A coalition of nearly 130 leading U.S. food and agriculture associations called for the swift confirmation of Thomas Vilsack to serve as secretary of agriculture. In a letter sent to the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, the groups cite Secretary Vilsack’s vision for meeting the substantial current challenges of food and agriculture and submit that his previous outstanding eight-year service in the post during the Obama administration will benefit consumers both in the U.S. and abroad.

Before leaving town, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue and U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer announced the appointment of 67 members to serve on seven agricultural trade advisory committees. A complete list of committee members are available at fas.usda.gov/atacs and includes a who’s who of influential voices from commodity groups to agribusinesses.

The Agricultural Policy Advisory Committee is comprised of senior representatives from across the U.S. agricultural community who provide advice to USDA and USTR on trade policy matters including the operation of existing trade agreements and the negotiation of new agreements. Members of the six Agricultural Technical Advisory Committees provide technical advice and guidance from the perspective of their specific product sectors. This group of appointed advisors will serve until 2025.

Are you a dairy scientist interested in publishing in the American Dairy Science Association’s Journal of Dairy Science (JDS)? This three-part author workshop series, presented by Paul Kononoff, Editor in Chief of Journal of Dairy Science, will better prepare you in the publishing process. The series will focus on actionable steps you can take as an author to have a positive publishing experience, including best practices and tips that begin to develop your manuscript for JDS. Whether you are a graduate student, postdoctoral researcher, assistant professor, or a relatively new author to JDS, this series will have something for you to take away and implement. The first webinar recording is available on the ADSA website and the second will take place on Thursday, February 11. For a recording of the first webinar, and to register for the second, click here.

– January 28

The ARPAS Symposium that was meant to take place at the 2020 ADSA Annual Meeting has moved virtual! The symposium will take place this Thursday, January 28 from 9:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. CST. The webinar will cover advances in efficiency in growing dairy animals, advances in rumen efficiency, and advances in production efficiency in adult dairy cattle. The registration link is available in the email you received from either ARPAS or ADSA. Please send any questions to Brittany Morstatter at brittanym@assochq.org.

Thank you for being a member of ADSA! While the ADSA Dair-e-news that you are reading now and our ADSA® Linked In group are available to all who have in an interest in dairy science, they are made available because of our membership. Our ADSA® Linked In group is way that we can both share current news of ADSA events and activities, but network with other members and dairy professionals around the world. We currently have over 1,900 people in the group.

Visit the Member Benefit page for more information on all of the member benefits. If you are not already a member (or if you forgot to renew), now is a great time to join so you have access to the Journal of Dairy Science®, meeting registration discounts and all of the other member benefits through 2021. Just go to www.adsa.org and become a member today. Remember ADSA Professional dues are only $110 per year. They have not increased since 2000 and are the lowest professional dues of all animal science societies. Click here to renew or join right now.

Special Announcement: 40^th ADSA Discover Conference on NASEM Nutrient Requirements of Dairy Cattle Moves to August 2021 with Hybrid Conference

American Dairy Science Association^® (ADSA) continues to adopt best meeting practices during the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, which includes plans for our 40^th ADSA Discover Conference: NASEM Nutrient Requirements of Dairy Cattle. The in-person conference planned for June 1-4, 2021 in Itasca, IL will now be held as a hybrid conference August 30-September 2, 2021. Continued COVID-19 related travel and gathering uncertainties coupled with delays with the NASEM publication brought us to this decision.

Registration options will include both in-person and virtual participation options. Be watching the DC40 web site for the addition of virtual registration options coming soon. https://www.adsa.org/Meetings/40th-Discover-Conference

 We look forward to welcoming you to the 40^th ADSA Discover Conference in August, and we are here to help you however we can with questions and requests for support. Please contact Molly Kelley, Conference Coordinator or Larry Miller, Conference Director, or visit our web site at https://www.adsa.org/Meetings/40th-Discover-Conference

The 2021 Annual Meeting of the American Dairy Science Association® (ADSA®) will be held as hybrid meeting with a virtual component and a corresponding in-person meeting in Louisville, Kentucky July 11-14. As always it will be the most comprehensive dairy science meeting in the world.

The abstract submission site for the 2021 ADSA Annual Meeting 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 March 4, 2021, at 11:59 p.m. (CST).

The ADSA annual meeting in Louisville will be directly followed by the ASAS annual meeting. Make plans now to catch the shared programing day on Wednesday, July 14, and the shared social event later that evening. For more information about the meeting visit the 2021 ADSA Annual Meeting website. Visit often as it will be updated frequently as new information becomes available.  

ADSA members, did you choose to use your registration for the 2020 ADSA Annual Meeting to renew your ADSA membership? If so, Thank You. If not just a reminder that it is time for our annual membership renewal. Remember discounted Annual Meeting registration is one of the many benefits of membership. The savings on annual meeting registration will largely cover the cost of membership.

Start making plans to attend the 41^ST ADSA DISCOVER CONFERENCE^SM ON FOOD ANIMAL AGRICULTURE - Health Management of Calves: From Intrauterine Life to Successful Weaning. It will be held October 25-28, 2021 at the Eaglewood Resort & Spa in Itasca, IL The conference will explore the many changes in dairy calf management practices, and research conducted over the last decade.

•      Opportunities and Key Knowledge Gaps in Calf Management

•      Bull Calves & Dairy-Beef

•      Calf Housing and Behavior

•      Calf Immunology and Vaccines

•      Calf Nutrition Pre-weaning

•      Calf Welfare

•      Colostrum Management

•      Fetal Programming, Influence of Cow Stressors on Calf Development

•      Neonatal Disease Management

•      Transition to the Ruminant Calf: Weaning Strategies to Optimize Future Health and Productivity 

A poster session will be included to allow participants to share and discuss research findings. Details will be posted on the meeting site as they are finalized. 

Our ADSA Linked In group now includes 1,903 members from around the world, are you one of them? It’s a great place to get information about ADSA and industry activities as well as to network with other dairy professionals from around the world. Check it out here.

While on “Linked In” check out the ADSA Graduate Student Division (GSD) as well. You can find their page at https://www.linkedin.com/groups/12059336/profile