Dairy Digressions

When highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) H5N1 jumped from poultry to dairy cattle in 2024, it raised urgent questions about how exactly this respiratory virus found its way into milk. Our guests today, coauthors Rahul Nelli, PhD, MVM , and Todd Bell, DVM, PhD, DACVP , both from the College of Veterinary Medicine at Iowa State University, were at the forefront of understanding that viral load...

Have you heard of Veronika? The 13‑year‑old pet Swiss brown living in Austria has gone viral for being the first cow documented using tools intelligently and flexibly—a revelation that has stunned the scientific and global community. We’re honored to welcome Antonio J. Osuna-Mascaró from the University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna’s comparative cognition team, who led the study on Veronika. Anton...

The pod belongs to the students once again as we welcome four of our 2025 ADSA Graduate and Undergraduate Student Division winners! Each year at the ADSA Annual Meeting, top competitors in dairy production and dairy foods face off for cash prizes—and the pride that comes from developing excellence in both scientific rigor and scientific storytelling. Some of this year’s first-place winners include...

We know our journals are the engine behind the ADSA community, but have you ever been curious about how the Journal of Dairy Science (JDS) comes together? Join us for a rare look at the stewardship required to keep dairy science’s gold standard journal moving as Matt interviews outgoing Editor in Chief Paul Kononoff, PhD , professor and dairy nutrition extension specialist at the University of Neb...

How might dairy science involve dancing and video games? Find out as Matt sits down with Jennifer Van Os, PhD , associate professor and extension specialist in the Department of Animal and Dairy Sciences at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Jennifer’s path to dairy began in an unexpected place—human psychology—where her early love of applied science set her on a course toward solving challenges...

Explore the fascinating, frustrating world of microbial biofilms in this special episode of Dairy Digressions ! Matt is joined by returning guest and special cohost Nicole Martin, PhD , assistant research professor in dairy foods microbiology and director of the Milk Quality Improvement Program in the Department of Food Science at Cornell University. In this episode, they host two  contributors to...

In this episode of Dairy Digressions , host Matt Lucy welcomes Jason Lombard, DVM , veterinary epidemiologist, associate professor, and dairy systems specialist at Colorado State University, and lead author of the Journal of Dairy Science invited review, The One Health Challenges and Opportunities of the H5N1 Outbreak in Dairy Cattle in the United States . Drawing on his experience as the point pe...

In this candid and inspiring episode, host Matt Lucy is joined in conversation by Pam Ruegg, DVM, MPMV , ADSA fellow and David J. Ellis Chair in Antimicrobial Resistance and Large Animal Clinical Sciences in the College of Veterinary Medicine at Michigan State University. Pam shares her remarkable and diverse path in dairy science, from working in private practice to corporate technical service at...

In the latest installment of Dairy Digressions , host Matt Lucy sits down with Barry Bradford, PhD , professor and C. E. Meadows Endowed Chair in Dairy Management and Nutrition at Michigan State University’s (MSU) Department of Animal Science, senior editor for the Journal of Dairy Science , and co-host of The Dairy Podcast Show . After growing up on a seedstock beef operation, Barry was drawn to...

We’re bringing you a dairy food science icon on this episode of Dairy Digressions . Host Matt Lucy, PhD, is joined by MaryAnne Drake, PhD, a William Neal Reynolds Distinguished Professor of Food Science at North Carolina State University. MaryAnne is the director of the Sensory Service Center, director of the Southeast Dairy Foods Research Center, an ADSA Fellow who served as ADSA’s first female p...

We’re celebrating dairy foods in the latest installment of Dairy Digressions ! Host Matt Lucy sits down with two of the voices behind the recent Journal of Dairy Science special issue, “ Dairy Foods: A Matrix for Human Health and Precision Nutrition .” Devoted to the latest science on dairy food nutrition, the selected articles in this issue emphasize the crucial role dairy plays in human health f...

Growing up on a dairy farm in the United Kingdom, Adam Lock, PhD , always thought he would take over the family business and milk cows for a living. Instead, he now works to help dairy professionals increase their cattle’s health, productivity, and profitability through nutrition. Join us to find out how! Host Matt Lucy sits down with Adam, a professor and associate chair for farm operations in th...

Join us as we sit down with Daniel Moore, PhD , professor of muscle physiology at the University of Toronto and invited speaker at the ADSA Annual Meeting. He explains how muscle serves as the body’s primary storage for amino acids, the building blocks crucial for immune function, and emphasizes its importance beyond just physical strength into healthy aging and metabolic health. In his lab, he’s...

Since our last episode devoted to the highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) H5N1 outbreak in US dairy herds, the virus has passed some concerning new milestones—infecting over 900 herds, more than 60 people (including 1 death), and millions of domestic poultry flocks—and continues to present a pressing concern to dairy scientists and the dairy sector as a whole. To help our listeners keep their...

Join us for a special Dairy Digressions episode with the co-leads of a just-released special issue of the Journal of Dairy Science , Feed Additives for Methane Mitigation . Guests David Yáñez-Ruiz of the Spanish Research Council (CSIC) and André Bannink of Wageningen University & Research introduce listeners to the six articles in the issue, which represent the first outcomes of a flagship pro...

You know how delicious dairy foods are, so join us for a conversation with renowned nutrition scientist Connie M. Weaver, PhD, to better understand their essential role in human diets and overall health. Connie, a Distinguished Research Professor at San Diego State University and Distinguished Professor Emerita of Purdue University, a Fellow of the American Heart Association, American Society for...

Our annual grad student takeover episode is back! This year, Matt sits down with three of the 2024 winners of ADSA’s Graduate Student Division awards: Jason Pronschinske and Philip Eberly , both hailing from the Department of Food Science at the University of Wisconsin–Madison under the mentorship of John Lucey, PhD ; and Amanda Fischer-Tlustos , joining us from the Department of Animal Bioscience...

Join us as we delve into the fascinating world of bovine reproduction research with Niamh Forde, PhD , professor and chair of molecular reproductive biosciences at the University of Leeds School of Medicine and cofounder of LeedsOmics, a virtual research institute. Niamh, a passionate scientist and community builder, shares her journey from a young, curious mind to a leading expert in the field wh...

What has the dairy science community learned since the March 2024 highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) H5N1 outbreak in US dairy herds? That’s the question host Matt Lucy, PhD, is posing to two special guests on the pod: Nicole Martin, PhD , assistant research professor in dairy foods microbiology and associate director of the Milk Quality Improvement Program in the Department of Food Science...

We’re celebrating dairy cow behavior this month on the pod as the special issue of JDS Communications , Behavior in Dairy Animals , launches! Host Matt Lucy chats with Katy Proudfoot, PhD , associate professor at the University of Prince Edward Island and director of the Sir James Dunn Animal Welfare Centre at the Atlantic Veterinary College in Prince Edward Island, and Emma Ternman, PhD , associa...

Buckle up for a lively episode, as we welcome the infectiously energetic Julio Giordano, DVM, PhD , professor of dairy cattle biology and management in the Department of Animal Science and a codirector of the Cornell Institute for Digital Agriculture at Cornell University. Julio originally hails from Balnearia, Argentina, where he grew up learning from his father’s practice as a dairy veterinarian...

Have questions about how the recent H5N1 strain of avian influenza—or bird flu—outbreak is impacting cow health, worker safety, dairy products, and consumer trust? This special bonus episode of Dairy Digressions takes you straight to the heart of the 2024 ADSA Annual Meeting, where top animal health and food safety experts tackle your most pressing H5N1 concerns. Join moderator Jessica McArt, PhD,...

Still reeling from the science outlined by Filippo Miglior, PhD, in episode 6 of the pod? Us too. That’s why we invited special guest Christine Baes, PhD , to give us a download on the follow-up project. Christine is a professor and department chair of the Department of Animal Biosciences and Research Chair in Livestock Genomics at the University of Guelph. She is interested in improving dairy cow...

Deep dive with us into the exciting world of stem cell research as we welcome Carl Jiang, PhD , associate professor at the University of Florida and member of the University of Florida Genetics Institute. Jiang’s work focuses on reproductive biology, with an emphasis on understanding the epigenetic mechanisms during the embryo-development period when most pregnancy losses occur. Carl and host Matt...

We don’t pick favorites among our guests, but we’re especially thrilled to welcome Jessica A. A. McArt, DVM, PhD, DABVP (Dairy Practice), to the pod! Jess is the new Editor in Chief of JDS Communications and associate professor of ambulatory and production medicine at Cornell University’s College of Veterinary Medicine , where her McArt Dairy Cow Lab focuses on improving cowside detection and the...