Ag industry 'woefully underprepared' for next big threat

Since the events of 2001, the agricultural sector has made great strides in preparing for challenges posed by a natural or intentional introduction of a biological event. But animal agriculture needs to more closely integrate with the public health sector as the nation is still "woefully underprepared" for the next big threat, according to Dr. Tammy Beckham. 

Testifying before a House Agriculture subcommittee Nov. 3, Beckham, dean of the college of veterinary medicine at Kansas State University, said as demonstrated recently during the porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDV) in swine herds, highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in poultry populations and last the Ebola virus (EBOV) disease in the public health sector, the approach has been mostly reactive and less proactive when it comes to preparing for the next emerging threat.

 
Moving manure beyond drug-resistant bacteria

Manure management is serious business since a single cow, depending on its size, can generate between 43 and 120 lb. of manure each day.

Cow manure can be a low-cost fertilizer for farmers' crops, but manure can also host antimicrobial resistant bacteria.  Most bacteria are harmless. However, pathogens that can originate from cattle manure include Escherichia coli, salmonella and yersinia.  Tim McAllister, a principal research scientist in ruminant microbiology and nutrition at the Agriculture & Agri-Food Canada Lethbridge Research Centre in Alberta, and his colleagues have been testing creative ways to target antimicrobial resistance genes in manure.

Read more
USDA vet loan repayment program awards $4.5m

The U.S. Department of Agriculture today awarded more than $4.5 million to 49 American veterinarians to help repay a portion of their veterinary school loans in return for serving in areas lacking sufficient veterinary resources. 

The awards, made through the Veterinary Medicine Loan Repayment Program (VMLRP) administered by USDA's National Institute of Food & Agriculture, will help fill shortages in 26 states.  "Rural America is challenged with recruiting veterinarians," USDA chief veterinary officer Dr. John Clifford said. "These professionals often face high student loan debt, leading them to work in locations with larger populations and higher pay. This program offers loan-repayment assistance to veterinarians, allowing them to fill shortages and work in rural areas, ultimately improving the well-being of livestock and providing an abundant and safe food supply for America." 

Studies have indicated that there are shortages of food animal veterinarians in certain areas of the country, and in high-priority specialty sectors that require advanced training, such as food safety, epidemiology, diagnostic medicine and public health. A leading cause for this shortage is the heavy cost of four years of professional veterinary medical training which leaves current graduates of veterinary colleges with a mean debt burden of $135,283.

Read more
Ag begins to examine newly-released TPP 

Thursday the U.S. Trade Representative Office officially released the full text of the negotiated free trade agreement between the United States and 11 Asian Pacific nations.

Although many details of the agreement had been released, the real test comes as stakeholders must now determine whether the overall deal should be supported. 

In announcing the text release, USTR ambassador Michael Froman said the ultimate decision as to whether the United States leads on trade remains with America's elected representatives. "We'll continue to work closely with Congress and all stakeholders to ensure this agreement can begin delivering on its promise as soon as possible." 

The text includes annexes on the exclusions to rules secured by each country, bilateral deals with Japan, and more than 50 two-way agreements between the U.S. and other TPP countries covering hundreds of topics and products.

Read more
ADSA News and Happenings
LDHM Conference Registration is Open
Registration is now open for the Large Dairy Herd Management conference to be held May 1-4, 2016 at the Hilton Oak Brook Hills Resort and Conference Center in Oak Brook, IL.  This conference is designed to provide an opportunity for authors to obtain feedback on the chapter papers developed for the Large Dairy Herd Management e-Book. The program will be designed so attendees can participate in the sessions of most interest to them. It includes 96 sessions that are organized around the 15 e-Book sections. For a fill list of topics and editors visit the conference website.  Key stakeholders in the international dairy science community will want to be a part of the conversation about the above topics that impact large dairy herd management. This includes but is not limited to dairy extension specialists, researchers, dairy educators, consultants, allied industry representatives, and dairy producers. A range of sponsorship opportunities are available as well. 
 
Have you Renewed (or Joined)
It's that time of year again for renewing your membership to ADSA.  The LDHM Conference highlighted above is one of the many benefits of ADSA membership.  ADSA-ARPAS members receive a $100 discount for the meeting registration.  This almost covers your full professional member dues for the year and you get all the member benefits in addition for the full calendar year.  If you aren't already a member why not join and take advantage of all the member benefits.  In order to serve our members more efficiently, we continue to offer online dues renewal.
 
ADSA Joins in support of Dual Purpose with Dual Benefit program
ADSA joined with other societies in expressing our strong support for the Dual Purpose with Dual Benefit: Research in Biomedicine and Agriculture Using Agriculturally Important Domestic Species (R01) program that is jointly administered by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA). This program provides an important mechanism for NIH and NIFA to work together to support research on agriculturally important domestic species to improve human health through the advancement of basic and translational research deemed highly relevant to both agricultural and biomedical research.
The full text of the letter is available in the Science Policy section of our website.
 
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 jamier@assochq.org .
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.
 
109 Students from 12 Colleges Participated in 13th Annual Northeast Regional Dairy Challenge®
STATE COLLEGE, PA. - Penn State University hosted a successful Northeast Regional Dairy Challenge that drew 109 students from 10 northeastern U.S. and two Canadian universities to State College, Pennsylvania, October 22 -24, 2015. This event marked the 13th annual Northeast Regional Dairy Challenge which is an innovative, three-day educational competition designed to prepare students for careers in the dairy industry.
Working in mixed-university teams of four or five students, contestants assessed all aspects of a working dairy farm, including facilities, nutrition, financials, reproduction, animal health and much more. Students collaborated on a 20-minute team presentation that detailed their observations and suggestions to a panel of judges and participating farm families. Teams were ranked based on how well their evaluations matched the judges' assessment of the dairy operation. The objective of Dairy Challenge is to create a real-life situation that stresses the importance of teamwork and professionalism. Industry chair Suzanne Demeester of Novus International, Inc. explained, "Not only does the Dairy Challenge teach technical knowledge, it excels in helping students develop people skills."
First place teams, which were named after top sponsors of the Northeast Regional Dairy Challenge, included: Holtz-Nelson Dairy Consultants, LLC, Semex and Merck Animal Health.
The 2016 Northeast Regional Dairy Challenge will be hosted by SUNY Cobleskill. For more information about next year's contest, please contact Kim Tarvis at tarviskm@cobleskill.edu. To become a sponsor, contact Jan Bitter of Farm Credit East at 800-392-3276 or jan.bitter@farmcrediteast.com. All contributions are tax deductible to the full extent of the law. Contributing sponsor listings are available atwww.dairychallenge.org.
 
Using Social Media to Deliver Extension
The use of social media in public engagement and extension is a relatively new phenomenon, and many scientists are cautious about using it professionally. Dr. Alison Van Eenennaam will join us for a DAIReXNET webinar on December 15th to discuss the prevalence of social media in extension work, how she and her colleagues at UC Davis have used it, and some of the potential risks and pitfalls of using various platforms. For information on attending, please see the upcoming webinars page.
 
Are You Part of ADSA® on Linked In
Our ADSA Linked In group continues to grow. We now include 1,439 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.
Nutriad 
Calendar of Events
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
Nov 30, 2015   10 a.m. EST "Listeria Environmental Sampling in the Dairy Industry Webinar". Sponsored by Cornell University Dairy Foods Extension. To join, visit Join WebEx Meeting, Meeting Numer: 645 838 251, meeting passwordL cMBtHmu7

Dec. 1-2, 2015  Food Safety Plans for Artisan Food Processors, Crowne Plaza, White Plains, NY. For more information and to register click here.

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 salfe001@umn.edu
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.

Oct. 20-26, 2016  120th IUSAHA-AAVLD Annual Meeting, Greensboro Sheraton Hotel, Greensboro, NC. 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
Email: adsa@assochg.org