Cornell Nutrition Conference

Pre-Conference Symposium sponsored by Zinpro Corporation

From forage to formulation: Enhancing dairy performance through rumen health and feed technology application

1:00 PM

Welcome and introduction

1:10 PM

Holistic overview forage quality: From forage production, to ration formulation, to cow performance
Dr. Gonzalo Ferreira, Virginia Polytechnic Institute

In this presentation, we will cover the many areas in which forage quality may or may not affect decisions on forage production, ration formulation, and dairy production performance. Should we start defining of what forage quality means?

1:55 PM

Strategies to improve nutrient digestibility and optimize microbial protein synthesis
Dr. Jeff Firkins, The Ohio State University

This presentation will cover important concepts related to improving fiber digestibility, particularly in rations with moderate to high starch. Such diets pressure fiber-degrading microbes physically and as they compete with amylolytic bacteria for growth factors, especially those from the rumen-degraded protein fraction. Optimizing post-ruminal flow of microbial protein, including from protozoa, is a key factor to improve our ability to increase supply of metabolizable amino acids more consistently for high producing dairy cows.

2:40 PM

Using branched-chain volatile fatty acids (BCVFAs) to enhance nutrient digestibility, rumen performance and sustainability
Dr. Elias Uddin, University of Connecticut

This talk will cover how isoacids, alone or in combination with anti-methanogenic feed additives, can help achieve multiple objectives, including improved nutrient digestibility and productivity while reducing enteric methane emissions.

3:25 PM

Break

3:45 PM

Nutrition and gut health nexus: What do we really know?
Dr. Kirby Krogstad, The Ohio State University

“Gut health” is a vague phrase that is often described as the root of a problem and the reason for a solution, but what do we really know about gut health in livestock? In this session, we will dig into recent research on gut health of ruminants and describe what we know about how nutrition alters the gut barrier.

4:30 PM

Advancing dietary formulation techniques for optimal ruminal and cattle performance
Dr. Ananda Fontoura and Dr. Mike Van Amburgh, Cornell University

This presentation will discuss formulation approaches to reduce rumen nitrogen and urinary nitrogen excretion, while maintaining productivity in high producing dairy cattle.  We have new tools available, such as branch chain volatile fatty acids that help meet the requirements for rumen microbes and can improve the efficiency of use of nitrogen in the rumen and this will be discussed and described.

5:15 PM

Closing remarks 

5:30 PM

Evening reception

6:30 AM

Breakfast, sponsored by Actus Nutrition

7:00 AM

A paradigm shift? New perspectives on metabolism of oleic, stearic, and palmitic acids in dairy cows

Dr. James Drackley, University of Illinois

Milk fat output in dairy cows routinely exceeds the supply of absorbable dietary palmitic, stearic, and oleic acids, forcing cows to rely heavily on mobilization of adipose tissue to meet milk fatty acid demands. Ruminal biohydrogenation severely limits intestinal availability of oleic acid, making endogenous desaturation of stearic acid and body fat mobilization the dominant sources of cis 9 C18:1 in milk. Fatty acid metabolism must be understood through whole animal mass balance, not fixed proportional contributions, and nutrition models should explicitly account for dynamic fatty acid supply and mobilization.

8:05 AM

Welcome

Dr. Tom Overton, Cornell University

8:10 AM

Innovations in corn silage

Dr. Luiz Ferraretto, University of Wisconsin - Madison

This presentation will discuss novel research and recent trends in corn silage production.

8:50 AM

Diet, dose and duration: Practical nutrition for mastitis control

Dr. Kirby Krogstad, The Ohio State University

Managing mastitis through nutrition isn't just about which nutrients to feed. It's about how much and for how long. This session walks through the evidence behind nutritional management of mastitis (body condition, ketosis, vitamin E, niacin, choline, methionine, and omega-3 fatty acids) and provides practical takeaways for your ration formulation.

9:30 AM

Practical assessment of TMR quality in dairy herds

Dr. Marcos Marcondes, Miner Institute

This presentation will discuss practical approaches for assessing total mixed ration (TMR) mixing quality in dairy herds. It will also examine how variation in mixing quality can affect the physical effectiveness of the diet and, ultimately, animal performance and milk production.

10:10 AM

Presentation of Maynard Award and Danny Fox Graduate Fellowship
Dr. Tom Overton, Cornell University, Department of Animal Science

10:20 AM

Break

Sponsored by Chemlock Nutrition

10:50 AM

11:20 AM

Advancing dairy cattle nutrition with cutting edge microbiome research

Dr. Hugo Monteiro, Cornell University

Dr. Hugo Monteiro will discuss how advances in microbiome science, multiomics technologies, and artificial intelligence are transforming the understanding of nutrient utilization, feed efficiency, and methane emissions in dairy cattle. He will highlight emerging discoveries on the role of rumen microbial and viral communities in animal performance and describe how these findings can be translated into innovative nutritional strategies to improve dairy productivity, sustainability, and environmental stewardship.

12:00 PM

NEAFA update

12:10 PM

Lunch

1:15 PM

How nutrition evidence becomes dietary guidance

Dr. Sarah Booth, USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University

Nutrition science continues to advance, but translating evidence into healthier eating remains a challenge. This talk explores how dietary guidelines are developed and why recommendations often fail to align with real-world food choices.

2:15 PM

Benefits and potential of feeding hempseed meal to poultry as an alternative protein

Dr. Xingen Lei, Cornell University

This talk will describe feeding values of hempseed meal in diets for laying hens and broiler chickens and potential benefits in enriching n3 fatty acids in the poultry products.

2:45 PM

Break
Sponsored by Forage Genetics International

3:15 PM

3:30 PM

4:30 PM

5:15 PM

Evening Reception
Sponsored by Novus International

6:30 AM

Breakfast, sponsored by US Soy

7:00 AM

New insights into optimizing dietary fat levels and opportunities to integrate high-oleic soybeans

Dr. Kevin Harvatine, Penn State University
Moderated by Corwin Holtz, Comsen Dairy Consulting

Dietary fat is not essential, but there is likely a feeding rate that best supports milk and milk fat yield while maintaining body condition. We will focus on insights provided by a new experimental approach that quantifies total de novo fat synthesis and a recent meta-regression of the transfer of dietary fat to milk fat. Brought to you by U.S. Soy. Fully funded by the Soy Checkoff.

8:05 AM

Welcome

8:10 AM

Research Spotlights

• What gaps are molecular approaches revealing about the protein nutrition of dairy cows? – Dr. Adeel Arshad, Cornell University (Monteiro lab)
  The supply of metabolizable protein in ruminants depends on the AA quantity and composition of rumen microbial protein (MiP) and RUP; thus, even modest shifts in AA profiles can alter their availability for milk production. Current approaches to characterize the AA profile of MiP do not fully represent the microbial diversity residing in the rumen; similarly, approaches to characterize the RUP profiles and flow do not explicitly capture variation caused by selective microbial degradation of individual feed proteins. This presentation will introduce molecular frameworks being applied to advance our understanding of MiP and RUP contributions to dairy cows, using techniques such as ultra-deep dual RNA sequencing and high throughput metaproteomics.
   
• Evaluating hemp seed meal in equine diets - Camryn Yeager, Cornell University (Trottier lab)
  This presentation will discuss research evaluating hemp seed meal as a feed ingredient for horses. Results from a digestibility and acceptability study will be presented, along with additional findings from ongoing work examining its use and safety in equine diets.
   
• How does altering the dietary supplies of amino acids and fatty acids effect milk composition in lactating dairy cattle? - Alex Benoit, Cornell University (Van Amburgh Lab)
  Improving the efficiency of lactating dairy cattle can be achieved by optimizing nutrient partitioning and utilization in the mammary gland to increase milk component synthesis. The results from this study will highlight how nutrient supply interacts with signaling mechanisms to alter or enhance milk component synthesis.
   

9:10 AM

Charlie Sniffen Graduate Research Presentation, sponsored by Kemin Animal Nutrition and Health

Prepartum phosphorus within a fully acidogenic diet
Emily Bourdeau, Miner Institute 

Phosphorus intake during the close-up period has been a topic of interest for some time, but little research has evaluated phosphorus within fully acidogenic, negative DCAD diets. This presentation will look at how phosphorus intake within a fully acidogenic diet affects mineral metabolism and lactation performance in Holstein cows.

9:50 AM

Break

10:10 AM

How far can genomic selection for milk components take the dairy cow?

Dr. John Cole, Council on Dairy Cattle Breeding

Genomic selection not only allows us to increase rates of genetic gain in the population, it also allows us to better understand how far we've come and how far we might yet be able to go. This talk will discuss limits to selection for milk solids in US dairy cattle.

10:50 AM

Improving the efficiency of nitrogen use for milk component production 

Dr. Mike Van Amburgh, Cornell University

This presentation will be co-authored by Alex Benoit and will discuss varying approaches to describing amino acid requirements for milk and milk component yield. Historically, many of the requirements were estimated from the net requirement for milk protein yield, however, as we learn more about enzyme systems in the mammary gland, we learn they have a much higher requirement for amino acids than previously described for synthesizing both milk fat and protein. Further, those requirements have increased with increasing genetic capacity for milk component synthesis. Thus, we are observing increased milk component yields, mostly fat, with greater essential amino acid supplies that appear to be incongruent with our prior knowledge and training and are proportional when it comes to energy corrected milk yield.

11:30 AM

Anything AI - Is artificial intelligence changing our role as nutritionist?

Dr. Miel Hostens, Cornell University 

Artificial intelligence is not replacing nutritionists—it is transforming how we work. By turning vast amounts of animal, feed, and farm data into actionable insights, AI enables more precise, proactive, and evidence-based nutritional decisions. The question is no longer whether AI will influence nutrition, but how we can leverage it to become more effective advisors and partners to dairy producers.

12:10 PM

Adjourn