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.
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.”
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.