I am a professor of dairy nutrition and a Stephen H. Weiss Presidential Fellow. I have a dual appointment in teaching and research.
I initially was hired to conduct research in dairy nutrition and to help grow the Cornell Dairy Fellows Program. I teach multiple courses, and since 1995, I have advised hundreds of undergraduate students and been the Cornell University Dairy Science Club advisor.
Research Focus
I currently lead the development of the Cornell Net Carbohydrate and Protein System (CNCPS), a nutrition evaluation and formulation model used worldwide. Through licensing, the CNCPS is used to formulate diets for approximately 70% of the dairy cows in North America.
Through the modeling effort, I focus on enhancing nutrient use efficiency by growing and lactating dairy cattle to improve the environmental impact of animal food production. A significant component of my current work is understanding whole animal and ruminal nitrogen metabolism and amino acid supply and requirements to enhance the productivity of high-producing lactating dairy cattle and use that information to further develop the Cornell Net Carbohydrate and Protein System.
Further, my group is actively developing methods to better describe the interaction between forage and feed chemistry, rumen function, and post-ruminal digestion to complement the model.
I have authored and co-authored over 100 journal articles and many conference proceedings.
Outreach and Extension Focus
I do not have an official extension appointment, but because of the focus of my research and teaching program, I am asked to participate in extension and educational programs around the state and around the world. My extension activities are related to the PRO-DAIRY program and other extension programs in the state. I do not have a formal extension program but am involved in developing activities like Winter Dairy Management meetings when the topic requires my expertise. I do extension meetings around the state if time allows and the topic is pertinent to my research and teaching. This impacts mostly producers and feed industry professionals in the state.
My outreach activities are a function of my research program. Due to my involvement with the Cornell Net Carbohydrate and Protein System and CPM Dairy, I spend a significant amount of time training and communicating with the dairy and livestock industry – including producers, feed chemists, nutritionists and academics, about how to apply and interpret the model. This takes place on a state, national and international basis. For example, I spoke at the National Forage Testing Association meeting about chemical analyses required for better prediction of cattle requirements and the variation associated with many of these assays. This impacts anyone that sends a sample into one of those labs, since we guide the procedures.
In addition, my research work in several areas of ruminant growth, development, nutrition and physiology has some basis in application and results in my being asked to various conferences in the U.S. and elsewhere.
Teaching Focus
My teaching focus is undergraduate and graduate student programs in animal science, dairy management, nutrition, and physiology. I believe in integrating our understanding of the biological principles of dairy cattle function and metabolism with management and quantitative decision making to improve productivity of whatever management system students encounter. It is also important to link concepts with practice and this is done through experiential learning activities I develop as part of the Dairy Fellows Program and overall dairy program. I also advise the Cornell University Dairy Science Club and through that have developed several international experiential learning courses to expose students to other cultures, production and food systems.
Presentations and Activities
- Determination of the first limiting physical factors in corn silage hybrids: modeling multiple pools of ruminal aNDFom digestion. Cornell Nutrition Conference. October 2018. Department of Animal Science, Cornell University. Syracuse, NY United States.
- Applications of uNDF in ration modeling and formulation. Cornell Nutrition Conference. October 2014. Cornell. Syracuse.
- Balancing for intestinal nitrogen indigestibility in high producing lactating cattle: one step closer to feeding a cow like a pig? Cornell Nutrition Conference. October 2014. Cornell. Syracuse.
- Milk protein: formulating for low protein diets. ADSA Discover Conference 22 Milk Components: Maximizing Farm Gate Returns and Meeting Manufacturing Needs. October 2011. American Dairy Science Association. Itasca, IL.
- Are there limits to milk fat and protein production: What can we learn from other countries? ADSA Discover Conference 22, Milk Components: Opportunities for Maximizing Farm Gate Returns and Meeting Manufacturing Needs. October 2011. American Dairy Science Association. Itasca, IL.
- Formulating and management of rations for dairy cattle. 2nd International Symposium on Dairy Cow Nutrition and Milk Quality.. May 2011. Institute of Animal Science, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences,. Beijing, China.
- Advances in nitrogen metabolism and utilization in dairy cattle. 2nd International Symposium on Dairy Cow Nutrition and Milk Quality. May 2011. Institute of Animal Science, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences. Beijing, China.
- Taking the long view: Treat them nice as babies and they will be better adults. Western Dairy Management Conference. March 2011. Western Dairy Management Conference. Reno, Nevada.
