Join us at our new location in La Crosse, WI June 11-12, 2025!
Dr. Jimena Laporta
Title: The Hidden Cost of Heat: Multigenerational Effects on Dairy Cattle
Description: Heat stress doesn’t just impact dairy cattle during summertime—it can leave lasting effects that ripple across generations. This presentation will showcase how in utero heat stress alters calf development, leading to long-term consequences on growth, health, and future milk production. These generational impacts extend far beyond initial heat exposure, subtly influencing herd performance and farm profitability over time, with estimated industry losses reaching millions yearly. Understanding these hidden costs is crucial for developing strategies that protect animal welfare and the bottom line.
Short Bio: Jimena Laporta is originally from Uruguay, where she earned her B.S. and M.S. in Biology and Animal Sciences before completing her Ph.D. in Dairy Science at UW-Madison in 2014. She then spent four years as a faculty member at the University of Florida before returning to the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2020, where she has served as an Associate Professor of Lactation Physiology in the Department of Animal and Dairy Sciences. Her research focuses on understanding how environmental and nutritional factors influence mammary gland development throughout life and affect lactation performance. She investigates the effects of early-life heat stress and how epigenetic programming shapes calf physiology and long-term productivity across generations. Additionally, her lab explores nutritional and heat abatement strategies to enhance calf resilience and support health, growth, and sustained productivity in challenging environments.
Dr. Alex Bach
Plenary Title: Management and nutritional strategies to improve profits from dairy farms
Description: Different aspects influencing the economic returns in dairy farms will be evaluated. First, what and how to use data to make decisions will be reviewed, and then several examples of areas that can make a relevant change to the bottom line of the dairy enterprises will be presented.
Breakout title: Getting the most out dairy replacements: Key nutrition and management aspects
Bio:
Alex Bach is a research professor at the Univerisity of Lleida. Alex conducts research to understand the physiology and metabolism of cattle and to improve nutrition and management of dairy herds to make them more sustainable. He has received several awards in recognition to his research activities, has spoken at more than 150 international congresses, is author or co-author of more than 170 peer-reviewed publications, more than 100 extension articles, and more than 20 books (or book chapters). He has served as a scientific expert in several committees of the European Food Safety Authority and has also served in the European Research Council. He is section editor and sits in the editorial board of several scientific journals, and is member of various scientific committees. In his spare time, Alex enjoys running, biking, and windsurfing.
Dr. Jackie Boerman
Title: Changes in muscle throughout a dairy cow lactation
Short description: Skeletal muscle is required for movement and posture and also serves as a protein and energy reservoir. Adipose tissue is recognized as an energy store that can be accreted and depleted based on energy balance; however, skeletal muscle is also a dynamic tissue that changes across the lactation. During the stages of gestation and lactation, when cows are supporting growth of the fetus or large amounts of milk, they are able to pull from their skeletal muscle reserves to meet their requirements. A series of studies have been conducted at Purdue University, to evaluate skeletal muscle changes throughout lactation to understand when and how muscle is changing for the dairy cow.
Bio: Dr. Jackie Boerman grew up on a small dairy farm in western New York, where her parents still milk cows in a tie-stall barn. Dr. Boerman completed her B.S. from Cornell University in Animal Science. She earned an M.S. degree at the University of Illinois and a Ph.D. from Michigan State University. Since 2017, Dr. Boerman has worked at Purdue University where she holds a three-way appointment in research, teaching, and extension focused on dairy nutrition and management.
Dr. Mike Van Amburgh
Plenary session title: Strategies to Improve Productive Nitrogen and Reduce Urinary Nitrogen Excretion
Plenary Description: This presentation will focus on whole-body nitrogen and amino acid metabolism and how to approach diet formulation strategies that more precisely meet ruminal and post-ruminal amino acid requirements while reducing urinary nitrogen excretion.
Breakout session title: The Role of Amino Acids in Fatty Acid Synthesis
Breakout session description: Most dairy cattle's genetic capability for milk component yield is increasing rapidly, and this is helping us learn more about how nutrients interact to enhance the partitioning of milk fat and protein. As the capacity for fat yield increases, we are learning that a greater amino acid supply is required to improve the protein synthesis involved in de novo and preformed fatty acid yield. This talk will focus on these interactions and the quantities of metabolizable amino acids needed for greater fat yield.
Bio: Mike Van Amburgh is a Professor in the Department of Animal Science and a Stephen H. Weiss Presidential Fellow at Cornell University where he has a dual appointment in teaching and research.
Mike received his undergraduate degree from The Ohio State University and his Ph.D. is from Cornell University.
He leads the Cornell Dairy Fellows Program, advises approximately 30 undergraduate students, and is the Cornell University Dairy Club advisor. He also is teaches several undergraduate and graduate level courses.
Mike currently leads the development of the Cornell Net Carbohydrate and Protein System (CNCPS/CPM Dairy), a nutrition evaluation and formulation model used worldwide. Through licensing, the CNCPS is used to formulate diets for approximately 70% of the dairy cows in North America. Through the modeling effort, he focuses on enhancing the efficiency of nutrient use by ruminants to improve the environmental impact of animal food production. A significant component of his current work is to understand whole animal and ruminal nitrogen metabolism and amino acid supply and requirements to enhance the productivity of high-producing lactating dairy cattle and use that information in the further development of the Cornell Net Carbohydrate and Protein System. Further, his group is active in developing methods to better describe the interaction between forage and feed chemistry, rumen function and post-ruminal digestion to complement the model.
He has authored and co-authored over 100 journal articles and many conference proceedings. He is the recipient of several awards, including the American Dairy Science Foundation Scholar Award, the Land O’Lakes Teaching and Mentoring Award from ADSA, the American Feed Ingredient Association Award for Research, Journal of Dairy Science Most Cited Award, the CALS Professor of Merit Award, and the CALS Distinguished Advisor Award. In 2016, he was named a Stephen H. Weiss Presidential Fellow, the highest teaching award given by Cornell University.
Dr. Paul Fricke
Title: Effect of timing of AI with sexed and conventional semen based on increased activity and synchronization of ovulation on fertility
in lactating dairy cows.
Description: Timing of AI relative to estrus and ovulation has a profound effect on fertility. Dr. Fricke will discuss new data on the effect of timing of AI relative to increased activity and synchronization
of ovulation in lactating dairy cows.
Bio: Dr. Paul Fricke was raised on his family's row crop and dairy farm located near Papillion, Nebraska where his father and uncle continue to farm today. After receiving a B.S. degree in
Animal Science in 1988 from the University of Nebraska, Paul went on to complete a M.S. degree in 1992 and a Ph.D. degree in 1996 in Reproductive Physiology from the department of
Animal Sciences at North Dakota State University. Paul worked as a Postdoctoral Research Associate in the Department of Dairy Science at the University of Wisconsin-Madison from 1995
to 1998 and then joined the faculty on July 1, 1998. Dr. Fricke was promoted to Associate Professor with tenure in 2004 and to Full Professor in 2009. His current position includes 70%
Extension and 30% research appointments in dairy cattle reproduction.
Dr. Fricke’s research program focuses on understanding the biology underlying the many reproductive problems of dairy cattle. Dr. Fricke has authored or co-authored 103 peer-reviewed journal publications, 131 abstracts, and 6 book chapters. He has mentored 16 M.S. and 6 Ph.D.
students, and his research program has attracted more than $4.2 million in extramural research grants, contracts, and gifts. In 2014, Dr. Fricke was awarded a six-month research sabbatical as a visiting scientist at the Teagasc Moorepark Animal & Grassland Research Innovation Centre
in Fermoy, Co. Cork, Ireland.
The goal of Dr. Fricke’s extension program is to improve reproductive efficiency of dairy cattle by applying scientific research to develop practical management strategies and assess new
reproductive technologies. Dr. Fricke is a sought-after speaker and has spoken to over 500 audiences in Wisconsin since 1998. In addition, Paul has presented at conferences in 35 U.S. states and 6 Canadian provinces and has been an invited speaker for international meetings in
27 countries spanning 6 continents around the world.
Dr. Fricke is the recipient of several campus and national awards recognizing his innovative applied research and extension programs including the Midwest Section ADSA Outstanding
Young Extension Specialist Award (2006), the University of Wisconsin-Madison College of Agricultural and Life Sciences Pound Extension Award (2006), the ADSA DeLaval Dairy Extension Award (2008), and the Wisconsin Association of County Agriculture Agents Second
Mile Award (2010).