New Student Highlight: Kathryn Ritz, M.S.

Kathryn Ritz, M.S., has joined Dr. Heather White’s lab as a Ph.D. student in order to focus on transition cow health, specifically hepatic nutrient partitioning and metabolism. Kathryn hopes to learn more about risk factors and biomarkers to monitor transition cow health and to find strategies to improve dairy cow health during the transition period.

Kathryn is an alumna of UW-Madison, as she did her undergraduate studies here. After graduation, Kathryn pursued her M.S. at the University of Minnesota and accepted a position with Zinpro upon completion. See more about Kathryn in the “Members” tab.

We are looking forward to the exciting research Kathryn will be exploring and are thrilled to have her in the lab!

Congratulations Ryan!

Ryan completed and received his Ph.D in Dairy Science Nutrition in July 2020. He will be continuing in academia as an Assistant Professor at the University of Wisconsin-Platteville with a split appointment between teaching and research. Congratulations and good luck Ryan!!!

Progressive Dairy Canada: July 2020

Understanding the importance of metabolic health during the transition period in dairy cows is of the upmost importance. After “Feed efficiency and metabolic health: How might we improve them both in the transition cow?” was published in Progressive Dairy in February 2020, Progressive Dairy Canada published the article in July 2020 due to its importance in the dairy industry. The data comes from the Journal of Dairy Science Editor’s Choice manuscript in March 2019, “Postpartum supplementation of fermented ammoniated condensed whey improved feed efficiency and plasma metabolite profile.”

Progressive Dairy: May 2020

As part of the series of publications in Progressive Dairy, Dr. Heather White and Michael DeVeth continue to discuss nutritional interventions in the article titled “Nutritional intervention improves feed efficiency and saves money.” Throughout the article, discussion on feed efficiency, its importance, and what it looks like when a farm improves feed efficiency are examined.

This article complements a research paper accepted to Journal of Dairy Science in March 2020 titled “Postpartum fermented ammoniated condensed whey supplementation altered nutrient partitioning to support hepatic metabolism,” which is the companion research paper to the Editor’s Choice publication in March 2019.

Why and How COVID-19 Affects the Dairy Industry

COVID-19’s effects can be felt in nearly all aspects of our lives, and how our food is sourced and chosen is no exception. In this hour-long discussion organized by the Wisconsin Alumni Association through the UW NOW series, experts on Supply Chain Management (Dr. Greg DeCroix), Meat Science (Dr. Jeff Sindelar), Dairy Science (Dr. Heather White), and Integrated Agricultural Systems (Michelle Miller, MS) discuss the hurdles and challenges faced in our current food supply situation. While the other experts discuss the intricacies involved in each of their respective fields, Dr. White discusses why and how the dairy industry has been affected by COVID-19 and steps we can take to mitigate the effect on dairy farmers.

Progressive Dairy: Feb 2020

A follow-up article has been published in Progressive Dairy called “Feed efficiency and metabolic health: How might we improve them both in the transition cow?“. Dr. Rafael Caputo Oliveira was also an author for this new article, as it explores the calculated feed and nitrogen efficiency, as well as circulating insulin concentrations during the transition to lactation period. The data comes from the manuscript “Postpartum supplementation of fermented ammoniated condensed whey improved feed efficiency and plasma metabolite profile” which was Editor’s Choice in March 2019 in the Journal of Dairy Science.

This article complements a previous article in which Dr. Heather White and Michael de Veth, Vice President of Fermented Nutrition, explored how and why Glucoboost, the product being discussed, is beneficial to transition cows.

 

Midwest Farm Bureau Report Interview

Josh Scramlin of the Midwest Farm Bureau sat down with Dr. Heather White for an interview on how the Dairy Innovation Hub will help Wisconsin and its dairy industry (ranging from milk to cheese to feed), consumers, farmers, and cows. Dr. White gave a comprehensive review of what the goals of the Hub are, including who is part of the Hub as whole. Hear what Dr. White has to say about the Hub here!

Progressive Dairy: Dec 2019

In the most recent issue of Progressive Dairy, Dr. Heather White was formally mentioned for two things: becoming the Dairy Innovation Hub faculty director and researching the effects of ammonium lactate product in transition dairy cows.

The former discusses the advisory council, which consists of 11 members representing different areas of dairy (be it cheesemaking, farming, protecting consumers, etc). These members come from various backgrounds, yet all share a common goal. Read more about their current positions!

The latter was written in conjunction with Michael de Veth, who is Vice President of Fermented Nutrition. This article, “Uncovering the hidden glucose source cows need,” gives an abbreviated background of how the GlucoBoost product works and why it would be beneficial to transition cows. A follow-up article will be published in Progressive Dairy in a future issue.