Jersey annual meeting speakers discuss sustainability, genomics

Reynoldsburg, Ohio —Leading experts from the fields of dairy sustainability, genomics and veterinary medicine will share their knowledge and insights at the upcoming annual meetings of the American Jersey Cattle Association (AJCA) and National All-Jersey Inc. (NAJ).

The meetings run from June 22 to 25, 2011 at the Kalahari Waterpark and Convention Center in Wisconsin Dells, Wis.

The co-author of groundbreaking Jersey sustainability research presented at last July’s animal science meetings in Denver, Colo., will address the NAJ Annual Meeting on Saturday, June 25.

Dr. Jude Capper, assistant professor at Washington State University, will report findings from the life-cycle assessment conducted with Dr. Roger Cady, Elanco Animal Health. “Not only does the Jersey population conserve finite resources needed for cheese production,” Capper observed, “the total environmental impact is lower.” Per unit of Cheddar cheese manufactured, Capper and Cady determined that the Jersey carbon footprint (total CO₂-equivalents) is 20% less than that of Holsteins.

Born in the United Kingdom, Dr. Capper completed undergraduate and graduate degrees at Harper Adams University College where her post-graduate research focused on the relationship between ruminant nutrition and neonatal behavior. Following a two-year lectureship in animal biology at the University of Worcester (UK), her post-doctoral research at Cornell University focused on two areas: ruminant lipid metabolism, and modeling the environmental impact of dairy production.

She was a featured speaker at the 19th International Conference of the World Jersey Cattle Bureau in Hamilton, New Zealand.

Wednesday Seminars
Two seminars will open the AJCA-NAJ annual meeting schedule on Wednesday, June 22, starting at 4:00 p.m.

Dr. Katie Olson will take the audience behind the scenes at the Animal Improvement Programs Laboratory to discuss some of the new directions being taken in dairy cattle genomics research. This program will be broadcast live as part of the ongoing webinar series, “This Month in Jersey Genomics.”

Dr. Olson is a research associate with the National Association of Animal Breeders. She earned her Ph.D. in 2008 from Virginia Tech analyzing across-breed differences in energy balance, health traits and calving traits. Post-doctoral work at AIPL focused on using across-breed SNPs genotypes to estimate genomic PTAs. More recent work has explored genomic inbreeding, the impact of including foreign data in genomic evaluations, and changes in the use of young bulls.

In addition to peer-reviewed scientific publications, Dr. Olson has written about genomic testing for Hoard’s Dairyman.

The issue of dairy drug residues has been top-of-mind for producers these past few months, prompted by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration’s plans to increase monitoring. David Rhoda, D.V.M., will provide a practical perspective on issues and corrective strategies.

Dr. Rhoda was honored as Bovine Practitioner of the Year in 2004 by the American Association of Bovine Practitioners for his work on the “best practices” task force for the Wisconsin Veterinary Medicine Association and efforts to enact the Animal Medical Drug Usage Clarification Act (AMDUCA).

“The objective is to accomplish the letter of the law for drug use through programs that champion cow welfare while maintaining a viable business arrangement between the practicing veterinarian and the dairy. Continuing education on the dairy drug residue issue focuses on what created the current situation and then details strategies to correct these issues that involve changing our mind-set on drug usage.”

Dr. Rhoda was raised on a dairy and swine farm near Chenoa, Ill. After graduating from the University of Illinois Veterinary College in 1966, he served in the U.S. Army until 1969 then joined a four-person dairy practice in Evansville, Wis. He retired from Evansville Veterinary Service, S. C. in the fall of 2006. He remains active in writing the monthly “Cowside Practice” column in Hoard’s Dairyman and lecturing for veterinary professionals and milk producers.

The American Jersey Cattle Association was organized in 1868 to improve and promote the Jersey breed. Since 1957, National All-Jersey Inc. has served Jersey owners by promoting the increased production and sale of Jersey milk and milk products.

The complete schedule of events for the 2011 AJCA-NAJ Annual Meetings is available online at www.usjersey.com. For more information on these programs, contact Dr. Cherie L. Bayer, Director of Development, at 614/322-4456 or email cbayer@usjersey.com.