Members of the Dairy Innovation Hub advisory council held their summer in-person meeting on Tuesday, Aug. 13 at the University of Wisconsin–Madison Marshfield Agricultural Research Station (MARS) in Marshfield, Wis. The morning meeting included updates from council members, campuses, and Hub administration. Several discussion items filled the agenda, including the timeline for recruiting a new faculty director.
Heather White, who has very ably served as the faculty director of the Hub since fall 2019, will step down from the director role to serve as associate dean for faculty affairs in the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences (CALS) at UW–Madison. Her leadership and service in this important role have been pivotal to the Hub’s success, and Hub leaders hope to fill the position with a successor who will continue to champion the vision and mission of the Hub with the same positive energy.
“I am committed to helping transition the Hub to a new faculty director and am eager to see what a fresh perspective can bring. I look forward to watching the Hub’s continued success and impact,” said White, who is also a professor in the Department of Animal and Dairy Sciences at UW–Madison in addition to her new associate dean role.
Following the council meeting, the group transitioned for a robust series of afternoon farm tours highlighting equipment investments, research, and partnerships facilitated by the Hub.
Tour stops included demonstrations on heat stress, methane emissions, computer vision and machine learning, comparing heifers in pasture and traditional systems, perennial forages, and an ongoing paired watershed experiment.
“The Dairy Innovation Hub has significantly impacted research capabilities at the MARS station. Hub-funded research, equipment, students, and scientists are keeping the farm busy,” said Nancy Esser, MARS superintendent. “Ultimately, this pays off for farmers, stakeholders, and local leaders engaged in the dairy community.”
The MARS station is located near the state’s geographic center, in an area of Wisconsin with the highest concentration of dairy farms. The station, established in 1912, is home to one of the nation’s premier dairy heifer research facilities and operates 955 acres of land providing support for faculty, researchers, and students in the UW–Madison College of Agricultural and Life Sciences, and the USDA Institute for Environmentally Integrated Dairy Management.
In addition to advisory council members, area farmers, local legislators, and board members from key agriculture organizations were invited to attend the tours.
Paul Lippert, a dairy farmer from Pittsville, Wis., attended the tour representing the Professional Dairy Producers board of directors.
“The research I saw during the tour funded by the Dairy Innovation Hub has a future on the farm. I found the research on grazing heifers, involving two full summers of grazing with very little supplementation, to be very important and I hope to use the findings soon on our dairy,” said Lippert.
Lippert owns Grass Ridge Farm, LLC with his father, Matt, and brother, Carl. The dairy is home to 700 registered Holsteins and Jerseys as well as 600 youngstock. He graduated from UW–River Falls with a Dairy Science degree.
“The research on computer vision is also exciting because it will allow us to do a better job of managing cows as individuals AND as groups in the future. Technology that lets us monitor cows day-to-day could reap huge benefits in how we manage our dairy,” said Lippert.
The Dairy Innovation Hub, is supported by a $7.8M annual state investment to drive research and development across the UW–Madison, UW–Platteville, and UW–River Falls campuses, ensuring that Wisconsin’s $45.6 billion dairy community remains a global pacesetter in producing nutritious dairy products. This is all accomplished with a keen focus on economic, environmental, and social sustainability.
In just five years, the Hub has funded more than 230 research and outreach projects across three campuses and four priority areas; stewarding land and water resources; enriching human health and nutrition; ensuring animal health and welfare; and growing farm business and communities.
The next big opportunity to engage with the Hub is at the annual Dairy Summit, planned for Nov. 20 at UW–Madison. This event is free and formatted for a public audience. Registration is open.
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