Summary

Ezra Cornell's lamentations over the loss of a sick heifer in the 1850s was one of the impetuses for the founding of Cornell University and the Agricultural College of the State of New York. Today, there are 7,000 dairy farms in New York State, more than 116 dairy processing plants, and many other processing plants that use dairy products. New York production of dairy products has been increasing in quantity in recent years because of efficiencies and improvements. Overall, the value of the New York dairy industry - both from the farm and from processors of dairy inputs - is about $3.5 billion per year.

The Issue

Cornell has been at the forefront of the teaching, research and extension of dairy science since 1865. From herd management to reproductive health, genetics to nutrition, quality milk to safe milk products, facility design to waste management, sound business management and training the industry leaders of tomorrow, the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences addresses the challenges that impact the New York State dairy industry. The following examples illustrate some of Cornell’s ongoing work on behalf of dairy farmers and processors.

Impacts

Improving Herd Nutrient Management, and Soil and Water Quality: The Cornell University Nutrient Management Planning System (cuNMPS) is a family of software tools that helps improve dairy farm profitability while protecting water and air quality. The Cornell Net Carbohydrate and Protein System (CNCPS) is an animal ration analyzer, while Cornell Cropware plans manure and fertilizer utilization of a farm’s cropping operation. The CNCPS is being used for precision feeding, a strategy that maximizes the use of homegrown and purchased feeds. Implementing precision feeding reduces nitrogen and phosphorus excreted in manure by about one-third while reducing annual feed costs as much as $13,000 per 100 lactating dairy cows. Cropware is then used to plan how manure is distribute around the farm to grow crops with less reliance on commercial fertilizer. Linking ration, crop, soil and manure nutrient management to optimize what can be best grown on the farm has reducing purchased N and P by up to 37% and 40%, respectively. Both programs meet environmental standards for soil erosion reduction, nutrient management and water quality protection. There are about 2000 CNCPS users in 42 countries. The diets of about 25% of the dairy cows in the US are directly influenced by the CNCPS. Cropware is used on NY farms only; more than 260 users are registered in NY. The software is being used to develop and update over 400 nutrient management plans on farms across the state. (Kettering and Fox)

Butter That’s Good for You: Conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) is a potent, naturally occurring anticarcinogen found in milk. The cow’s diet has a major effect on milk fat CLA content. Animal scientists at Cornell devised a diet that increased CLA in cow milk tenfold. Working with food scientists, they determined that the milk was normal in flavor and other quality characteristics. Butter and other products made from CLA-enriched milk also contain higher levels of vaccenic acid (VA), another potent anticarcinogen naturally found in milk. Biomedical studies with animal models shows that CLA and VA significantly reduces the risk of breast cancer. More than 211,000 women are diagnosed with breast cancer and 43,300 die each year in America. One woman in eight either has or will develop breast cancer in her lifetime. In addition, 1,600 men are diagnosed with breast cancer and 400 die each year. Nutritional quality is important in food choices as consumers become increasingly aware of the link between diet and health. This discovery presents an opportunity for dairy farmers to produce a value-added product that is enriched in these beneficial fatty acids. Work is proceeding on product and market development for introducing high CLA and VA foods to the grocery dairy case. (Bauman and Barbano)

Increasing the Shelf-Life of Milk: With the increasing number of meals eaten away from home, there is a need for longer shelf-life of pasteurized white and flavored milks. One way to improve shelf-life of milk in restaurants is to improve the quality of milk produced on the farm. Raw milk somatic cell count (SCC) is one measure of milk quality. Milk with lower SCC has better flavor quality and increases the amount of cheese and other dairy products made from milk. In NYS, cheesemakers pay an extra $1.5M to dairy farmers each year for better quality milk. The Cornell Quality Milk Promotion Service helps farmers lower the SCC in the milk they produce. An estimate of the impact to New York dairy farmers of this programs work is about $4.5M / year. In addition, the program helps increase milk consumption by children and improve long-term bone health, particularly in females. (Quality Milk Promotion Service)

Evaluating Milk Promotion: The NYS Milk Promotion Advisory Board contracts with Cornell to conduct economic analysis of the impact of dairy advertising and promotion on the state’s major markets. NY dairy farmers invest approximately $18M annually in promotion. Four different categories of promotion were evaluated in 2003-2004. All the research suggests that generic promotion sponsored by NY dairy farmers has a positive impact on demand and farm milk prices. Benefits outweigh costs by 2.8:1. A major consequence of the analysis is enhanced understanding of the value of sponsored advertising. Hence, dairy farmers are in a better position to evaluate the program. The analysis also makes it easier for the NYS Milk Promotion Order Advisory Board to make advertising dollar allocation decisions and evaluate major media markets. (Dong and Schmit)

Decreasing Dry Periods in Dairy Cows: Management strategies that enhance the productive capacity of dairy cows are critical for the health of the NYS dairy industry. Traditionally, dairy producers have allowed cows a 60-day nonlactating dry period to help the cow physiologically prepare for the next lactation. Animal scientists at Cornell investigated whether shortening the length of the dry period from 60 to 40 days offered NY dairy producers any advantage. They determined that producers can capture anywhere from $60-$90 per cow or more in increased net farm income by adoption of this simple management practice. Such a change could increase income by 30% or more on individual cows, thereby increasing farm profitability by 20% or more. Many dairy producers across NY have started to decrease the length of the dry period in their herds based on this research recommendation. (Overton and Galton)

Improving Alfalfa for the Dairy Industry: Cornell plant breeders are breeding alfalfa varieties with multiple disease resistance and higher forage yield and feed quality for dairy cows, thereby reducing feed costs at New Yorks 7,000 dairies without increasing production costs. Improved forage quality allows cows to eat more of the alfalfa, requiring less soybean meal and other purchased feeds. Milk production is also increased. The new Cornell alfalfa varieties Oneida Ultra, Seedway 9558, Guardsman II, and NY 0131 are now grown throughout the Northeast, North Central USA and Eastern Canada. Alfalfa varieties developed at Cornell produce more than $30M annually in hay for Northeastern producers. (Viands)

Anaerobic Digestion: Manure on many dairy farms is stored several months before applying to fields. This practice allows for better utilization of manure nutrients for crop production and reduces the chance of polluting local streams and lakes. Stored manure, however, produces foul-smelling gases. To reduce the smell, anaerobic digest of stored manure is being explored. Byproducts of anaerobic digestion include electricity, heat, and compostable solids, while still maintaining the nutrient value for crops. Currently, the cost to install an anaerobic digester can be well over $250,000. Engineers at Cornell are working with local power companies and dairy farmers to develop a comprehensive model that predicts the energy requirements to operate an anaerobic digester. Experimental monitoring and measurements of energy loss and gas production have also been performed. Two farms in NYS were selected for modeling, and a web-based interactive computer program was developed so that engineers, extension agents and farmers could enter and compare data with ease. It has been reported that 1kW of power can be produced for every 7 cows. Pathogen reduction is enhanced, and odors reduced. Solid byproducts can be sold as soil amendments, composted, or used on the farm. (Gebremedhin)

Milk Quality Improvement Program (MQIP): NYS milk production in 2003 was 12.0 billion pounds with a value of $1.56B. The MQIP provides a multi-pronged, non-regulatory, educational approach for improving dairy product quality. It is funded by NYS dairy farmer check-off dollars, and was established in collaboration with the NYS Dept of Agriculture and Markets. In 2004, the MQIP worked with 26 fluid milk producers and 5 cottage cheese processing plants, collecting more than 500 raw and processed product samples, and conducting nearly 8,000 individual analyses. The dairy extension team organized and conducted 27 workshops/conference/in-service events, attracting more than 2,008 participants, and presented more than 46 presentations, reaching more than 1,892 participants. By working closely with NYS milk producers, processors and regulators, Cornell food scientists help ensure the manufacturing of safe and wholesome dairy products. (Brown)

Educating Dairy Farmers of the Present and the Future: Two dairy education programs at Cornell seek to enhance the leadership potential in students and producers. The Cornell Dairy Fellows provides 140 students a year with various courses that cover all subject matter needed to operate a dairy farm. Seventy percent of the graduates enter production oriented careers; 20% enter the finance and nutrition fields; and 7% enter graduate and professional school programs. Similarly, the Cornell Dairy Executive Program (CDEP) offers current dairy producers an enhanced management educational opportunity. One hundred percent of the graduates of the first three classes of the CDEP indicate they changed some aspect of their business, while 85% felt there was an improvement in their business. (Karszes, Holcomb, Batchelder, and VanAmburgh)

Increasing the Profitability and Competitiveness of the NYS Dairy Industry: The Cornell educational program PRO-DAIRY helps farm families and other agricultural professional realize their values and strive to achieve their professional and personal goals. In 2004, outreach included 355 educational meetings with 15,750 attendees; a website with over 36,000 visitors; a bimonthly magazine; and work with over 40 industry organizations, including Cornell Cooperative Extension. It is estimated that at least 90% of dairy producers in NY are impacted by PRO-DAIRY. As a result, 95+% of dairy farms with more than 200 milking cows are in compliance with the state-required environmental permit by operating their farms under a whole farm nutrient management plan;

Download PDF Version (2.4MB)

Contact

Ron Butler

Professor and Chairman
Department of Animal Science
149 Morrison Hall
Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853

Phone: 607-255-2862
Email: anscinfo@cornell.edu