Dr. Randy Shaver’s Nutrition Lab
“My research focuses on the effects of feeding sugar products to lactating dairy cattle. I specifically am looking at how the sugars, lactose and sucrose, coming from whey and molasses interact with other nutrient fractions in the dairy cattle ration, such as starch and protein, to affect ruminal fermentation characteristics and fiber digestibility. This research is important because quite a few farms in our home state of Wisconsin are feeding sugar products which often contain sucrose, lactose, or a combination of the two sugars.
I chose UW-Madison for several reasons. The foremost reason being because of the exceptional Dairy Science Program and faculty. The dairy facilities here at UW-Madison and surrounding area also offer a wide range of opportunities for research in many areas. I also chose UW-Madison because I am from Wisconsin and I wanted to stay in the dairy state to complete my Master’s Degree.”
Post-graduation, I plan to work in the dairy industry here in Wisconsin. I enjoy working with producers and hope to find a job where I can work with producers and help them to meet their individual goals. I also like education and hope to incorporate it into my future plans one day.”