The National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF) recently awarded $11,000 in scholarships to four Ph.D. level students as part of the 2008 NMPF National Dairy Leadership Scholarship Program. The four scholarship recipients are all conducting research in areas that will benefit dairy cooperatives and producers.
Each year the NMPF Scholarship Committee awards scholarships to graduate and Ph.D. level students pursuing research in the areas of animal health, dairy product development, agriculture economics, environmental science and dairy food science.
The 2008 Murray Hintz Memorial Scholarship, given to the top scholarship candidate, was awarded to Kathryn E. Cowles. As a student at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Cowles is working for her Ph.D. in Animal Science. Her research will analyze urine pH as a diagnostic criterion for subacute ruminal acidosis (SARA) in dairy cows. Cowles hopes to provide producers with a better method for identifying SARA and making the necessary management and dietary changes for cows more quickly.
The Hintz Memorial Scholarship was established in 2006 to honor Murray Hintz, past Chairman of the Board for Cass-Clay Creamery, Inc., one of the cooperatives which played a key role in establishing the NMPF Scholarship Program.
The three other scholarship recipients are:
Bradley J. Heins, a student at the University of Minnesota, is pursuing his Ph.D. in Animal Science – Animal Genetics and Breeding. Heins’ research will examine the impact of crossbreeding on economics and profitability in the U.S. dairy industry.
Kasey Margaret Moyes is working for her Ph.D. in Animal Science at the University of Illinois. She will be researching the relationship between energy balance, immune system function, and susceptibility to mastitis in dairy cows.
Katie M. Schoenberg is pursuing her Ph.D. in Animal Science at Cornell University. Schoenberg’s research will help determine the role of insulin resistance in transition cow metabolism and the effects of 2,4-thiazolidinedione.