Baltimore 2K Annual Meeting Program Plan Looks Promising

An outstanding scientific program is rounding into form for the ADSA/ASAS Joint Annual Meeting in Baltimore, July 24 - 28, 2000. More than 30 symposia are planned for the meeting, which will include an Industry/Tech Forum Day focus (on the 25th), a Cyber-Cafe computer center with special mini-courses on using search engines and submitting manuscripts electronically, and an ADSA Foundation-sponsored auction of dairy collectibles and ice cream social (on the  26th). This year, "interpretive summaries" of symposia papers will be available on the Baltimore 2k website (www.baltimore2k.org) in advance of the meeting, and the joint symposia issue of JDS will be published electronically, which should make the papers available much sooner than the traditional 12 - 18 month delay we have had traditionally. Here are a few highlights of symposia topics of interest to ADSA members:

• Animal Behavior and Well-Being A full-day symposium, "Livestock Transport: Industry Issues and Research Challenges" is planned to focus on: Bringing Livestock Transport into Y2K Compliance (morning) and Livestock Transportation: Research Challenges for the New Millennium (afternoon). The symposium is co-sponsored by the Contemporary and Emerging Issues Committee and the NCR-131 Committee (Behavior of Domestic Animals).
• Animal Health A half-day symposium "Nutritional and Environmental Factors Influencing the Immune System" is planned. This Committee also will co-sponsor a symposium on "Lameness and the Environment" with the Production and Management Committee.
• Breeding and Genetics "A Tribute to A. E. Freeman, Iowa State University" will be the focus of a series of nine presentations on genetic improvement of livestock by former PhD students of Freeman; a meal function will be an extra feature of this all-day session. Other symposia include: "Inbreeding in Animal Agriculture" and "Genetics of Carcass Merit."
• Contemporary and Emerging Issues Two timely symposia are planned by the Committee and co-sponsored by the Federation of Animal Science Societies (FASS): "The Future of Animal Agriculture in Supplying Food for the World"; and, "Genetically Modified Organisms in the Global Marketplace".
• Dairy Foods The ADSA Foods Division has an exciting, integrated program planned which will be of interest to many among both organizations involved in food production and processing. A symposium, "Small Ruminant Dairy Research", will highlight hot topic considerations related to milk production and dairy foods from goats and sheep. Another symposia, "Lactobacilli" will address the therapeutic use, metabolic diversity, bacteriocins, and effects on cheese production. Emerging food safety issues will be the focus of a symposium co-sponsored with the Food Safety Committee on pasteurization alternatives, risk assessment and science-based policy, U.S. Cheese Standards, and Codex Hygiene Standards/setting international standards. The ADSA Foods Division’s Enzyme and Proteins Nomenclature Committee has planned the symposium, "Biologically Active Peptides and Proteins in Milk". A symposium on "Educating Dairy Foods Scientists for the 21^st Century", will be presented in a roundtable discussion format to address the shortage of faculty positions and trained dairy foods graduates in food science and animal science departments. 

  A major highlight of this year’s meeting will be the pre-conference educational workshop to focus on the role of lactic acid bacteria in cheese flavor development. The purpose of this workshop, beyond the science, is to showcase industry and university research leaders as role models for graduate students and industry personnel.

• Dairy Species Committee "Endocrinology and Metabolism of Transition Dairy Cows", a fast-developing area of scientific inquiry, is the theme of this Committee’s symposium.
• Food Safety "Farm-to-Table Food Safety - Knowledge Gaps and Lessons Learned", will be the central theme of a symposium, co-sponsored with the Dairy Foods Committee, addressing current and emerging issues about food borne diseases, lessons from the BSE story, Johnes’ (Mycobacterium paratuberculosis) disease, HACCP plan development and implementation in beef feedlots, transmission of antibiotic resistance, risk assessment and science-based policy of food borne pathogens, food safety issues in ready-to-eat meats, pasteurization alternatives, and national surveillance systems.
• Forages and Pastures Two symposia, "Protein Nutrition in Forage-Fed Ruminants" and "Energetics and Forage Utilization" will be sponsored jointly by the Forages and Pastures and Ruminant Nutrition Committees.
• Genetically Modified Organisms/FASS Committee Symposia The Federation of Animal Science Societies (FASS) Committees (Food Safety, Environment, and Animal Care), in cooperation with the Contemporary and Emerging Issues Committee are co-sponsoring the symposium on "Genetically Modified Organisms in the Global Marketplace". This full-day pre-meeting symposia (tentatively scheduled for the 24th) will feature a roster of well-informed speakers to explore one of the most controversial agricultural issues of our time.
• Goat Species Committee This Committee is sponsoring a symposium on "Goats for Vegetation Management", and is co-sponsoring with Dairy Foods the symposium on "Small Ruminant Dairy Research".
• Growth and Development The Growth and Development Committee has formulated a program which will feature a full-day symposium on "Functional Genomics", and a mini-symposium on "Mechanisms of Hormone Action". Additionally, a session of oral presentations will focus on "Appetite Regulation" and one invited talk followed by a series of at-large oral presentations requested from and submitted by members of ASAS and ADSA. The central theme, "Impact of Clinical/Subclinical Disease in Animal Growth" will be the topic of another oral session, anchored by an invited presentation. Two general poster sessions on growth and development will round-out this program.
• International Animal Agriculture A half-day mini-symposium, "Converting Research to Application in Tropical and Subtropical Animal Production and Processing Systems" is planned. The other half day will be devoted to oral and poster presentations on tropical and subtropical animal agriculture.
• Milk Synthesis  "Physiology and Economics of Alternate Methods for the Initiation of Lactation". Short Q & A and a longer discussion session will enhance assimilation of information on topics of: induction of lactation in heifers; efficacy and economics of steroid-induced lactation in cull cows; effects of milking interval on mammary function and shape of the lactation curve; delayed breeding in cows receiving bST; and economics of atypical milk production.
• Physiology Four mini-symposia will anchor the Physiology Committee’s program this year. In each case, at-large abstract submissions from the membership for poster and oral presentations will complement main topics: luteal cell interactions and function; regional projects associated with reproduction; regulation of feed intake; and, genomic markers for reproduction and milk production traits.
• Production and Management A real-life case study, "The Effects on Profits of (1) Adding Cows or Herds Versus (2) Adding Technology to Increase Efficiency and to Increase Production Per Cow" will be highlighted. Additionally, symposia will focus on: "Effects of Anabolic Implants on Carcass Yield Grade and Quality" (co-sponsored with the Beef Species Committee); "Lameness and the Environment" (jointly sponsored with the Health Committee); and, "Management of Dairy Herds for 40,000 lb milk/ year".
• Ruminant Nutrition Symposia will focus on: "Starch Utilization by Ruminants" and "Protein Nutrition in Forage-Fed Ruminants" (co-sponsored with the Forages and Pastures Committee). Additionally, invited presentations addressing ionophores in diets of lactating dairy cows, and the effects of animal grouping on feeding behavior and feed intake will anchor oral abstract sessions on these topics.
• Undergraduate and Graduate Education A half-day symposium on "Methods to Enhance Systems-Based Thinking in Animal and Dairy Science Teaching Efforts" is one attraction of this program. Additionally, a workshop "Equipping Graduate Students for the Faculty Workplace" will be held on the afternoon prior to the opening session. A panel and roundtable discussion on "Development of Teaching Portfolios" presented and lead by departmental administrators and successful teachers is planned. Additionally, again this year a fee-based workshop on "Mixed Models for Experimental Scientists in Animal and Dairy Science" will be presented by R. J. Tempelman (Michigan State University) and L. W. Douglass (University of Maryland).
• Women and Minority Issues in Animal Agriculture The Committee has planned a program to address the topic "How Do ‘We’ Fit Into ASAS and ADSA - Women, Minorities, and Internationals". The Program will be held in conjunction with a late afternoon social function.

  For up-to-the-minute annual meeting information and a registration form (coming in March) consult the meeting website on a regular basis www.baltimore2k.org