Effective tweets can advance research

Many science researchers struggle with translating their research findings to legislative policies and health practices, causing the majority of new findings to remain largely inside the scientific community.

With more than 300 million monthly users, Twitter's success has piqued the interests of many science researchers as a possible tool to publicize new research findings. In a recent study, University of Missouri researchers have examined the usefulness of Twitter and developed tips for the scientific community on how to use the social media tool to advance their research from the lab to the hands of health policymakers.

"Twitter is a venue with the potential to help scientists circulate health-related research to policymakers," said Dr. Julie Kapp, an associate professor in the department of health management and informatics at the University of Missouri School of Medicine and lead author of the study. "However, before encouraging researchers to flood Twitter with hashtags and tweets, it's best to develop an evidence-based approach to tweeting that leverages key people and moments."

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USDA proposes updates to brucellosis, TB program
The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Animal & Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) announced Dec. 11 that it is proposing to update its brucellosis and bovine tuberculosis (TB) program regulations.

The changes outlined in the proposed rule were developed over several years of close collaboration between APHIS and its state, tribal and industry partners. They will allow the brucellosis and TB programs to be most effective at protecting animal health today and into the future.

Under the proposed rule, states and tribal nations would no longer be categorized by the disease prevalence in their state, and APHIS would no longer rely solely on whole-herd depopulation, the announcement said.

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NASS comes under fire from House Ag Committee

Should farmers be asked about how much they give to charitable organizations? Or to rank on a scale how they access their risk taking tendencies? Members of the House Agriculture Committee think these questions and others included in the census of agriculture survey are an intrusion of the government and lead to lower response rates from farmers.

Joseph Reilly, administrator of U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Agriculture Statistics Service came under fire Wednesday during a House Agriculture subcommittee hearing.

The Census of Agriculture, which is conducted every five years, is an important tool used by economists; state, local, and federal policy-makers; financial analysts; and farmers themselves. However, in January 2015, the Agriculture Committee received correspondence from farmers and ranchers concerned that the USDA's National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) improperly used the Census of Agriculture authority to conduct a mandatory survey entitled Tenure, Ownership, and Transition of Agricultural Land (TOTAL). The TOTAL survey inquired about all aspects of an operator's personal financial portfolio as well as all aspects of farm related income and expenses.

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AMS provides further clarity on process verified program

Product labeling is a contract of trust between consumers and producers, according to Dr. Craig Morris, deputy administrator of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) Livestock, Poultry and Seed Program.

"We recognize that there must be transparency and accountability before there can be public trust and understanding of product labels," he said in a blog posting.

Although AMS does not approve many product labels directly, it does provide a service where AMS auditors provide an objective, third-party verification on any food product that a company's labeling claims are backed by plain language standards.

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ADSA News and Happenings
A New Look for JDS
Beginning with the January 2016 issue the Journal of Dairy Science® will move from four sections to six subsections in dairy foods and six subsections in dairy production to further distinguish content.
The Journal of Dairy Science had used the previous sections for a quarter century, but Editor-in-Chief Matt Lucy (University of Missouri) felt those headings had outlived their usefulness, necessitating change.
"When I came on as editor-in-chief we struggled to fit our content into the traditional journal sections established over 25 years ago. I felt that the problem was that the dairy industry had changed but the sections in the journal had stayed the same," Lucy said. "So we looked at our content and thought about the future to develop new sections that hopefully will serve us for the next 25 years. The new sections are aligned with what we currently publish and are also designed to capture important topics that we think will be actively researched in the future."  (More)
 
Help the ADSA Foundation and Lower Your Taxes
As the tax year draws to a close, now is the time to make that donation to the ADSA Foundation!  In case you are not familiar with it, "the ADSA Foundation pledges to contribute to the welfare of people worldwide by furthering the acquisition and dissemination of scientific knowledge and accurate information and to support and enhance educational programs of ADSA and the dairy industry as a whole." You can learn more about it on the Foundation page. If you didn't get around to contributing to the ADSA Annual Giving campaign this past summer, now is your chance. A contribution at any level is appreciated. You can donate to one or more of the nine funds online with a credit card quickly and easily by clicking here. Or, print the pdf form and mail a check to ADSA Headquarters.
Please take a minute to help the Foundation support educational programs and students!
 
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 full 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.
 
ADSA
® Asks:  Did you Know About e-membership?
We are pleased to have over11,200 regular readers of the ADSA Dair-e-News. We do appreciate each of you and "Thank You" for your interest and support.  If you are one of our many international readers, e-membership may be the thing for you.  ADSA® offers e-membership to individuals who reside outside of the US and Canada as well as through our ADSA Global Partner organizations. "e-membership" was designed for individuals who have an interest in dairy science, but who may not have the time or budget to attend ADSA's annual meeting, or cost-justify full membership in ADSA due to a different area of specialization.
e-Membership is available at half the cost (USD 55) of ADSA professional membership.  As an ADSA e-Member you will receive:
  • Electronic access to the Journal of Dairy Science®, (and a paper copy, if desired, for an additional fee);
  • Access to a treasure trove of over 60 synchronized symposia recordings from 2003-2013 Joint Annual Meetings are currently available, with more added every year;
  • Access to searchable Joint Annual Meeting abstracts for 1998-2014, with more added each year, plus ADSA annual meeting abstracts from 1935-1997, as well as ADSA divisional meeting abstracts;
  • The opportunity to subscribe to S-PAC® (Searchable Proceedings of Animal Conferences) at the ADSA member rate, where you currently have access to 533 proceedings from 57 conferences from around the world plus the "Large Dairy Herd Management" textbook.
If an e-Member elects to attend theADSA annual meeting, or an ADSA Discover Conference, they can simply pay additional dues of $55 (to reach the full professional member dues level and they are then eligible to pay the ADSA member registration rate for the meeting. ADSA e-Members are not eligible for ADSA member page charge rates and are not eligible to run for ADSA board positions, or vote in ADSA elections.  Becoming an ADSA e-Member is accomplished online and the membership year runs for 365 days from date of sign-up.
If you reside outside of the US or Canada, you can become an e-member by clicking here, or if you are a member of one of the following ADSA Global Partners, and have the partner code provided to that organization, you can become an e-member by clicking here.  If you do not have the partner code, please contact your headquarters staff to obtain it.
ADSA Global Partners
American Association of Bovine Practitioners
American Cheese Society
Asociacion Latinoamericana de Produccion Animal
Dairy Association of China
Dairy Industry Association of Australia
The New Zealand Institute of Food Science and Technology
Ontario Association of Bovine Practitioners
We hope this special form of membership will enable many more professionals with an interest in dairy science from all corners of the world to join our global knowledge transfer community.
Thank you for being a member of ADSA!  We look forward to your continued membership through the coming year If you are not yet a member, now is a great time to join and begin gaining all the benefits of membership.  Click here to join or
 
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.
 
Are You Part of ADSA® on Linked In
Our ADSA Linked In group continues to grow. We now include 1,462 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
Dec 15, 2015  Using Social Media to Deliver Extension - Webinar with Dr. Alison Van Eenennaam. For more information and to register click here
Jan 12, 2016   Cornell University - Vat Pasteurization Workshopj, Sohha Savory Yogurt, Astoria, NY. For more information contact Rob Ralyea 607-255-7643 or Louise Felker 607-255-7098. Click here for registration.
Feb 16-18, 2016  Preventive Controls Qualified Individual Training - Preventive Controls for Human Food, Stocking Hall Conference Center, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY. For more information contact: Kim Bukowski. 607-254-3313, Louise Felker 607-254-7098.

Jan 18-19, 2016  Pacific Northwest Animal Nutrition Conference, The Riverside Hotel, Boise, Idaho, visit http://www.pnwanc.org for more information

Jan 19, 2016  Hyperketonemia Treatment at the Individual cow and herd level - webinar with Dr. Jessica McArt, Cornell University. For more information and to register, click here.
Feb 15-17, 2016  Florida Ruminant Nutrition Symposium*, Gainesville, FL. For more information, click here.

Feb 17-19, 2016  VSFA Convention and VT DASC "Cow College"*, Roanoke, VA. For more information, click here

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 17-19, 2016  2016 Southwest Nutrition Conference. Tempe Mission Palms Hotel & Conference Center, Tempe, AZ. For more information, click here.

Feb 23, 2016  Vermont Dairy Producers Conference, For more information click here 
Feb 23-24, 2016   Specialty Cheese Course, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY. For more information contact: Kim Bukowski. 607-254-3313, Louise Felker 607-254-7098.
Feb 25-26, 2016   USDA Ag Outlook Conference - Transforming Agriculture: Blending Technology and Tradition, Crystal Gateway Marriott Hotel, Arlington, VA for information about the form and to register, go to www.usda.gov/oce/forum/
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 3-8, 2016  World Buiatrics Congress 2016, Convention Centre Dublin, Ireland. For more information, click here.

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.

Nov 1-4, 2016  31st ADSA Discover Conference: Big Data Dairy Mangement, Chicago/Oak Brook Hills Resort & Conference Center, Oak Brook, IL. 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