National dairy research programs: what is their role in animal health and sustainability research?

Authors: BRIGGS, KAITLYN - Dairy Management, Inc; Ackermann, Mark

Submitted to: Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 4/22/2024
Publication Date: 5/10/2024
Citation: Briggs, K.R., Ackermann, M.R. 2024. National dairy research programs: what is their role in animal health and sustainability research?. Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association. 10:1-5. https://doi.org/10.2460/javma.23.11.0654.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.2460/javma.23.11.0654

Interpretive Summary: The health and well being of dairy cattle is important to efficient milk production and sustainability. Increased efficiency in milk production can led to reductions in factors that potentially contribute to climate change. Dairy Management, Inc., dairy stakeholders and scientists and administrators at the USDA/ARS-National Disease Center met to review past and assess current and future research directions and determined that animal health and well-being is essential for sustainability, certain disease conditions (e.g., mastitis and lameness) require additional research investigation and continued communication is needed among internal and external stakeholders in order to: stay abreast of continued and changing issues, integrate/incorporate discoveries, and update long-term strategies.

Technical Abstract: The US dairy industry has made great strides in improving animal health over the last several decades, which has driven significant improvements in economic, social, and environmental sustainability of the dairy industry. As consumer and corporation focus on climate continues to grow (to date over 4,000 companies have set emission reduction targets using the Science Based Target Initiative), the continued need to research and improve animal health and understand its connection with the environment, is integral to the success of the dairy industry. Research to address these areas can be supported by national research programs and collaboration between them. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and Dairy Management, Inc. (DMI) established a collaborative research agreement in 2007, yet to date, this collaboration has not explicitly focused on animal health or its intersection with the environment; in fact, DMI has not had any research programs focusing on animal health or its intersection with sustainability prior to this. To consider the ways in which animal and environmental health are interconnected and identify potential research needs, an academic-industry stakeholder committee was created and met at the USDA/Agriculture Research Service (ARS)-National Animal Disease Center (USDA/ARS-NADC) in June 2023 to provide feedback and recommendations on current and future research directions. There was consensus among the committee members that 1) animal health and management are important research areas for DMI and USDA and this research can advance dairy sustainability, 2) that a long term strategy to support research programs and academicians is needed, and 3) that it is essential to communicate and collaborate across the industry with internal and external stakeholders including individuals from extension, producers, and researchers to share findings, ensure complementarity, and enhance the implementation of results by industry. These are key recommendations for the future of the animal health and sustainability research as they impact the long-term research strategy; national research programs at DMI and USDA/ARS-NADC can play an important role in supporting and facilitating this research.