Michael Van Amburgh
Professor of Dairy Nutrition, Animal Science

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.
Education
- Doctorate
Cornell University - 1996 - Bachelor of Science
The Ohio State University - 1984
Recent Research
- Van Amburgh, M. E., Russomanno, K. L., Higgs, R. A., & Chase , L. E. (2019). Invited Review: Modifications to the Cornell Net Carbohydrate and Protein System related to environmental issues—Capability to evaluate nitrogen and phosphorus excretion and enteric carbon dioxide and methane emissions at the animal level. Applied Animal Science. 35:101-113.
- Van Amburgh, M. E., Collao-Saenz , E., Higgs, R., Ross, D., Recktenwald, E., Raffrenato, E., Chase, L. E., Overton, T. R., Mills, J., & Foskolos, A. (2015). The Cornell Net Carbohydrate and Protein System: Updates to the model and evaluation of version 6.5. Journal of Dairy Science. 98:6361-6380.
- Higgs, R. J., Chase, L. E., Ross, D., & Van Amburgh, M. E. (2015). Updating the Cornell Net Carbohydrate and Protein System feed library and analyzing model sensitivity to feed inputs. Journal of Dairy Science. 98:6340-6360.
- Recktenwald, E., Ross, D., Fessenden, S., Wall, C., & Van Amburgh, M. E. (2014). Urea-N recycling in lactating dairy cows fed diets with 2 different levels of dietary crude protein and starch with or without Rumensin. Journal of Dairy Science. 97:1611-1622.
- Soberon, F., & Van Amburgh, M. E. (2013). Lactation Biology Symposium: The effect of nutrient intake from milk or milk replacer of preweaned dairy calves on lactation milk yield as adults: a meta-analysis of current data. Journal of Animal Science. 91:706-12.
- Soberon, F., & Van Amburgh, M. E. (2013). Lactation Biology Symposium: The effect of nutrient intake from milk or milk replacer of preweaned dairy calves on lactation milk yield as adults: a meta-analysis of current data. Journal of Animal Science. 91:706-712.
- HIggs, R., Chase, L. E., & Van Amburgh, M. E. (2012). Case Study: Application and evaluation of the Cornell Net Carbohydrate and Protein System as a tool to improve nitrogen utilization in commercial dairy herds. The Professional Animal Scientist. 28:370-378.
- Soberon, F., Raffrenato, E., Everett, R. W., & Van Amburgh, M. E. (2012). Pre-weaning milk replacer intake and effects on long-term productivity of dairy calves. Journal of Dairy Science. 95:783-793.
- HIggs, R., Chase, L. E., & Van Amburgh, M. E. (2012). Development and evaluation of equations in the Cornell Net Carbohydrate and Protein System to predict nitrogen excretion in lactating dairy cows. Journal of Dairy Science. 95:2004-2014.
Conference Proceedings
- Russomanno, K., Van Amburgh, M. E., & HIggs, R. (2012). An Evaluation of Using ByProduct Feeds in Lactating Cow Diets on Greenhouse Gas Emissions Using CNCPS v6.1. Proc. Cornell Nutr. Conf.. Cornell University Animal Science, Cornell University Animal Science, Ithaca, NY 130-145 p.
Awards & Honors
- 2018 American Dairy Science Association, Most-Cited Paper Award in the Nutrition, Feeding and Calves section of the Journal of Dairy Science, American Dairy Science Association
- 2016 Stephen H. Weiss Presidential Fellow (the highest teaching award given by Cornell University)
- 2012 Donald C. Burgett Distinguished Advisor Award, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Cornell University
- American Dairy Science Foundation Scholar Award
- Land O’Lakes Teaching and Mentoring Award, American Dairy Science Association
- American Feed Ingredient Association Award for Research
- CALS Professor of Merit Award
Courses Taught
- ANSC 3511: Junior Dairy Fellows
- ANSC 3560: International Dairy Study Trip
- ANSC 4110: Integrated Cattle Nutrition
- ANSC 4120: Whole-Farm Nutrient Management
- ANSC 4510: Dairy Herd Business Management
- ANSC 4560: Dairy Management Fellowship
- ANSC 2550: Dairy Study Trip to Italy
- ANSC 4940: Special Topics in Animal Science
- ANSC 4960: Internship in Animal Science
- AGSCI 4960: Internship in Agricultural Sciences
- ANSC 4970: Individual Study in Animal Science
- ANSC 6940: Special Topics in Animal Science
- ANSC 7900: Graduate-Level Thesis Research
- ANSC 9900: Doctoral-Level Thesis Research
Contact Information
272 Morrison Hall
Ithaca, NY 14853
mev1 [at] cornell.edu
-
Additional Links
Michael in the news

Field Note
- Animal Science
- Agriculture
- Climate Change

Field Note
- Animal Science
- Agriculture
- Biology