Applied Nutrition

Joint ARPAS and Ruminant Nutrition Symposium: Nutritional Management of Transition Dairy Cows—New Insights in Calcium Utilization, Metabolism, and Dietary Management (morning session)

The transition period is the most critical stage of the dairy cow’s production cycle and, despite decades of research, nutrition during this period remains an active frontier, with new insights into nutrient metabolism and immune regulation. Transition cow management is consistently cited by dairy producers, nutritionists, and veterinarians as a top priority because it directly drives herd profitability and long-term sustainability. Nutritional strategies that improve metabolism reduce metabolic disease, support fertility, and increase efficiency. This symposium will address both foundational mechanisms and field-level applications, featuring well-recognized researchers in the fields of calcium metabolism, nutritional modulation of inflammation and immunity, and energy and protein metabolism.

The morning session will focus on recent insights into calcium absorption and transport, its interaction with inflammation, and potential outcomes of both established and novel hypocalcemia-management strategies. The afternoon session will focus on dietary strategies to optimize transition cow performance. Attendees will be provided with timely, actionable knowledge regarding this key period in the dairy cow’s production cycle.

Joint ARPAS and Ruminant Nutrition Symposium: Nutritional Management of Transition Dairy Cows—Basic Physiology to Field Translation (afternoon session)

The transition period is the most critical stage of the dairy cow’s production cycle and, despite decades of research, nutrition during this period remains an active frontier, with new insights into nutrient metabolism and immune regulation. Transition cow management is consistently cited by dairy producers, nutritionists, and veterinarians as a top priority because it directly drives herd profitability and long-term sustainability. Nutritional strategies that improve metabolism reduce metabolic disease, support fertility, and increase efficiency. This symposium will address both foundational mechanisms and field-level applications, featuring well-recognized researchers in the fields of calcium metabolism, nutritional modulation of inflammation and immunity, and energy and protein metabolism.

The morning session will focus on recent insights into calcium absorption and transport, its interaction with inflammation, and potential outcomes of both established and novel hypocalcemia-management strategies. The afternoon session will focus on dietary strategies to optimize transition cow performance. Attendees will be provided with timely, actionable knowledge regarding this key period in the dairy cow’s production cycle.

Lactation Biology Symposium: The New Era of High Components—How Can We Increase Milk Protein in Accordance with Milk Fat?

Milk fat has been increasing at colossal rates in the past decade through the advancement of cow comfort, management, and an understanding of rumen health and feed additives. However, milk protein has not followed milk fat’s rapid improvement. Cheese processors require certain quantities of milk protein, and have faced challenges with recent surges in milk fat without the same rapid increase in milk protein. How do we take the next step in component production to increase milk protein?

Forages and Pastures Symposium: Sustainable Forage Production—A Management Perspective on Climate Resilience

Climate extremes can lead to inconsistent forage quality. This symposium will include practical strategies for dairy nutritionists and producers on how to adjust rations to maintain herd performance and manage associated risk.

Ruminant Nutrition Symposium: From Data to the Barn—The Application of Nutritional Models

Coming soon!

Ruminant Nutrition Platform Session: Rumen Microbial Protein—Supply, Efficiency, and Measurement

Coming soon!

Small Ruminant Symposium: Managing Nutritional Challenges in Sheep and Goats During the Transition Period

For sheep and goats, the transition period (last third of the pregnancy through early lactation) is a critical stage that determines lactation success and the health of dams and offspring.

Compared with cows, small ruminants face proportionally higher nutrient demands during late gestation because of their shorter pregnancies and greater prolificacy. At the same time, rumen volume capacity and feed intake are limited by the expanding uterus, particularly in prolific goats and sheep, challenging their ability to meet these rising requirements for pregnancy. As a consequence, dams commonly experience nutritional deficiencies, impaired productivity, and nutritional or metabolic disorders, and offspring show reduced survival and growth performances.

This leads to marked nutritional deficiencies, limitations in productivity, and frequent nutritional and metabolic disorders in the mothers, as well as decreased survival and growth performances in the litter.

This symposium will explore the metabolic and physiological adaptations of goats and sheep during the transition period, highlight the main nutritional and metabolic disorders and their prevention, and discuss nutritional requirements, feeding strategies, and additives to improve management at this critical stage.

Extension Education Symposium: Dairy Extension and Industry Impacts—From Research to Real Life

Coming soon!

Ruminant Nutrition Platform Session: Mighty Methyl Donors—Updates on the Roles of 1-C Supplementation and Metabolism in Dairy Production

Coming soon!