Ph.D. Defense Seminar by Thiago Cunha
2024-12-13 13:00 - 14:00 (America/Chicago) | 1933 Observatory Drive, Madison WI, 53706
Title: ADIPOSITY, ENERGY METABOLISM, AND IMMUNE FUNCTION IN DAIRY COWS: EXPLORING THE INTERPLAY OF BODY CONDITION, NUTRIENT DEMANDS, AND POSTPARTUM ADAPTATIONS
Presenter: Thiago Cunha, Dairy Sciences Ph.D. candidate (advisor: Dr. Laura L. Hernandez), UW-Madison Department Animal and Dairy Sciences
Location: MSABD RM 1115

M.S. Defense Seminar by Ethel Sofia Moreno Martinez
2024-12-16 13:00 - 14:00 | 1933 Observatory Drive, Madison WI, 53706
Title: The role of Pregnancy Associated Glycoprotein 7 on bovine trophectoderm development and function in vitro
Presenter: Ethel Sofia Moreno Martinez, Animal Sciences M.S. candidate (advisor: Dr. M. Sofia Ortega Obando), UW-Madison Department Animal and Dairy Sciences
Location: MSABD RM 1115

Graduate Seminar - Dr. Lauren Baker & Dr. Allie Andrukonis
2025-01-31 12:00 - 13:00 | 1933 Observatory Drive, Madison WI, 53706
Title: “Mooove Over Livestock: Dogs and Cats in AnDy Sci”
Speakers: Dr. Lauren Baker & Dr. Allie Andrukonis

Graduate Seminar - Jessica Townsend Graybeal, Mehmet Kizilaslan, Zeynep Kizilaslan
2025-02-21 12:00 - 13:00 | Wisconsin
Title: “Unraveling the Molecular Mysteries of Reproduction and Epigenetic Inheritance”
Speakers: Jessica Townsend Graybeal, Mehmet Kizilaslan & Zeynep Kizilaslan

Postdoctoral Position(s) - Research Associate(s) in Dairy AI
2025-02-28 | Wisconsin
Research Area: Dairy Science, Artificial Intelligence, Data Management, Simulation Modeling
Department: Animal and Dairy Sciences (CALS), University of Wisconsin-Madison
Mentor: Professor Victor E. Cabrera
Deadline: February 28, 2025
More Info

Graduate Seminar - Maverick Guenther & Elizabeth McGuire
2025-02-28 12:00 - 13:00 | Wisconsin
Title: “Postnatal Programming of Mammary Gland Development”
Speaker: Maverick Guenther

Title: “Rethinking Dry-off: Comparing Gradual and Abrupt Approaches in AMS”
Speaker: Elizabeth McGuire

ASGSA Apparel Sale
2025-03-02 | Wisconsin
UW-Madison’s Animal Science Graduate Student Association is hosting their annual Apparel Sale! Items can be picked up from the ASGSA department or shipped directly to you.
The storefront will close on Sunday, March 2nd, so be sure to place your orders before then!
LINK: https://uwanimalanddairyr225.itemorder.com/shop/home/

Graduate Seminar - Jessica Brown & Sara Irizarry Rodriquez
2025-03-14 12:00 - 13:00 | 1933 Observatory Drive, Madison WI, 53706
Title: “Understanding Salmonella Contamination During Pork Processing”
Speaker: Jessica Brown

Title: “Impact of smoke application on Salmonella survival on lean surface of pork products”
Speaker: Sara Irizarry Rodriguez

Location: MSABD-1111-Johnsonville Lecture

Wisconsin 4-H Livestock Quiz Bowl & Skillathon
2025-03-15 | Animal Science Building, 1675 Observatory Drive, Madison, WI, 53706, United States
When: March 15, 2025
Registration Deadline: Feb. 28, 2025
Where: UW-Madison Campus
Time: Registration 9 a.m., Competition starts 9:30 a.m.
2025 Registration Link: https://254hlivestockskillquiz.4honline.com
More information and Handbooks: Livestock Quiz Bowl & Skillathon Contest – Wisconsin 4-H

Ph.D. Defense Seminar by Gretchen Peckler
2025-04-17 09:00 - 10:00 | 1933 Observatory Drive, Madison WI, 53706
Title: Characterizing and Diagnosing Subclinical Mastitis in Meat-producing Ewes
Presenter: Gretchen Peckler, Animal Sciences Ph.D. candidate (advisor: Dr. Sarah Adcock), UW-Madison Department Animal and Dairy Sciences
Location: MSABD RM 1111

Dairy and Food Animal Management Visit Day
2025-04-18 09:00 - 16:30 | UW-Madison CALS Campus
The College of Agricultural & Life Sciences (CALS) and the Department of Animal & Dairy Sciences are proud to host a day-long event for students interested in the dairy and food animal management major and/or classes.
Save the Date: Friday April 18 at the UW-Madison CALS campus
Dairy-focused sessions in the morning (9am-12:30pm)
Lunch Included (free)
CALS sessions in the afternoon (1:30pm-4:30pm)
(attend just the morning or the entire day)
Meet students and see the CALS dairy-focused buildings!
Interested? Scan the QR code or fill out the google form below.
UW-Madison CALS: Dairy and Food Animal Management Visit Day – Friday April 18th, 2025

M.S. Defense Seminar by Zihan Zheng
2025-04-22 13:00 - 14:00 | 1933 Observatory Drive, Madison WI, 53706
Title: Regulatory role of titin in skeletal muscle hypertrophy through alternative splicing
Presenter: Zihan Zheng, Animal Sciences M.S. candidate (advisor: Dr. Wei Guo), UW-Madison Department Animal and Dairy Sciences
Location: MSABD RM 1115

Ph.D. Defense Seminar by Jocelyn Woods
2025-04-24 09:00 - 10:00 | 1933 Observatory Drive, Madison WI, 53706
Title: The Tail of a Lamb: The Welfare and Behavior Implications of Tail Docking Sheep
Presenter: Jocelyn Woods, Animal Sciences Ph.D. candidate (advisor: Dr. Sarah Adcock), UW-Madison Department Animal and Dairy Sciences
Location: MSABD RM 1115

Graduate Seminar - Malena Cid De La Paz & Fiorella Lucila Viquez Umana
2025-04-25 12:00 - 13:00 | 1933 Observatory Drive, Madison WI, 53706
Title: “Early Gastrointestinal Colonization in Calves: Isolation and Characterization of Beneficial Commensal Bacteria”
Speaker: Fiorella Lucila Viquez Umana
Title: “Exploring the potential of colostrum on immune development and health in dairy calves”
Speaker: Malena Cid De La Paz

MSABD-1111-JohnsonvilleLecture-Cap 80

Animal & Dairy Sciences Golf Classic - May 15, 2025
2025-05-15 08:30 - 16:00 | Pleasant View Golf Course, 1322 N. Pleasant View Road, Middleton, WI, 53562, United States
Save the date: Thursday, May 15, 2025
Pleasant View Golf Course, 1322 N. Pleasant View Road, Middleton, WI 53562
Register Here

Precision Dairy Conference
2025-06-17 - 2025-06-18 | Wisconsin
Where: Bloomington, MN
When: June 17-18, 2025
Precision Dairy Conference

ADSA Annual Meeting
2025-06-22 - 2025-06-25 | Wisconsin
Where: Louisville, KY
When: June 22-25, 2025

M.S. Defense Seminar by Zhuonan Wu
2025-07-18 13:00 - 14:00 | 1933 Observatory Drive, Madison WI, 53706
Title: Enteric Methane Emission in Dairy Cows: Prediction Models, Maternal Effects, and Farm-Level Strategies
Presenter: Zhuonan Wu, Animal Science M.S. candidate (advisor: Drs. Kent Weigel and Francisco Peñagaricano), UW-Madison Department Animal and Dairy Sciences
Location: MSABD RM 1115

Ph.D. Defense Seminar by Jessica Brown
2025-07-22 10:00 - 11:00 | 1933 Observatory Drive, Madison WI, 53706
Title: Identifying Effective Application for Advanced Microbiological Techniques to Assess Food Safety and Quality within Various Segments of the Meat Industry
Presenter: Jessica Brown, Animal Science Ph.D. candidate (advisor: Dr. Steven Ricke), UW-Madison Department Animal and Dairy Sciences
Location: MSABD RM 1115 or virtual:
https://uwmadison.webex.com/uwmadison/j.php?MTID=m0e2d97e08a5d99c219944f6c3999ae1c

M.S. Defense Seminar by Elizabeth McGuire
2025-07-28 09:00 - 10:00 | 1933 Observatory Drive, Madison WI, 53706
Title: A Novel Approach to Understand the Impact of Dry-off on Dairy Cow Welfare in Automatic Milking Systems
Presenter: Elizabeth McGuire, Dairy Science M.S. candidate (advisor: Dr. Jennifer Van Os), UW-Madison Department Animal and Dairy Sciences
Location: MSABD RM 1115

Ph.D. Defense Seminar by Matthew Wielgat
2025-08-20 11:00 - 12:00 | 1933 Observatory Drive, Madison WI, 53706
Title: Dictyostelid-Derived Biofilm-Degrading Products as Novel Therapeutics Against
Staphylococcus epidermidis, Staphylococcus aureus, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa Wound Infections
Presenter: Matthew Wielgat, Animal Science Ph.D. candidate (advisor: Dr. Dhanansayan Shanmuganayagam)
Location: MSABD RM 1111

ADS Student Welcome Event - Ice Cream Float Social
2025-09-05 14:00 - 15:30 | Animal Science Building, 1675 Observatory Drive, Madison, WI, 53706, United States

Graduate Seminar - Agustin Chasco
2025-09-12 12:00 - 13:00 | 1933 Observatory Drive, Madison WI, 53706
Title: “Genetic evaluation of milk production using milking robot data.”
Speaker: Agustin Chasco

From data to research and decisions - the experience of New Zealand pasture-based dairy farms
2025-09-15 10:00 - 11:00 | Room 236 Animal Sciences Bldg., 1675 Observatory Dr, Madison, WI, 53706, United States
Mark Neal
Head of Data Science

Cnr Ruakura & Morrinsville Roads | Newstead | Private Bag 3221| Hamilton 3240 | NEW ZEALAND
Mob +64 27 807 0165

Bio – Mark Neal
Mark Neal works at DairyNZ, where the purpose is to progress a positive future for New Zealand dairy farming, where grazing pasture forms the basis of the sector. The organisation delivers research, development, extension and advocacy. Mark’s role is Head of the Data Science and Modelling team. He has been a key part of DairyNZ’s Modern Science Workflows project, which has transformed DairyNZ’s ability to manage big data and enabled the use of new techniques, like machine learning. This team primarily supports the Research and Science team, but also has a wider role in the organisation to provide advanced analytical capability where it is needed. He comes from a strong grounding in dairy farming, having worked in management roles on his family’s farms in Australia, and on pasture-based farms in Chile and Missouri. Prior to DairyNZ, Mark has had research roles at the University of Queensland and University of Melbourne. Researchgate and Linkedin.

From data to research and decisions – the experience of New Zealand pasture-based dairy farms

In this presentation, Mark will describe some of the data-centric research and development in pasture-based dairy farm systems of New Zealand, where a lot of workflows have been improved, with models and tools developed to help both researchers, rural advisors and dairy farmers get the most out of their system. Some of these are research tools, and others are farmer-facing. Of the farmer-facing tools, we have a large back catalogue (see here), with modern web-first coding such as our Breeding worth tool, Econ tracker tool , and Pasture Potential tool, with many of our major reports now online and interactive with data download options (e.g. Dairy Statistics). We also have a view on what are the tools that farmers, rural professionals and researchers use that would be of high value, which are enabled by connected data, machine learning or generative AI tools. Over the next year or so we will be developing our first LLM RAG-based solutions for farmer and research audiences, and further improving our research data capture (100% paperless/digital first to warehouse, with 48-hour validation and correction). Come and share some ideas!

Ph.D. Defense Seminar by Yijing Gong
2025-09-19 09:00 - 10:00 | 1933 Observatory Drive, Madison WI, 53706
Title: Supporting Decision-Making Using Dairy Farm Simulation, Optimization, and Artificial Intelligence
Presenter: Yijing Gong, Dairy Science Ph.D. candidate (advisor: Dr. Victor E. Cabrera)
Location: MSABD RM 1111 or virtual

Dairy Day! hosted by CALS and the Animal and Dairy Science Department
2025-09-29 09:00 - 16:30 | Dairy Cattle Center, 1815 Linden Drive, Madison, 53706, United States
Interested in learning more about the Department of Animal and Dairy Sciences and the Dairy and Food Animal Management major in the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences at UW-Madison?
Join us for the day to meet with current students and faculty to learn more about the majors, facilities, and programs offered!
Please complete this short form to reserve your spot!
UW-Madison CALS: Dairy Day! Monday, September 29, 2025
Below is our schedule for the day. Check-in begins at 9 am at the Dairy Cattle Center (DCC; Street Address: 1815 Linden Drive, Madison, WI 53706). We will provide details about parking and more information closer to the event.
September 29 Dairy Day Schedule

Session 1
9:30 am: Welcome and Introduction to the Department of Animal and Dairy Sciences
Dairy Cattle Center
10:30 am: Tour of the Dairy Cattle Center and Mock Classroom
Dairy Cattle Center
Session 2
12:30 pm: Luncheon with Department of Animal and Dairy Sciences Faculty
Center for Dairy Research
1:30 pm: Campus Tour
Led by CALS Ambassadors
3:00 pm: Babcock Ice Cream Social
Center for Dairy Research
3:30 pm: Students: Undergraduate Dairy and Food Animal Management Student Panel
Dairy Cattle Center
Parents/Chaperones: Badger Dairy Insight with Extension Faculty
Dairy Cattle Center
4:30 pm: Closing Remarks
Dairy Cattle Center

Graduate Seminar - Keith Poulsen
2025-10-10 12:00 - 13:00 | 1933 Observatory Drive, Madison WI, 53706
Title: “How did it happen, and what did we learn? H5N1 remains alive and well in U.S. Dairy, but Wisconsin retains our “Gold Status.”
Speaker: Keith Poulsen, DVM PhD, DACVIM
Clinical Associate Professor, Large Animal Internal Medicine
Director, Wisconsin Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory

Graduate Seminar - Alejandra Abrego & Jordan Hartley
2025-10-31 12:00 - 13:00 | 1933 Observatory Drive, Madison WI, 53706
Title: “Understanding the impact of the farm and lairage environments on Salmonella contamination in market hogs.”
Speaker: Alejandra Abrego

Title: “Evaluating the Efficacy of Hydrated Surface Lethality as a Novel Approach for Food Safety in Thermal Processing.”
Speaker: Jordan Hartley

Graduate Seminar - Livia Martino Duarte & Barbara Dittrich
2025-11-07 12:00 - 13:00 | 1933 Observatory Drive, Madison WI, 53706
Title: “Evidence for a novel role of Pregnancy-Associated Glycoproteins (PAGs) in maintenance of the bovine corpus luteum of pregnancy.”
Speaker: Livia Martino Duarte

Title: “Effects of feeding alternative forage silages on early lactation performance and gas production in multiparous Holstein cows.”
Speaker: Barbara Dittrich

M.S. Defense Seminar by Trinidad Fernandez Wallace
2025-11-21 09:00 - 10:00 | 1933 Observatory Drive, Madison WI, 53706
Title: Characterizing immune cell metabolism and systemic function during the transition period of dairy cows
Presenter: Trinidad Fernandez Wallace, Dairy Science M.S. candidate (advisor: Dr. Lautaro Rostoll Cangiano)
Location: MSABD RM 1115
