The objective of my total program is to enhance the productive efficiency and profitability of dairy farm businesses in New York and beyond. My major emphasis is on the portion of the lactation cycle during which cows "transition" from late pregnancy to early lactation because it is the most critical period in terms of productive efficiency, health, reproductive performance, and overall well-being of dairy cattle. Substantial economic losses to the dairy industry occur as a result of compromised production, increased veterinary costs and culling, and delayed reproductive performance as a result of suboptimal transitions to lactation. The metabolic underpinnings of this transition are not well understood, and the dairy industry needs further insight into nutritional and managerial strategies to optimize productivity and health of cows during the transition period.
The long-term goal of my research program is to enhance our understanding of these critical metabolic adaptations that must occur if cows are to successfully transition to lactation and to develop nutritional and managerial strategies that can be applied within the dairy industry to improve animal well-being and the profitability of dairy farm businesses. This research program provides the foundation for my extension program, which topically is oriented toward nutrition and management of dairy cows during this timeframe in the lactation cycle. The major programmatic emphasis of my extension program is to deliver these programs to agriservice professionals, dairy farm owners, and dairy farm employees in New York. In addition, I provide primary leadership to short courses in dairy nutrition for agriservice professionals and to major outreach efforts focused toward dairy farm owners and employees in conjunction with our PRO-DAIRY program.
Finally, as Director of the PRO-DAIRY program at Cornell, I provide leadership within both statewide and regional efforts (NY Center for Dairy Excellence, Northwest NY Regional Dairy, Field Crops, and Livestock team of Cornell Cooperative Extension) to positively impact the dairy industry in our rural NY communities.