Dairy Digressions

Join us for a special episode of Dairy Digressions recorded live at the International Embryo Technology Society’s 50th Annual Conference . Between sessions, host Matt Lucy sat down with Goetz Laible, PhD , biochemist and principal scientist at AgResearch and honorary associate professor at the University of Auckland in New Zealand. Their discussion walks listeners through Goetz’s work in developin...

Why does the dairy sector have such a good story to tell about environmental sustainability, and how can each of us be a better storyteller for the industry? Join us for a mega episode of Dairy Digressions to find out! Host Matt Lucy is joined by esteemed guest Frank Mitloehner, PhD , a professor and extension specialist in the Department of Animal Science at the University of California, Davis, a...

We’re kicking off the new year—and our new season of Dairy Digressions —with a special guest, Pete Hansen, PhD , Distinguished Professor of Animal Sciences and L. E. “Red” Larson Professor at the University of Florida. Pete’s research focuses on embryo physiology and developing new management strategies for increasing dairy cattle fertility, particularly in the face of heat stress and a warming cl...

Join us for a very special episode of Dairy Digressions with our first-ever guest cohost, Kimmi Devaney of the Progressive Dairy Podcast and former ADSA Undergraduate Student Division president. Joining host Matt Lucy, the two sit down with Daryl Nydam, DVM, PhD, dairy health and production professor who serves as a director in Cornell’s College of Veterinary Medicine and the faculty director at t...

Pull up a seat as we dive into dairy genetics and Ireland’s esteemed national dairy breeding index—the Economic Breeding Index (EBI)—with the man who championed it, Donagh Berry, PhD. Berry is a quantitative geneticist and a Senior Principal Research Officer with Teagasc Animal & Grassland Research and Innovation Centre  and Director of VistaMilk SFI Research Centre. He joins longtime friend M...

In the latest episode of Dairy Digressions , Matt welcomes a full house with the winners of ADSA’s Graduate Student Division awards. These young leaders are forging dairy’s future path—not just with groundbreaking scientific research but with their dedication, professionalism, and vision for where dairy is headed. Connor McCabe, current Graduate Student Division President, joins us to explain the...

Why is it such an incredibly exciting time in both dairy science and veterinary medicine? Find out as Matt sits down with Stephen LeBlanc, director of the prestigious Dairy at Guelph —a center that supports collaboration between dairy-related researchers—a member of the ADSA Board of Directors , and professor and research leadership chair at the University of Guelph . Stephen walks us through exac...

Are dairy cows second only to humans in terms of the amount of genetic testing they’ve received? Join in on the debate—and get an infusion of vibrant ADSA Annual Meeting energy—in episode six with Filippo Miglior, senior advisor of genetic strategic initiatives with Lactanet , dairy geneticist at the University of Guelph , and member of the 2023 Journal of Dairy Science Club 100 . Filippo and Matt...

Come for the dairy nutritionist banter—stay for the fascinating advancements in rumen microbiome science. In episode five, Matt sits down with Jeff Firkins, a dairy microbiologist and nutritionist at  The Ohio State University  and senior editor at the  Journal of Dairy Science  at the  2023 ADSA Annual Meeting . The two friends and colleagues reflect on lessons learned from the ruminant nutrition...

How is dairy technology similar to Star Trek ? Beam in to find out as Matt interviews fellow reproductive physiologist and extension specialist Paul Fricke, PhD, from the University of Wisconsin–Madison and an editor at the Journal of Dairy Science . Paul chats through his lauded career to improve the reproductive efficiency of dairy cattle through research-driven, practical management strategies...

Recording in person from the 2023 ADSA Annual Meeting , Matt steps out of his production comfort zone to chat about dairy microbiology with Olivia McAuliffe, a principal food scientist at Teagasc Food Research Center in Ireland, honorary professor at Queen’s University Belfast , and senior editor of the Journal of Dairy Science . Explaining her research in strain discovery, Olivia pulls back the c...

In episode two of Dairy Digressions , Matt sits down with Jan Dijkstra, PhD , associate professor of ruminant nutrition at Wageningen University in the Netherlands, to talk about the topic on every dairy professional’s mind: the sustainable future of dairying. While this topic has taken center stage in the Netherlands—with the government’s plan to cut 50% of its current nitrogen emissions by 2030...

In the inaugural episode of Dairy Digressions , host Matt Lucy, PhD , sits down with Jennie Pryce, PhD , principal research scientist at Agriculture Victoria and professor at La Trobe University in Australia , to talk all things genetics—connecting the scientific dots behind dairy cow traits to human height to inbreeding within the population of threatened hihi birds on New Zealand’s Tiritiri Māta...

Welcome to Dairy Digressions , the podcast from the American Dairy Science Association and the minds behind JDS Communications and the Journal of Dairy Science . Every other month, host and JDS Communications Editor in Chief Matt Lucy, PhD, explores the latest developments, fascinating discoveries, and breaking trends in the world of dairy science. In the inaugural episode, Matt sits down with Jen...