Poll shows broad support for Endangered Species Act reform

Most Americans think the Endangered Species Act is outdated and needs to be revised, a survey by Morning Consult shows. The American Farm Bureau said the poll conducted in early August "adds impetus to congressional efforts to overhaul the increasingly outdated 1970s-era statute."
 
The survey shows that 63% of Americans support modernizing the ESA. It also found that 62% of Americans believe the act should help with species recovery, as opposed to merely cataloguing changes in their populations. 
 
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U.S, China meet to discuss transparency, biotech approvals

The U.S. and Chinese governments held a Strategic Agricultural Innovation Dialogue (SAID) meeting September 24 in conjunction with President Xi Jinping's visit to Washington D.C..
 
China is a key export market for U.S. soybeans, but the trade is at risk due to China's restrictive regulatory approval procedures for biotech products.
 
A White House statement said the two countries conducted in-depth discussions on the administration of agricultural biotechnology, and committed to further improve approval processes.
 
"Both sides reaffirmed the importance of implementing timely, transparent, predictable, and science-based approval processes for products of agricultural biotechnology, which are based on international standards," the statement said.

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Root cause report issued for swine enteric coronavirus diseases

The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Animal & Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) released a root cause investigation report Sept. 30 outlining potential scenarios for how swine enteric coronavirus disease (SECD) viruses entered the U.S.
 
APHIS examined 17 potential root cause scenarios to see if they met all four criteria needed to bring the virus from an overseas location to U.S. pig farms, as well as if there was evidence to support the scenario. While the investigation did not uncover definite proof for any route of entry, a small number of scenarios were deemed plausible.
 
Judge dismisses case on farmer data

In a victory for U.S. farmers and ranchers in their ongoing fight to protect private and sensitive personal and financial records, a U.S. District Court judge Tuesday dismissed a lawsuit brought by animal-rights and environmental activists against the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency over the agency's withdrawal of a proposed Clean Water Act (CWA) rule that would have required livestock and poultry operations to report information about their operations.
 
EPA's proposed Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation (CAFO) Reporting Rule sought to have CAFOs submit to the agency operational information so it could "more effectively carry out its CAFO permitting programs on a national level and ensure that CAFOs are implementing practices to protect water quality and human health." EPA wanted facility facts such as contact information, location of a CAFO's production area, CWA permit status, the number and type of animals confined and the number of acres available for land application of manure. It withdrew the proposal in July 2012.

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ADSA News and Happenings
Congress Passes CR, Avoids Government Shutdown
Leaders of the House and Senate were able to pass a short term continuing resolution (CR) on September 30th that funds the government through December 11th.  Under the CR, all government programs, including research programs administered by USDA, would be funded at current levels (minus a 0.21 percent reduction across the board).  The CR was very controversial, as many Republicans in Congress wanted to use the bill to defund Planned Parenthood amid the recent videos that have been released.  House Speaker John Boehner's announcement on Friday, September 25th that he will be resigning from Congress helped paved the way for passage of a "clean" CR without additional fights to include a Planned Parenthood provision.  He had been under strong pressure from some House Republicans to include the defunding provision and was also being targeted for ouster from his leadership post.

House Agriculture Committee Schedules Hearings on Research Innovations and Dietary Guidelines
On Tuesday, September 29, The House Agriculture Committee Subcommittee on Biotechnology, Horticulture and Research held a hearing on held a public hearing to review research innovations achieved by the nation's agricultural colleges and universities.  While the focus of the hearing centered on research in general, several of those testifying gave a more direct emphasis to animal agriculture and the needs which are present in the field.  Former FASS and PSA board member Mike Lacy from the University of Georgia was one of the witnesses.  He discussed the importance of animal and poultry science in addressing critical issues such as food security, health and sustainability and the need for additional federal investment including the importance of the Sec. 1433 competitive funding mechanism which was authorized in the Farm Bill and how it should be funded at an adequate level.  Research on other topics such as avian influenza and food safety, and the handling of meat products all were discussed.  Members specifically pressed witnesses on the scope and need for agriculture research funding.  A link to the Committee press release on the hearing as well as links to the testimony of each witness can be found here.
In addition, the House Agriculture Committee is scheduled to hold a hearing on the development of the 2015 Dietary Guidelines for Americans on October 7th.  The draft guidelines have come under fire from animal agriculture because the current draft does not recognize the value of lean meat as a party of a healthy diet.  The current version also greatly expands the scope of the guidelines to consider non-dietary factors such as environmental sustainability.  The draft is critical of the meat industry and its perceived impact on sustainability.  ASAS submitted public comments to USDA and HHS expressing concerns about these provisions and the apparent disregarding of science-based information indicating the importance of lean meat in a healthy diet.

FDA Holds Public Meeting on Antibiotic Use Data Collection
On September 30th, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) held a jointly sponsored public meeting to obtain public input on possible approaches for collecting additional on-farm antimicrobial drug use and resistance data.  The meeting was held in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).  As a part of the government's response to Executive Order 13676: Combating Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria, the agencies are working to improve the collection of antibiotic use data to better assess the impact of measures being implemented to foster the judicious use of medically important antimicrobial drugs in food-producing animals.  A copy of the Federal Register notice with additional details about the meeting can be found here.

ADSA EAAP Young Scientist Novus International Travel Award Winner Report
By Marlene Paibomesai
This past September 2015 I was honored to attend the 65th EAAP Meeting, which was hosted in Warsaw, Poland. The journey began the previous year in Kansas City, Missouri, at the 2014 ADSA-ASAS Joint Annual Meeting where I had received the ADSA EAAP Young Scientist Novus International Travel Award. Warsaw is a pleasant city to visit with busy streets, a vibrant culture, deep rooted history, Chopin piano concerts, and plenty of dumplings. The EAAP was excellent, the theme centered around bringing innovation to practical use on farm. The sessions I attended were very informative and many of the presenters tried to incorporate the theme of the conference into their talk. I was delighted that the topic of the plenary session at the 65th EAAP was epigenetics in animal science. I presented my work on epigenetic regulation of the bovine adaptive immune response later that day. I went on the two day technical tour where we visited a local sheep producer, a world renowned horse breeding stable and dairy cattle barn. It was a great perspective of the lay of the land and agriculture in Poland. A whirlwind trip to Tarragona, Spain to visit Novus International Europe R&D team and Blanco Dairy Research Facility ended my time in Europe.      
I would like to thank the EAAP, ADSA and Novus International for giving me the opportunity to present my work in Europe and their help with planning this trip and farm visits. Miigwetch - Thank you in Ojibway, a first nations of Canada.



JAM 2016 Abstract Submission Site Now Open
Abstract submission for the American Society of Animal Science (ASAS), the American Dairy Science Association� (ADSA�), the Western Section of the American Society of Animal Science (WSASAS), and the Canadian Society of Animal Science (CSAS) 2016 Joint Annual Meeting (JAM) is now open.  Before you submit an abstract, please note the following:
Abstracts submitted for JAM will be accepted or rejected. There will be no revisions after the submission deadline. Because of this, the Quality Standards for Abstracts Statement has been revised.
Authors submitting an abstract for JAM will be charged a $30 technology fee per abstract at submission. This submission fee is being used to cover the cost of electronic posters and virtual meetings.
WSASAS authors submitting an abstract and proceedings manuscript will not be charged the JAM technology fee, but will be charged the $100 page charge for proceeding manuscripts up to 4 pages in length. If a WSASAS proceedings manuscript is over 4 pages, the submitting author will be invoiced an additional $25 per page, due April 27, 2016.
The deadline for abstract submission is March 23, 2016, 11:59 pm (PST).
Any questions should be sent to Samantha Walker at [email protected] .

Have You Tried it Yet?
If you attended the 2015 JAM one of your added benefits is a 90 day free subscription to S-PAC, the largest, searchable on-line collection of animal conference proceedings in the world.  Your free subscription ends on October 10 so if you have not tried S-PAC yet, we encourage you to see for yourself why S-PAC devotees can't live without it!  Just go to http://spac.adsa.org and log in using the login and password that you used to register for JAM. If you don't remember your login and password, you may retrieve them at https://secure.fass.org/ULretrieve_login.asp. For those who have, and would like to subscribe, you can do so anytime --- just click on the subscription button and follow the directions. You will find a world of information at your fingertips and you will find it works well on your tablet or smart phone as well. If you didn't attend the JAM and receive the free subscription, there is still an easy and inexpensive way to try it out, the "5 day for $5" special found on the S-PAC homepage. 
 
Would you like to help the animal and dairy science community and attend the 2017 ADSA Annual Meeting for free?
Referrals are the most tried-and-true way businesses grow, and the same is true for FASS. Do you know a colleague working with an animal science group that is in need of high-quality, cost-effective support services? Help them out by referring them to Jamie Ritter, FASS Executive Director at [email protected] .
Help them benefit from the shared resource concept and the 264 years of collective experience the FASS staff have in working with non-profit animal science organizations. If your referral becomes a FASS customer prior to June 1, 2017, ADSA will comp your registration to the 2017 ADSA Annual Meeting that will be held June 25 to 28, 2017 in Pittsburgh, PA.  It's win-win-win. For more information about services offered by FASS, click here.
 
"Creating an Enduring U.S. Dairy Production Sector"
Have you made plans yet to attend the 30th Discover Conference "Creating an Enduring U.S. Dairy Production Sector"?  The speaker list is in place and will be a great program.  You can check out the agenda and speakers on the DC 30 website. The Conference, hosted by the American Dairy Science Association�, will be held November 2-5, 2015 at Eaglewood Resort & Spa, Itasca, IL.  On-line and or mail-in registration is available on the website.  
 


ADSA at World Dairy Expo
Thanks to all who helped at or visited the ADSA display at World Dairy Expo.  It was a great opportunity to help share the story of ADSA and what we do with others in the dairy industry.

 
Are You Part of ADSA� on Linked In
Our ADSA Linked In group continues to grow. We recently topped the 1,400 mark and now include 1,410 members from around the world, are you one of them? It's a great place to get information and network with other dairy professionals from around the world.  Check it out here.

Thanks to our Corporate Sustaining Members
                                 We appreciate your ongoing support of ADSA and the Journal of Dairy Science�.

Arm & Hammer Animal Nutrition
Elanco Animal Health
Diamond V Mills 
Kent Nutrition
Grande Cheese Co.
Kraft Foods
GEA Farm Technologies 
BioZyme Inc.
Darling International Research
Quali Tech
Zook Nutrition & Management
Zinpro
DuPont Pioneer
Zoetis
West Central
Lallemand Animal Nutrition
Ag Processing
Renaissance Nutrition
Global Agri-Trade Corp.
Masters Choice
Papillon Agricultural Co. 
Calendar of Events
Oct 6-8, 2015  NextGen Dairy Network Symposium, Cornell University. For more information, click here.
Oct 12-16, 2015 Cheese Tech Short Course, UW Madison, Babcock Hall, Room 205, For more information click here
Oct 13-15, 2015  High Temperature Short Time (HTST) Pasteurizer Workshop, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, For more information contact Steve Murphy 607-255-2893 or
Janene Lucia  607-255-2892
Oct 14-18, 2015  ADGA Annual Convention, The Riverside Hotel, Boise, ID. For more information contact American Dairy Goat Association, PO Box 865, Spindale, NC 28160, 828-286-3801 or [email protected]. www.ADGA.org.
Oct 20-21, 2015  Dairy Ingredient Applications, UW Madison, Babcock Hall, Room 205, For more information click here
Oct 20-22, 2015  Pasteurizer Operators Workshop, Penn State University, Rodney A. Erickson Food Science Building, University Park, PA, for information and registration click here
Oct 20-22, 2015  77th Annual Cornell Nutrition Conference for Feed Manufacturers*, Doubletree Hotel Syracuse, East Syracuse, NY, For more information click here
Oct 22, 2015  International Symposium on Dairy Cattle Nutrition 2015 - Nutrition and Animal Health, Wageningen, the Netherlands, For more information, click here.

Oct 22-24, 2015 Northeast Regional Dairy Challenge: hosted by Penn State University in State College, PA For more information, visit the Dairy Challenge web site
Oct. 22-28, 2015 119th IUSAHA- AAVLD Annual Meeting , Rhode Island Convention Center. Providence, RI, For more information click here
Oct 26-28, 2015  12th Anniversary of the International Symposium on Milk Genomics and Human Health, Sydney Australia, For more information click here.
Oct 28-29, 2015 Vat Pasteurization and Basic Cheese Making Workshop, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, For more information contact Rob Ralyea 607-255-7643 or Janene Lucia 607-255-2892. Click for registration.
Nov 2-5, 2015    30th Discover Conference - "Creating an Enduring U.S. Dairy Production Sector", Eaglewood Resort & Spa, Itasca, Il. For more information, click here
Nov 5-7, 2015    Cheese Grading Short Course, UW Madison, Babcock Hall, Room 205, For more information click here
Nov 5-7, 2015  21st Annual Dairy Sheep Association of North American Symposium, Madison, Wis. For more information, click here

Nov 9-11, 2015  Symposium on Gut Health in Production of Food Animals*, Kansas City, Missouri, For more information click here
Nov. 9-12, 2015  The Science and Art of Cheese Making Short Course, Penn State University, Rodney A. Erickson Food Science Bldg, University Park, PA. For more information and registration click here
Nov. 10-11, 2015  Accredited Introductory HACCP Training, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY. For more information, click here, to register click here.

Nov 11-12, 2015 PA Dairy Cattle Nutrition Workshop, For more information
click here
Nov 12-13, 2015  DCRC Annual Meeting, Adam's Mark, Buffalo, New York, For more information click here
Nov. 12-13, 2015   Implementing SQF Systems, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY. For more information click here, to register Click here.

Nov 15-17, 2015 Southern Regional Dairy Challenge: hosted by Virginia Tech in Abington, VA For more information, visit the Dairy Challenge web site
Dec 2-4, 2015   Ice Cream Makers Short Course, UW Madison, Babcock Hall, 1605 Linden Dr., Madison WI Download a copy of the brochure and register for the short course
January 18-19, 2016  Pacific Northwest Animal Nutrition Conference, The Riverside Hotel, Boise, Idaho, visit http://www.pnwanc.org for more information
Feb 17-19, 2016 Midwest Regional Dairy Challenge: hosted by UW Platteville and Southwest Technical College in Platteville, WI For more information, visit the Dairy Challenge web site
Feb 23, 2016  Vermont Dairy Producers Conference, For more information click here
Feb 25-27, 2016 Western Regional Dairy Challenge: hosted by College of the Sequoias in Tulare, CA  For more information, visit the Dairy Challenge web site
Mar. 8 - 11, 2016  34th Western Canadian Dairy Seminar*, for more information click here
Mar 14 - 16, 2016 Midwest Meeting ADSA� Midwest Branch and ASAS Midwestern Section, Des Moines, IA
April 7-9, 2016 North American Intercollegiate Dairy Challenge & Academy: hosted by the Northeast Region in Syracuse, NY For more information, visit the Dairy Challenge web site
Apr18 - 20, 2016 Tri-State Dairy Nutrition Conference, Grand Wayne Center,  Fort Wayne, IN, For more information click here
May 1-4, 2016Large Dairy Herd Management (LDHM) Conference, Chicago/Oak Brook Hills Resort and Conference Center, Oak Brook, IL, For more information click here
June 15-16, 2016  4-State Dairy Nutrition and Management Conference, Grand River Center, Dubuque, IA, contact Jim Salfer, University of Minnesota [email protected]
June 20-24, 2016 13th International Colloquium on Paratuberculosis*, Nantes, France, For more information click here
July 2-9, 2016  American Dairy Goat Association National Show, Farm Show Complex & Expo Center, Harrisburg, PA. For more information contact ADGA, PO Box 865, Spindale, NC 28160. 828-286-3801. www.ADGA.org
July 19-23, 2016  ADSA- ASAS Joint Annual Meeting (JAM)*, Salt Lake City, UT, for more information click here
July 24-28, 2016  2016 National Association of County Agricultural Agents Annual Meeting and Professional Improvement Conference (AM/PIC), Little Rock, AR. For more information, click here.

June 25-28, 2017 2017 ADSA Annual Conference and Tradeshow, Pittsburgh, PA.  For more information
click here
*An S-PAC Partner Conference
 
If your organization's conference isn't among the ever growing list that contribute proceedings and presentations to S-PAC�, ask your conference organizer to contact Ken Olson for more information about the benefits of participation.
If you would like to have an event included in the "Dates to Note," please contact Ken Olson.
ADSA Membership Benefits                                 
                                           
Did you know that your ADSA Professional Membership provides you with:

*        Electronic access to the Journal of Dairy Science�

*        Joint Annual Meeting at member rates

*        Discover Conferences at member rates

*        S-PAC: Free access to JAM and ADSA divisional abstracts

*        S-PAC subscription at member rates

*        Access to recorded symposia library                                                                       

*        ADSA News (association newsletter)

*        ADSA Dair e-news (ADSA industry newsletter)

*        Access to member directory

*        Peer recognition through ADSA and Foundation Award Program

*        Discounted page charges in Journal of Dairy Science�

*        A strong voice of advocacy for the animal sciences, animal agriculture and agriculture research

*        Broad author recognition through ADSA/Elsevier press release program

*        Linked In and You Tube sites for ADSA

*        Quality networking with academic and industry professionals

*        Travel awards for all graduate students attending Discover Conferences

*        Opportunity to serve peers via committee and officer positions

 
For more information on your benefits please visit: http://www.adsa.org/join.asp
To join now and gain these member benefits, visit: http://www.adsa.org/join.asp

American Dairy Science Association
1800 South Oak St., Suite 100, Champaign, IL 61820