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ARS Home Midwest Area Madison, Wisconsin U.S. Dairy Forage Research Center Archives





**Archived Presentations** This page provides an archive of presentations made by USDFRC scientists and staff. Most of these presentations are as part of the Center’s Webinar Series, which is livestreamed at 3 p.m. CT on the first Wednesday of each month. Contact us to receive notification about upcoming seminars. **2021** **Microbial communities associated with worms composting dairy wastewater and finding the genetic basis of lameness in Holstein cattle****Dr. Ellen Lai , Computational Geneticist****December 15, 2021** Ellen recently joined the Dairy Forage Research Center team under Dr. Wenli Li as a computational geneticist, so as an introduction to the rest of the team, she will give an overview of her graduate research from the University of California, Davis. She will first present her MS work on the effect of worm composting on the microbial communities and gaseous emissions from dairy wastewater, followed by her PhD work on identifying loci associated with lameness in Holstein cattle.  **Sustainability of the dairy sector: Challenges and opportunities****Dr. Michel Wattiaux, Interim Director of the Center for Integrated Agricultural Systems (CIAS) of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences-University of Wisconsin-Madison****November 17, 2021** Sustainability of the dairy sector involves more that addressing a series of distinct economic, environmental, and social science issues. As the reductionist framework to address sustainability issues is fraught with assumptions and biases, cross-discipline collaborations are urgently needed. In this presentation, Michel will suggest that trans-disciplinarity framed by the 10 agroecological elements and the 17 Sustainable Development Goals provide the expanded paradigm necessary for systemic and participatory research in sustainability. The challenges are numerous and enormous, but examples will be provided on how recasting our thinking about carbon losses and nitrogen inefficiencies could transform the dairy sector to better serve the needs of farmers and consumers in the US, and around the world ... more sustainably!  **Water footprint, herbage, and livestock responses for Nitrogen-fertilized grass and grass-legume grazing systems****Dr. David M. Jaramillo, Research Animal Scientist****November 3, 2021** Developing sustainable forage-based livestock systems is imperative for minimizing the environmental impact of livestock production. Replacing N-fertilizers with forage legumes can increase sustainability, while providing several ecosystem services in grazing operations. Results related to herbage and animal responses, as well as the quantification of water footprint associated with beef production in N-fertilized grass or grass-legume systems in Florida will be summarized.  **Dietary crude protein level and plasma amino acid profile: Importance in cow performance and nitrogen use efficiency****Dr. Paulina Letelier, Research Assistant and PhD candidate, UW-Wisconsin Animal and Dairy Sciences****September 15, 2021** Excessive dietary crude protein, an imbalance of dietary amino acids, or both may result in reduced nitrogen use efficiency and high nitrogen losses which negatively affect farm economics and the environment. Avoiding overfeeding expensive dietary crude protein and balancing for amino acids in the ration of dairy cows may improve the profitability and sustainability of the dairy industry. Furthermore, targeting dietary protein or amino acids based on requirement across the lactation cycle may be beneficial. Research on how the dietary crude protein affects cow performance and nitrogen use efficiency throughout the lactation cycle and the association between plasma amino acid profile and cow performance will be summarized.  **15 Years of Cereal-Grain Forage Research at Marshfield****Dr. Wayne K. Coblentz, Research Leader (former)****September 1, 2021** The use of cereal-grain forages in livestock operations is longstanding, buthas increased substantially in recent years. In part, this has occurred in response to environmental concerns, but also can be a routine part of overall forage programs for livestock operations. Many factors, such as vernalization, growth characteristics, and maturity rates can vary substantially, both within and across species. These considerations greatly affect nutritive value, butcan also be manipulated to best fill the forage inventory and nutritional requirements of livestock operations. Unlike most perennial grasses, the effects of dilution associated with the accumulation of sugar in response to some cold events, as well as grain fill, further complicate management decisions. This presentation provides an overview of 15 years of cereal-grain forage research, conducted (mostly) in Marshfield, WI, and describes both opportunities and cautions for use of these forages in forage-livestock operations.  **The impact of incomplete milking on mammary gland transcriptome changes under 3×milking frequency****Dr. Wenli Li, Research Animal Geneticist****August 18, 2021** Increased milking frequency (3x vs. 2x per day) and incomplete milking (IM) have differential effects on milk yield and mammary gland physiology. In our previous work, we have demonstrated that cows milked 3x tended to have increased milk production rate (MPR) and significantly increased milk fat percent compared with the cows milked 2x daily. Additionally, IM has significantly negative impacts on milk production (70% vs. 100% milking). However, the underlying molecular mechanisms remain uncharacterized. Our main objective is to study the impacts of IM on the mammary gland transcriptome profile in cows milked 3x daily and build on what we have learned about CM and IM at 2x milking.  **Rethinking Methane: Animal Agriculture’s Path to Net Zero Warming****Dr. Frank Mitloehner, Professor and Air Quality Extension Specialist****August 4, 2021** Animal agriculture is often shouldered with a large part of the blame when it comes to climate change, and that’s in part to the fact that we haven’t been looking at how different greenhouse gases warm our climate. While methane –the main greenhouse gas associated with animal agriculture –is a potent climate pollutant that we can and need to reduce, it warms our atmosphere differently than other gases because of its short lifespan. Methane persists in our atmosphere for about a dozen years before it’s broken down via oxidation, and it’s that atmospheric removal that is often neglected when trying to characterize methane’s warming impact. Furthermore, if we can reduce methane emissions to the point where more is being broken down in the atmosphere than is being emitted, we’ll see animal agriculture go from being blamed for climate change to being recognized as a major climate solution. By rethinking methane, we can see that animal agriculture’s path to net zero warming is within reach as scalable solutions offer the global community tools to fight global climate change.  **Biological activity of condensed tannins and their impact on ruminant health, nutrition, and farm sustainability****Dr. Wayne Zeller, Research Chemist****July 7, 2021** The presentation will briefly review the topics covered in the May 19thwebinar (Condensed tannins: Challenges in structure and forage content determinations) and then cover the use of condensed tannins to improve nitrogen use efficiency, use as anthelminthics, in greenhouse gas mitigation and the prevention of bloat.  **Pioneering Dairy Research Opportunities at UW-Platteville****Dr. Ryan Pralle, Assistant Professor, UW-Platteville****June 16, 2021** The state of Wisconsin is re-investing in dairy science research at its major agricultural campuses through a state initiative, the Dairy Innovation Hub. Dr. Ryan Pralle is an Assistant Professor hired as a part of this effort at UW-Platteville. He will introduce UW-Platteville and its animal facility, Pioneer Farms. Also, Ryan will discuss the ongoing dairy-related research and capacity building efforts at the institution.  **Production and metabolite effects of canola meal supplementation during the transition period and early lactation in Holstein dairy cows****Jordan Kuehnl, Graduate Student, Univ. of Wisconsin-Madison****June 2, 2021** This webinar will explore canola meal versus soybean meal supplementation in isonitrogenous diets fed to Holstein dairy cows during the 3 weeks leading up to calving and the 16 weeks after calving. Temporal data will be presented on production parameters and the plasma metabolites related to production.  **Condensed tannins: challenges in structure and content determination in forages****Dr. Wayne Zeller, Research Chemist****May 19, 2021** The presentation will discuss the structural diversity of condensed tannins (CTs) present in plant materials and enable the audience to appreciate that not all CTs are the same. Examples of how CT structural diversity affects the interaction of CTs with proteins will be provided. Description of the hurdles in obtaining highly pure and well-characterized CTs from natural sources will be discussed. The reasons why these purified CTs are necessary for studies to determine CT content in plant materials and in attempts to elucidate how CTs impart their biological effect will be provided. We will then briefly describe the analytical methods used in CT structural and forage content determinations. Lastly, we will discuss our efforts to establish a universal CT nomenclature scheme to efficiently capture the structural diversity of CTs.  **Grassland 2.0: Can we design and promote agriculture that cares for people?****Dr. Randy Jackson, Professor, Univ. of Wisconsin-Madison****May 5, 2021** Grassland 2.0 is a USDA-funded project whose goal is developing an agroecological transformation plan for livestock agriculture of the North Central US. The proposed transformation focuses on systems --shaped in the image of the tallgrass prairie --that provide for our wants and needs while building soil, closing nutrient cycles, and promoting biodiversity. We suggest that our wants and needs include a distributed farm scape of profitable, diverse farms that support thriving, vital rural communities and economies, while promoting soil health, cleaning water, reducing floods, and supporting game, wildlife, and other recreation.  **Can certain hybrid traits and fertilizer management improve corn silage yield when intercropped with alfalfa****Dr. Swetabh Patel, ORISE postdoc****April 21, 2021** Interseeding alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) with conventional corn (Zeamays L.) silage production has the potential to improve overall profitability and environmental sustainability of forage production on dairy farms. Establishing alfalfa in corn can help jump-start alfalfa into full production the following year. However, intercropped alfalfa will likely compete with corn for nutrients, water, and other resources and may decrease corn silage yield. Identifying certain corn hybrid traits that can be related to improved silage yield and managing fertilizer application may be the answer to alleviate the decrease in corn silage yield when intercropped with alfalfa.  **Advancing and recalculating some concepts of fiber composition and digestion****Dr. Gonzalo Ferreira, Assoc. Prof, VA Tech Dairy Science****April 7, 2021** The concentration of cell walls (or fiber) in plant tissues is a major determinant of forage digestibility. While leaves are known for having less fiber than stems in various species, current research from our laboratory shows this is not true for many species, especially those used for feeding dairy cattle. This research also attempts to explain differences of undegradable neutral detergent fiber (uNDF) concentration among forages. **Field-to-stream nutrient management****Dr. Eric Young, Research Soil Scientist****March 17, 2021** Farm profitability and environmental performance are closely tied to dairy nutrient management systems. Directing the amount, form, timing, and physical placement of fertilizer and manures in relation to site-specific crop, soil and weather conditions helps optimize crop nutrient uptake and mitigate losses. Nutrient availability from manure strongly depends on application methods and timing in relation to soil and weather conditions. The webinar will highlight soil nutrient management practices in dairy systems aimed at increasing crop nutrient use efficiency while mitigating nutrient transport in runoff flows and losses to the atmosphere. **It's Just Grass, Isn't ItDr. Michael Casler, Research Geneticist****March 3, 2021** In 45 years of working on perennial grasses, I've (hopefully) learned some lessons about setting research goals, priorities, and methods, the most important of which are: (1) trust your instincts, (2) avoid dogmatic thoughts, even if they are your own, and (3) don't be afraid to fail (just don't fail all the time, which would severely undermine your self-confidence). I plan to tell three grass biodiversity stories that help to drive home these three lessons. All three stories contain elements of both success and failure. Occasional failures were important in making me a better researcher. As Friedrich Nietzsche pointed out, "That which does not kill us makes us stronger." As I reflect upon 45 years of grass biodiversity research, I am thankful for the colleagues and friends who have influenced my career and helped to make it thoroughly rewarding and enjoyable. **Using snapshots to create the bigger picture****Dr. Jen McClure, Biological Sciences Technician****Feb. 17, 2021** The rumen microbiome is a unique habitat filled with complex microbes working in collaboration to turn forage into meat and milk. These microbes influence feed efficiency, methane emissions, animal health, and milk components. Much of this research has been done on a small scale using canulated cows or collecting samples via stomach tubing. These procedures limit the number of animals that can be collected from and are invasive and thus not ideal for commercial application. Recently we investigated the possibility of using buccal swabs as a proxy for exploring the cattle microbiome and have found that this method allows for more animals to be sampled and has potential to act as diagnostic tool in the future. **Alfalfa establishment in high yielding silage corn****Dr. John Grabber, Research Agronomist****Feb. 3, 2021** Alfalfa and corn silage are often grown in rotation to provide forage for dairy cattle and other livestock, but the performance of this system is hampered by low establishment year yields of alfalfa and excessive loss of soil and nutrients during corn silage production. This presentation will describe how establishment of alfalfa by interseeding into corn has the potential to double first year yields of alfalfa, increase overall forage production and profitability of corn silage-alfalfa rotations, and decrease soil and nutrient loss from cropland. Key management practices for successfully establishing alfalfa in corn silage will be reviewed. Ongoing needs for research to further refine this production system for on farm use will also be discussed. **Research updates with baled silages****Dr. Wayne Coblentz, Supervisory Research Dairy Scientist****Jan. 20, 2021** Baled silage has increased substantially in popularity over the last quarter-century, and is especially popular among small and/or mid-sized forage and livestock producers. There are many reasons for this popularity, but the primary reasons include the ability to utilize much of the same equipment needed to conserve dry hay, as well as a reduced risk of rain damage to valuable forage crops. Most management principles for baled silages are similar to those often recommended for precision-chopped silages, but the fermentation of baled silages is inherently restricted compared to chopped silages. Fermentation is restricted by reduced moisture concentrations, less accessibility of sugars to bacteria responsible for fermentation, and generally less dry matter density within the silage. Specific research updates within this presentation include: i) moisture management - dry silages; ii) moisture management -wet silages; iii) effects of manure application on silage fermentation; iv) bale cutting/slicing mechanisms; v) effects of delayed wrapping; vi) fermentation in cold weather; and vii) aerobic stability. Baled silage techniques are applicable in many production situations, and this form of forage conservation will likely remain popular indefinitely. **Holstein and Jersey nutritional efficiency: Where have we been, where are we going, and does breed matter****Dr. Geoff Zanton**, **Research Animal Scientist****Jan. 6, 2021** Historically, the U. S. had a diverse population of dairy breeds, but market and other factors have led to a consolidation around Holstein genetics. Recently, the national Jersey herd has been expanding as farmers look for advantages in reproduction, milk components, and feed efficiency. Due to readily observable differences in traits such as body size and milk components, Jersey cows are perceived to be more efficient that Holstein cows. However, the experimental evidence for this perception is currently equivocal. Research evaluating nutritional and efficiency responses in Holstein and Jersey cows will be summarized and some underexplored areas for future research will be highlighted. **2020** **Cows, People, and Groundwater QualityDr. Mark Borchardt, Research Microbiologist****Dec. 16, 2020** Wells that supply drinking water to rural households are subject to the principle of “tragedy of an open access resource”. A household owns and maintains the well infrastructure, but they do not own the groundwater or control its quality as this resource has “open access”. This problem and the tensions it can bring are apparent in several regions of Wisconsin where agricultural production and exurban development are juxtaposed. Our research team investigated well water quality of rural households in two studies, one in the northeast and the other in southwest Wisconsin (aka the SWIGG Study). We assessed the extent of well contamination by nitrate and conventional microbial indicators of water sanitary quality.  Detection of specific microbes found only in human wastewater or livestock manure allowed us to determine sources of fecal contamination. Lastly, we combined Geographic Information System (GIS) data with statistical modeling to identify risk factors for well contamination, for example, the proximity of manure storage. Understanding the “what, where, and how” of rural well contamination in Wisconsin presents opportunities for improving groundwater quality to the benefit of farmers and rural households alike. **Cover crop variety performance: forage quality, yield, and winter survivalDr. Lisa Kissing Kucek****, Plant Research Geneticist****Dec. 2, 2020** Selecting appropriate cover crop varieties can maximize benefits to growers and the environment. However, little is known about cover crop variety performance across the United States. At dozens of environments nationwide, we evaluated varieties of hairy vetch, crimson clover, and winter pea. Results show differences in variety performance for winter survival, forage quality, fall and spring vigor, biomass, and flowering time. Top-performing varieties differed by region and year. Varieties that excelled in warm winter conditions underperformed when exposed to cold winters. **Big data from small cells: Metagenome assembly of ruminant microbial communities****Dr. Derek Bickhart, Research Microbiologist****Nov. 18, 2020****** The famous dairyman, W.D. Hoard, was paraphrased in a 1918 edition of “Hoard’s Dairyman” as saying that the inside of a dairy cow was the darkest place on earth. Over one hundred years since that quote, the microbial populations of the ruminant gastrointestinal tract remain largely unclassified and functionally mysterious. We have made many critical discoveries in the microbiology of these systems that are relevant to dairy and beef production; however, these systems are incredibly complex. To pierce this complexity and discover useful insights, we used the latest in DNA sequencing technologies to create genetic maps of microbes in the ruminant gut. These new maps grant us insights into the biology of the ruminant gut that were nearly impossible to identify previously. They also provide us the means to develop cost effective techniques to rapidly assess the rumen microbes of an individual cow. By taking advantage of the fact that they “ruminate” and chew the contents of their stomachs, we can assess a cow’s current microbial profile by taking an oral swab prior to feeding. At a cost of less than $5 per sample, it will soon be possible for us to analyze the microbial contents of an entire herd of cows in a cost-effective way.  Ultimately, we hope that these discoveries will result in diagnostic tools that can be used on commercial dairies to identify poor performing or sick cows and to inform the farmer as to which treatment will be most effective for those animals. By sifting through big data from these small microbial cells, it may be possible to improve the production efficiency of cattle beyond their genetic predisposition. **Quantitative Microbial Risk Assessment for a Changing Dairy Landscape****Dr. Tucker Burch, Research Agricultural Engineer****Nov. 4, 2020** Dairy production has changed dramatically in the past 30 years, with a shift from many small farms to fewer large farms.  This increase in production intensity mirrors similar trends throughout the livestock industry, and it potentially changes the nature of infectious disease transmission from herd to humans, particularly via environmental routes like groundwater and surface water.  However, the significance of this change to human health has not been fully explored.  This presentation will describe how quantitative microbial risk assessment (QMRA) can be a useful tool in studying infectious disease transmission on a changing dairy landscape, provide recent examples of QMRAs relevant to the Wisconsin dairy industry, and propose a QMRA-based research agenda for proactively addressing future challenges. **Getting the most out of alfalfa in today’s dairy cow diet****Dr. Ken Kalscheur, Research Animal Scientist****Oct. 21, 2020** Higher forage diets often decrease intake resulting in lower milk production, however, new varieties of alfalfa may potentially result in greater overall nutrient digestibility resulting in similar milk production to a control diet formulated with lower forage concentrations. The goal is to formulate diets with forages that are produced locally at lower cost and improve the overall sustainability of dairy production systems. Information on nutrient composition and digestibility of high quality alfalfa and how it can replace more expensive feedstuffs will help nutritionists formulate diets at high forage concentration without negatively affecting milk production.


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