research 2nd Place - Anna Carroll, The Ohio State University
Poster: Original Research 3rd Place - Mikel Shabloski, The Pennsylvania State University
Outstanding Chapter Award 1st Place - The Pennsylvania State University
Outstanding Chapter Award 2nd Place - Virginia Tech
Outstanding Chapter Award 3rd Place - University of Georgia
Outstanding Advisor Award - N/A
Outstanding Student Award - Ashley Goodwin, Virginia Tech
OFFICERS
President - Jessica Schmitt, Iowa State University
1st Vice President - Gregory Norris, The Pennsylvania State University
2nd Vice President - Jayme Ozburn, University of Tennessee
3rd Vice President - Leigh Wardlaw, North Carolina State University
Secretary-Treasurer - Edward Tatum Hunda, University of Georgia
Officer at Large - Gianna Novak, Virginia Tech
1st Year Advisor - Dr. Gustavo Lascano, Clemson University
2nd Year Advisor - Dr. Chad Dechow, Pennsylvania State University
3rd Year Advisor - Dr. Elizabeth Eckelkamp, University of Tennessee
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Hallway Talk: Let's Talk Cheese
By Caitlin Zaring
Around 50 people tuned in to listen to experts discuss the various presentations given about dairy foods thus far at the Annual Dairy Science Meeting. Leading was Dr. Michael Miller, a professor of Food Microbiology at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. With him was Dr. Paul Kindstedt, a professor at the University of Vermont and the incoming president of ADSA, Dr. Rani Govindasamy-Lucey, a distinguished scientist at the University of Wisconsin's Center for Dairy Research, and finally, Dr. Mark Johnson, the assistant director and distinguished scientist at the University of Wisconsin's center for dairy research. All have a passion for cheese.
The group began by speaking about Dr. Roldolphe Barrangou's keynote speech on CRISPR-Cas-9 in relation to cheeses' bacteria. Among the comments, Dr. Govindasamy-Lucey highlighted the ethics behind this methodology and the importance of understanding the side of non-scientists and consumers. This became a running theme throughout the hour-long talk, being brought up in various discussions on student posters and presentations.
Moving on to the Monday morning symposium regarding products containing a mixture of both dairy and plant proteins. Dr. Paul Kindstedt was enthused over the possibilities for new markets discussed in Monday morning's symposium on dairy foods. He saw a potential appeal to consumers seeking plant-based products while still receiving the benefits of dairy. Marketing and public perceptions were considered when audience member Dr. Donald McMahon, the WDC Director and professor at Utah State University, discussed how the dairy industry could learn from the plant-based industry's labeling and identity. Dr. Johnson and Dr. McMahon delved into the disconnect between consumers' desire for less processing and how this does not mesh with choosing plant products that require more processing than dairy.
Dr. Miller and Dr. Govindasamy-Lucey discussed the evening dairy foods symposium from Monday regarding dairy food loss and waste. Building off the previous discussion towards labeling between Dr. Johnson and Dr. McMahon, the sell-by and use-by dates were discussed. Both admitted confusion lay not only with the consumer but with them as well. Dr. Miller admitted having been asked this before and being unsure of the difference in the past.
In the conclusion of the talk, the final point brought up by Dr. Miller while alluding back to the keynote speaker's address was that scientists make up 0.1% of the population. We as scientists need to keep this in mind and remember that we need to speak our findings and research passions to a consumer who may not have a scientific background. This is an important thing we should all keep in mind as we move forward.
Caitlin Zaring is a Master's student in the Department of Animal Science at the University of Tennessee under Dr. Elizabeth Eckelkamp. She holds a B.S. in Animal Science from the same institution and an A.S. in Biology from her local community college. Her survey-based research describes the state of value-added dairy enterprises and consumer preferences for value-added dairy products in Tennessee.
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Production, Management and the Environment
By Lucas Lopes
In session 8, six research projects related to Production, management and environmental impact were presented from different universities throughout the world. Although the presentations were available in a pre-recorded version, the live chat session was able to connect the researchers with the audience directly so that they could have their questions answered. The session approached different interesting topics, and really covered dairy production as the complex system it is, ranging from the importance of sources of feed, animal behavior and status, and reproduction.
Opening the session, Lucas Lopes from the University of Guelph, covered an overview of the rumination time of first lactation Canadian Holstein cows, where the objectives of the study were to investigate the phenotypic variability of rumination time and to evaluate the environmental factors that have an impact on it. Lopes emphasized that season plays a major role in the daily rumination time of the animals where the time of rumination during summer was significantly lower than during the winter in the same year. He also pointed that within the same herd, there are animals that can be grouped due to similar or contrasting rumination behavior. The results suggest that the variability for rumination time among animals in the same herd might support the idea of the inclusion of the trait into breeding programs in the future, as the trait might present higher genetic diversity than expected for animals of the same breed and age.
The second abstract, by Rita Serrenho also from the University of Guelph, aimed into the association of ketosis prevalence and herd productivity. Serrenho highlights the importance of identifying ketosis in a herd due to its harmful impact on the health and productivity of cows, and also how understanding the prevalence of ketosis on cows of different levels of production might help to reduce the frequency that the condition is observed. In the results, she obtained a model that accounts for the weighted milk yield of the animal and the proportion of cows in the first lactation in the herd where the prevalence of ketosis was negatively related to both variables. As a conclusion, she states that in Canadian dairy herds, the prevalence of ketosis in early lactation was negatively associated to herd productivity, which agrees with their initial hypothesis.
The third abstract in the session was presented by Jessica Pereira from UC Davis, and her study focused on the economics of different reproductive strategies for Jersey herds. While aiming to come up with more profitable options for the use of male calves in Jersey herds, she simulated the profitability of nine different breeding scenarios that combined the utilization of sexed semen, beef semen, surplus heifers in the herd, and different costs for beef embryos on Jersey cows. In the results section, Pereira presents the performance for each of the scenarios and highlights that the profitability from the use of beef embryos is highly dependant of the cost of the transfer itself. Also, a combination of sexed semen, beef semen, and embryos in the same herd would result in the highest profitability, if the premium for the male dairy-beef calf is high enough.
Derek Wasson from Pennsylvania State University showed the results for the inclusion of Asparagopsis taxiformis, a seaweed, in the diet of dairy cows. Wasson presented a background on why understanding feed intake and knowing more about feed ingredients is important when trying to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in dairy production. He presents Asparagopsis taxiformis as an option to reduce the emissions of methane, but his results point to a null effect from the seaweed on methane emission. The seaweed also led to a lower dry matter intake and milk yield in the animals, and Wasson states that the methane mitigation potential of Asparagopsis taxiformis might just not be. However, he emphasizes that the storage time of the seaweed might have influenced his results.
Piush Khanal from Michigan State University had his abstract on the use of milk infrared (MIR) spectroscopy to diagnose pregnancy and infer spectral regional associations with pregnancy in US dairy cows. He hypothesizes that as milk composition changes in different lactation stages, MIR analysis could be used to predict pregnancy based on the change in the milk components, as MIR is a technology already common in commercial farms. The objectives were to predict pregnancy based on spectral data and to identify wavelengths that might be important for the pregnancy diagnosis after insemination. Comparing Partial Least Squares and BayesC models for the prediction of pregnancy, he found that MIR spectroscopy data might have a limited potential, especially in the early post-conception stages. The abstract highlights the performance of BayesC that had equal or higher ability to predict pregnancy. Regarding wavelengths, Khanal was able to find waves between 2894 cm-1 and 3133 cm-1 to be associated with pregnancy status at 30 days post-conception. On a final comment, he states that clusters of waves provide a more stable inference of the pregnancy status than the use of only one as in BayesC.
Closing the session, Jorge Barrientos from Cornell university aimed to identify the sources of variation in the quality of forages from farms in the state of New York. After providing a background on how the variability in the quality of forages may arise, Barrientos follows up with his objective of quantifying this variability in different forages from different locations. In his results, he found that the main random sources of variability in haylage are the farm and field where the forage was cultivated, where these sources had an impact on dry matter (DM), crude protein, and neutral detergent fiber (NDF). Haylage yield was influenced by the drying time and weather conditions at harvest. For corn silage, the field was the most important random source of variability in the quality of the forage, affecting DM, NDF, and the content of starch. For both forages, the maturity of the plant at harvest was a main source of variability. Barrientos aims to use these results to link the variability at harvest to the variability at the feed out in the future.
Lucas Lopes is a PhD student at the University of Guelph, supervised by Dr. Christine Baes. Lopes currently works on the identification of efficient and sustainable animals, using novel traits and methodologies such as automated sensors and machine learning.
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The Role of Product, Process, and Package in Driving Milk Consumption Among Children
By Caitlin Zaring
Tuesday evening symposium Dairy Foods: Nourish to Flourish — The Role of Product, Process, and Package in Driving Milk Consumption Among Children was lead by Dr. Hari Meletharayil of Dairy Management Inc. and Dr. Rohit Kapoor of the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities and National Dairy Council. Participants heard from Dr. Katie Wilson of the Urban School Food Alliance, Dr. Helene Hopfer of Penn State, and Timothy Lott. He is a Ph.D. candidate at Cornell University.
It was repeated by each speaker that dairy consumption in schools is on a downward trend. Mr. Lott stated that in 1978 there was a 76% milk consumption rate in adolescents, but by 2006 that number had dropped to 48%, and this number is still decreasing. One reason for this decline in consumption is the push against sugars, particularly in flavored milk, even though regular milk has sugar in the form of lactose. Dr. Hopfer's lab works to find alternatives that might decrease this extra sugar to please consumers while not sacrificing taste or texture. Another reason stated by Dr. Wilson was that soy and other plant-based diets are becoming more popular. Another challenge to dairy foods is the common problem of perishability. Dr. Wilson's talk focused on these challenges to dairy, particularly fluid milk, in schools.
Dr. Wilson discussed both in her presentation and in the Q&A section possibilities to promote children drinking milk. Among these were to research the packaging of fluid milk and how children perceive it. Many school districts that still serve milk do so in the paperboard cartons that have changed little since I grew up. Simply changing colors and imaging on the carton could encourage students to drink milk. This topic was also hit on by Mr. Lott in his presentation about identifying risks for post-pasteurization contamination of school milk. He surveyed different fluid milk packaging facilities that supplied schools. The equipment used to fill cartons has many components, but the main one that seemed to cause issues was the mandrels that help form and seal the bottom of milk cartons. This is the only piece of equipment that has direct contact with the interior of the milk carton. Shockingly, it is also what most often fails the test to determine whether the equipment is clean or not. It was found that these were difficult and time-consuming to clean, and often the automatic spray sanitation systems failed. This potential site of contamination can create poor quality milk, which might deter a child from drinking milk in the future.
One of the final questions asked was quite possibly the most impactful of all. "How has COVID impacted this issue?" Each speaker had a different perspective and answer. Dr. Wilson said that many school districts asked to stop serving milk because it was a hassle to keep cold when students were being fed in tents outside. People are less likely to drink warm milk, and a warm glass of milk might ruin milk for a child. Dr. Hopfer found it to bring many logistical concerns with performing sensory research into sweetener alternatives. Still, she felt it may have given her more realistic results because participants were conducting the test and survey at home. This placed participants in a comfortable and more realistic setting. Finally, Mr. Lott argued that many schools sent half or whole gallons of milk home with kids. He postulated a two-fold positive effect (1) " monkey see, monkey do" and (2) extra quality control. The first is that children could be positively influenced to drink milk if they see their parents doing so. The second is that the parents are likely checking the milk for quality before serving it to their children, which again prevents the potential for a bad experience with milk.
Overall, this symposium offered relevant and insightful thoughts towards the declining consumption of dairy among children, especially in schools. Dr. Wilson drove home the critical point that the dairy industry can learn from other industries' marketing techniques. Using mascots, commercials, and games involving dairy may encourage children to consume dairy products.
Caitlin Zaring is a Master's student in the Department of Animal Science at the University of Tennessee under Dr. Elizabeth Eckelkamp. She holds a B.S. in Animal Science from the same institution and an A.S. in Biology from her local community college. Her survey-based research describes the state of value-added dairy enterprises and consumer preferences for value-added dairy products in Tennessee.
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Bioavailability of amino acids: Methods and lessons learned
By Leoni F. Martins
Protein metabolism is one of the most important subjects in ruminant nutrition. Although the symbiosis between the animal and rumen microbials is what makes ruminants unique and fascinating, feeding and tracking the digestion of amino acids is challenging. The knowledge regarding amino acids requirements along with the development of novel feeding strategies have contributed to the advance of protein nutrition in dairy cows, however, many important questions still remain. Thus, the Ruminant Nutrition Symposium focused on discussing methods and lessons learned about the bioavailability of amino acids.
About 25 to 35% of the nitrogen ingested is really secreted as milk protein N, which means that we still have an opportunity to improve nitrogen use efficiency of the animals. The biological requirement is for metabolizable amino acids but most feeding recommendations for dairy cattle are based on metabolizable protein. Understanding metabolizable protein and more recently amino acid bioavailability is determining for improving the efficiency of cows. In vivo, in situ, and in vitro methods have been developed over time to predict feedstuff or rumen escape amino acid bioavailability, and pros and cons for each technique were discussed by the panelists. More recent methodologies, such as plasma-dose response technique and isotope dilution-based measurements, have been also developed and seem to be promising to generate precise, robust, accurate, and reliable estimates for bioavailability. The Ruminant Nutrition Symposium enlightened attendees by presenting the background and future perspectives for the amino acid nutrition in dairy cows and also gave participants a wide range of information to stimulate the break of boundaries in protein nutrition of dairy cows.
Leoni F. Martins is from Brazil, and he is a research assistant at Penn State University under the mentorship of Dr. Hristov. He has a strong background in ruminant nutrition, and he is currently working on how precision feeding affects performance and enteric gases emissions of dairy cows.
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Animal Behavior and Well-Being Symposium: Translating Animal Welfare Science
By Caitlin Zaring
The final symposium lead by Dr. Amber Adams-Progar revolved around Animal Behavior and Well-Being. Presenters included Dr. Sarah Adcock from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Dr. Jen Walker from Danone North America, and Dr. Jeremy Marchant-Forde from the USDA-ARS Livestock Behavior Research Unit. Dr. Adcock presented her research to determine if an animal's affective state can be predicted by decision outcomes. She found that affective states cannot be determined with certainty, but decision outcomes and affective states can help to generate testable hypotheses and explain decisions that seem counterintuitive. Next, Dr. Walker proposed changing our frame of mind regarding welfare and the food system. She encouraged the audience to think beyond the five freedoms, suggesting they should be used as a baseline for animal welfare, not as a standard for it. Finally, Dr. Marchant-Forde spoke of animal agriculture's challenges and how improving animal welfare can improve these issues. By improving animal welfare, he suggests that we may reduce the need for antimicrobials, demand for alternative proteins, and enhance worker recruitment and retention. The concept of consumer opinion was entangled in each talk, and the speakers had a similar view. Rather than simply educating consumers on why procedures, such as tail docking and dehorning, are done, we should do three things. Firstly, continue to expose and educate consumers on these practices. Secondly, accept that no matter the amount of education, consumers might never accept the methods. Finally, work to resolve the issue that causes us to need these practices if possible. One speaker suggested that rather than simply accepting tail docking in piglets as a regular thing, consider focusing on why piglets chew others' tails and curbing this behavior. The session ended with an audience question of how consumers are expected to "have skin in the game" and promote good animal welfare if many consumers believe food is already too expensive before prices are raised to cover the added cost of providing such welfare. Dr. Walker answered this by admitting this is a problem without an easy answer; we have to compromise and work to make consumers understand that you cannot have the prices they are used to and expect to have great animal welfare.
Caitlin Zaring is a Master's student in the Department of Animal Science at the University of Tennessee under Dr. Elizabeth Eckelkamp. She holds a B.S. in Animal Science from the same institution and an A.S. in Biology from her local community college. Her survey-based research describes the state of value-added dairy enterprises and consumer preferences for value-added dairy products in Tennessee.
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Breeding and Genetics: Crossbreeding
By Bukola Adenuga
Here comes the second part of the Breeding and Genetics at the American Dairy Science Association Virtual Meeting, 2021. The Breeding and Genetics: Crossbreeding symposium was hosted by Daniela Lourenco, An Associate Professor from The University of Georgia. Other presenters with her were: Dr. Les Hansen from the University of Minnesota; Bevin Harris, Science Leader from Livestock Improvement Corp in Hamilton, Waikato, New Zealand; Prof. Ignacy Misztal from the University of Athens, Georgia; Prof. Victor E. Cabrera, from the University of Wisconsin, Madison, and Steve P. Miller, Acting Director of Agbull in Australia.
Ms. Daniela Lourenco declared the event open at approximately 4:01 pm after giving lagging participants one minute to join. The meeting began when she stated its objectives. Dr. Les Hansen, the first speaker, began his presentation on the topic Capitalizing on Breed Differences and Heterosis. As a way of introduction, he mentioned popular dairy breeds in the temperate region, their approximate population, and the percentage amount of heterosis expected from crossing the two major subgroups of the dairy cattle. When mating 2 or 3 breeds, crossbreeding is required. The breed must complement each other, however. Inbreeding in Holstein Friesian is a matter of concern. Holsteins are falling victim to a lack of genetic diversity. They are descendants of only 5 high-influence bulls. Farmers are turning to crossbreds to reduce depression. He shared his 10-year proCROSS field study in the Minnesota dairy herd, which consisted of Holstein x Viking Red x Montbeliarde crosses. The hybrid vigor is prominent in lactation, health treatment, stature, angularity, etc. Cows stayed in the herd longer to increase profit.
The next presenter was Bevin Harris on the subject: Genomic Evaluations for Crossbred Dairy cattle. He started his presentation with the background of cross-breeding in New Zealand. Cross-bred AI sire became popular in 2005. In the past 20 years, there had been changes in the cattle population. Crossbreds make up 50% of the population. Crossbreds were preferred in New Zealand because of the positive effect of heterosis on production. A Genomic evaluation showed an admixture in different breed categories. In New Zealand, Crossbreed genomic resources, currently include 200 thousand genotyped animals with available trait records, 1500 Cattle sequenced, and the Bovine maps for New Zealand Jersey and Holstein Friesian. Bevin talked about how the initial model to determine the genomic evaluations of crossbred cattle had convergence issues. However, it was resolved by identifying some key factors like a positive definite mixed model equation, fitting breed and genetic group as single-robust covariates and as a fixed effect, etc. Here are some of their current research: fitting the measure of genomic inbreeding and dominance effect, bioinformatics differences between Jersey and New Zealand Holstein Friesian Map.
Next was Professor Ignacy Misztal on the topic of Genomic evaluation with multibreed and crossbred data. In his presentation, he asked why multibreed evaluation? Multibreed evaluation is done out of the desire for all animal evaluation and simplicity. Also, for hopes of high accuracy for pure and crossbreds. Some of the methods used in the crossbred evaluation are SNP, SNP and genomic relationship, each breed as a different but correlated trait. There are several approaches to making predictions in a breed. The first is prediction across breeds. Here, the prediction method for one breed might not work for another breed, combined reference data does not yield good prediction as well. Another option is predictions for crossbreed by breed proportions. The weighted averages of SNPs effects are deployed here. The research by VanRaden used prediction by breed composition at the CDCB. They used squared correlations, but in the end, the predictions were also not very reliable. But in a kiwi crosses research, there was higher accuracy for crossbred with the reference population. The distinguished professor rounded up the lecture by summarizing thus: There is little predictivity from breed to breed, small accuracy for crossbred based on the crossbred, large influence of prediction by crossbred, and not much impact of causative SNPs. He ended the presentation by informing us that genomic prediction with crossbred is still ongoing research.
The popular topic of using beef cattle in semen in dairy cows was presented by Prof. Victor E. Cabrera. His presentation, Economics of Using Beef Semen on Dairy began as follows: Dairy farmers have choices of semen to use: beef semen or sexed semen. However, the choice of which to use depends on factors such as genetics and the age of lactation. The three main concentrated factors mentioned were: the need for replacement, performance (reproductive efficiency and Price (calf value). Going further, the professor showed a developed model to analyze this further-the step-up scenario of feasible semen use combination in a virtual farm. The factors observed were reproduction level, required animals, breed eligible animals, conception rates. There was also detailed information on the sexed semen use protocols, semen use after sexed semen, and market conditions. The take-home messages here were: semen strategies depend on on-farm reproductive performance, the value of the calves (market condition), using beef semen in dairy has great benefits when combined with sexed semen, and greater opportunity abounds buying replacement cows from an economic standpoint but not realistic in dairy farming. Future considerations for research in genetic progress and genomic selection were recommended.
Mr. Steve P. Miller, the last speaker, gave a presentation on Selecting Angus Sires for the Growing Beef on Dairy Market. According to him, milk prices are declining, and beef prices are holding up instead. There is more demand for Black Angus beef cows and less demand for these replacement heifers. The industry is faced with a great increase in beef and dairy cow meat coming on the market. Angus, however, is most promising because of their polled features which is the leading breed in calving ease and heaviest at a year of age. Mr. Steve talked about a study tour executed to understand the dairy beef production system. The tour started with the dairy sector, feed yard, and the processors, to get their overview on Angus bred dairy beef. They decided to take a look into how to re-parameterize the existing model for the dairy beef system. Two new traits were added to penalize bulls with poor muscling or excessively tall. The correlation between Holstein and Jersey Angus cows was reported as 0.95 on current sires. Steve, on his last note, emphasized the need for considerations on beef traits for dairy sires if it is economically feasible. Otherwise, we would only be considering one part of the equation. That brought the symposium to an end.
Bukola Adenuga is a recent Msc graduate in Animal Breeding and Genetics, University of Ibadan, Nigeria. She expects to proceed to a Ph.D. in precision breeding in dairy cattle.
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Animal Health Joint with NMC: Management Strategies to Enhance Health of Dairy Cows During the Transition Period
By Caitlin Zaring
Tuesday morning's symposium Animal Health Joint with NMC: Management Strategies to Enhance Health of Dairy Cows During the Transition Period was lead by Dr. Eduardo De Souza Ribeiro of the University of Guelph. Approximately 130 participants tuned in to hear talks from four esteemed speakers Dr. Fernanda C. Ferreira of UC Davis, Dr. Julio Giordano of Cornell University, Dr. Brandon Treichler of Select Milk Producers, and Dr. Han Mulder of Wageningen University in the Netherlands.
Dr. Fernanda C. Ferreira started with a talk regarding the economics of transition cow diseases. After pointing out the high variability within the literature for incidence rates of diseases, she discussed how the definition of the different transition cow diseases are varied, and their recordings are scattered. All these factors lead to an uncertainty behind transition cow diseases despite the number of studies. Dr. Ferreira then discussed in the talk and with the audience how the theoretical numbers behind the cost of a transition cow disease, or any other disease for that matter, varies based on the farm. This is a typical extension answer, "it depends." It is known that diseases lead to ineffective production and when considering disease cost, prevention cost should be tied in after other factors such as resources and labor.
Following Dr. Ferriera, Dr. Giordano discussed precision technologies to improve health monitoring and management of transition diseases. Precision technologies such as ankle monitors and neck collars have been used for years now. Still, as other researchers have also found, Dr. Geiordano's group has found that this equipment carries a wide variation. For example, there was an 89-98% detection rate of internal diseases such as displaced abomasums when measuring rumination behaviors. However, with metritis and mastitis, there was only a detection rate of 55 and 58%, respectively. The efficacy of precision technology to identify a sick cow depends on the type of disorder and its severity. The algorithms are more likely to identify such cows if there is more than one disorder because more than one parameter may be flagged. He suggests that using precision technologies along with other protocols can be of benefit.
The third speaker, Dr. Treichler, discussed working with automatic milking systems, also known as robotic milkers. Specifically, he discussed transition cow protocols if one has a robotic milker as they are different than traditional milking parlors. During his talk, he had two big questions to consider. Firstly, where will the producer perform the dry-off procedures? The robot is not the ideal spot for various reasons, including human safety and the risk of keeping the area aseptic. Secondly, how long producers make the fresh cows wait to be milked, and where will they collect the colostrum? These are important questions when determining a fresh cow protocol with a robotic milking facility. The other important point he made is that many robotic dairies suffer from poor teat end health. In speculation, this may be due to managers not being hands-on like they would if they were milking daily. However, the robots can monitor this, but the manager must actively think to check and utilize this data.
The final talk was given by Dr. Han Mulder, who discussed the "resilience" trait in dairy cattle. He described resilience as the ability of an animal to be minimally affected by stressors and have a brief recovery period from the stressors. Daily milk yield can be used to help determine a cow's resilience. Disturbances and stresses manifest in a decreased milk yield, and resilience is defined in part by how quickly the milk production levels out again. Having resilient cows has economic value because they need less labor, treatment, and attention from humans and precision technology alike, allowing for resources elsewhere. This resilience trait may be used in genetic selection as part of a measure to prevent production losses from disease.
This symposium began by outlining the economics behind why we as scientists and producers should care about transition cow diseases and gave a few suggestions on managing cattle to manage these diseases. By understanding the economic pitfalls of transition cow disorders, breeding for more resilient cows, and using precision technology to refine existing protocols, we can combat the incidence of transition cow diseases and promote healthier and more profitable herds.
Caitlin Zaring is a Master's student in the Department of Animal Science at the University of Tennessee under Dr. Elizabeth Eckelkamp. She holds a B.S. in Animal Science from the same institution and an A.S. in Biology from her local community college. Her survey-based research describes the state of value-added dairy enterprises and consumer preferences for value-added dairy products in Tennessee.
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