Champaign, IL (May 8, 2026)—The American Dairy Science Association® (ADSA®) is pleased to announce Pamela Adkins as the 2026 recipient of the West Agro Inc. Award. The award will be presented on Tuesday, June 23, 2026, during the awards ceremony at the ADSA Annual Meeting in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
The West Agro Inc. Award was created to recognize outstanding research of milk quality as affected by control of mastitis, management of milking, and practices in the production of milk. The winner must have made meritorious scientific or technical contributions in research of one or more of the areas of mastitis, including epidemiology, microbiology, prophylaxis, therapy, immunity, anatomy, and physiology of the mammary gland; milking management and systems related to hygiene, udder health, and milk quality; milk yield, composition, flavor, and microbiological quality as related to feeding or management; detection or analysis of foreign substances in milk or of abnormal milk; prevention or elimination of milk adulteration, particularly by those contaminants that have significance to public health; or product technology. The winner must have made the contribution within the five years immediately preceding nomination and have been a member of ADSA for at least five successive years.
Pamela Adkins is an associate professor of food animal medicine in the College of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Missouri. She is a clinician scientist whose research program focuses on heifer mastitis and the molecular characterization of bacteria identified on the dairy farm. Specifically, she has focused on the characterization of non-aureus staphylococcal species identified in milk and dairy environments, as well as methods to define intramammary infections in heifers. She enjoys training graduate students and is passionate about making a positive contribution to veterinary education and the dairy industry.
It is with great pleasure that ADSA and West Agro Inc. present Pamela Adkins with the 2026 West Agro Inc. Award.
About the American Dairy Science Association (ADSA)
The American Dairy Science Association (ADSA) is an international organization of educators, scientists, and industry representatives who are committed to advancing the dairy industry and keenly aware of the vital role the dairy sciences play in fulfilling the economic, nutritive, and health requirements of the world’s population. It provides leadership in scientific and technical support to sustain and grow the global dairy industry through generation, dissemination, and exchange of information and services. Together, ADSA members have discovered new methods and technologies that have revolutionized the dairy industry. www.adsa.org