Brief Summary of Minutes of Annual Meeting

• Location: University of Prince Edward Island and Hampton Inn and Suites, Prince Edwards Island, Canada
• Host: Katie Proudfoot. Chair: Albert De Vries. Secretary: Matias Aguerre
• Welcome, introductions, and agenda review: The meeting started with a general welcome to the group and a review of the agenda. Introductions were done with the whole group, which included not only NC-2042 members but also the host and invited speakers from Prince Edward Island Veterinary School.
• Administrative Update: Angelica Van Goor provided an administrative update on the reorganization of the AFRI program, as well as the staffing/hiring status at NIFA and upcoming funding opportunities.
• Minutes from the annual meeting in 2022 were approved as written.
• Kate Creutzinger has accepted the secretary position for next year’s annual meeting. The chair will be Matias Aguerre.
• Host in 2024: South Dakota has offered to be the host for next year. Marisa Rovai and Matias Aguerre will organize the 2025 meeting. The tentative dates are the 9 to the 11 of October.
• Mike Schutz academic advisor report:
  • There has been a good effort to bring more people to the group and we should encourage people who have not been coming to the meeting to attend in the future.
  • North-Central department heads/chairs suggested nominating the group for a national award.
  • Mike Schutz asked Ken Kalscheur, Albert De Vries and Pete Erickson to be part of the group in the 2-3 page nomination award package. The Award is $15,000, which will also be used for two members to attend the National meeting award. Submissions are due in February
• Annual Reports should be in by mid-December. The webpage should be in good shape by April 2025.
• The committee thanks the host for having us this year.

Multistate research project NC-2042 aims to improve calf and heifer growth, health, and welfare through enhanced nutrition, housing, and management (Objective 1). Improve dairy cow performance and welfare through enhanced forage production and utilization, nutrition, housing, and management (Objective 2). Integrate data and technology to enhance the dairy enterprise's environmental, economic, and social sustainability (Objective 3).

Objective 1.  The Pennsylvania State University recently started several projects focused on the positive impact of a forage pellet on calf health and productivity and on the impact of pneumonia on the lifetime productivity of beef on dairy cattle. The USDFRC continues its research project evaluating the effects of rearing prepubertal dairy heifers on pasture or in confinement. Several collaborative efforts are focused on improving calf and heifer management. For example, Purdue University, Pennsylvania State University and the University of Vermont are looking at cow-calf contact rearing systems and weaning practices. The University of Idaho collaborated with the University of New Hampshire to investigate specific factors that could affect colostrum yield and quality. Also, a study was conducted between the University of Idaho and Utah State University to compare the nitrogen use efficiency of Jersey and Holstein cattle. Iowa State University performed a study investigating early-life nutrition strategies' impacts on dairy calves' long-term production and beef health. The effect of a maternal bovine appeasing substance on the stress and performance of Holstein heifer dairy calves was investigated by  Texas A&M University. Louisiana State University conducted a study to evaluate a safe and effective procedure for chemical restraint during metabolic assessments to be used in dairy calves. A precision-fed dairy heifers’ study at the University of New Hampshire indicated that feeding sodium butyrate was not effective in improving growth or reducing coccidiosis.

Objective 2. Much work has been conducted on dairy cattle nutrition and management as an independent institution initiative or through collaborative work. The University of Minnesota, in collaboration with the University of New Hampshire, evaluated using Asparagopsis taxiformis to mitigate methane emissions in organic dairy cows.  Also, the University of Minnesota team conducted several trials involving the integration of solar photovoltaics and agriculture (agrivoltaics) in grazing dairy cattle production systems. The USDFRC-Madison evaluated the effects of rearing prepubertal dairy heifers on pasture or confinement on body composition and growth. They also assessed the impact of a macroalga (Gracilaria parvispora) on lactation performance and enteric methane emissions of lactating dairy cows.  Another study evaluated how dietary energy in late lactation diets influences offspring. The  University of Idaho continued its work on the Idaho Sustainable Agriculture Initiative for Dairy (ISAID) to optimize the use of N and P in dairy production. Researchers from Clemson University evaluated the use of caffeine and different fat sources on nutrient digestibility. A series of lactation studies from Iowa State evaluated the interaction between monensin and two novel rumen modifiers.  Several lactating cow trials at Virginia Tech evaluated the effect of forage passage rate and quality on animal performance and methane emission. Researchers from the University of Connecticut tested different enteric methane-mitigating feed additives under various dietary scenarios to improve our understanding of the interactions between feed additives and diets. A UC Davis project seeks to increase milk fat production by developing new additives that decrease the severity of milk fat depression. The University of New Hampshire evaluated nicotinic acid supplementation in lactating cows. Purdue University continues its work on characterizing skeletal muscle accretion and depletion across lactation.

Objective 3. Technology development and adoption continue to play an important role in several group projects. The Pennsylvania State University launched the Robotic Discussion Group extension program. Researchers from Texas A&M conducted a study measuring farmers' value for Robotic Milking systems. The University of Minnesota evaluated using a vacuum recording device to detect mastitis-related factors and somatic cell count in organic dairy herds. Clemson University continued its research on estimating forage biomass in pastures using field robotics. In collaboration with the USDFRC, researchers from Clemson University evaluated how reducing milking permissions impacted cow behavior in automatic milking systems. Perdue University evaluated the use of technology and alternative therapies in the early detection of illness in dairy calves and continues to collaborate long-term to improve video image analysis for multiple projects, including assessing diet uniformity and feed volume estimation, as well as dairy cattle appearance. Virginia Tech delivered educational workshops to farmers in collaboration with the University of Idaho. Farmers and industry personnel were educated in these workshops on using the Futures Market to hedge milk prices. The University of Florida evaluated and revised the St-Pierre et al. (2003) model for dairy cows that estimates the annual losses due to heat stress. They also work on software that calculates optimal replacement and insemination decisions for dairy heifers and cows. The University of Wisconsin-Madison continued to develop multiple projects like RUFaS systems, Dairy Brain, and Dairy Victory Platform, which use all available data streams on dairy farms to enhance decision-making through computerized decision support tools.