Highlights and Special Requests for Abstracts from the Program Committee
2004 Joint Meeting of ADSA, ASAS, and PSA
St. Louis, Missouri, July 25-29

The following program highlights are in the final stages of planning. As you will see in reading through the summary, many outstanding symposia, workshops, and invited talks are planned.

Posters -- After last year’s overwhelming positive response to the new poster schedule during the ADSA-ASAS meeting in Phoenix and the PSA meeting in Madison, we will again provide a 2-hour block of time daily for the posters. The time block for the posters (either 7:30 to 9:30 a.m. or 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. with a break for lunch) will be planned where neither symposia nor oral sessions will be scheduled during this time period.

Call for Abstracts

To build an outstanding program, your participation through abstract submission is essential. The foundation of our annual meeting is the science that each one of us brings with the oral and poster abstracts submitted. There are a few special topics for which Program Committees are requesting abstracts from the membership to enhance symposia or oral sessions. These special calls for abstracts are denoted in bold italic lettering. For additional information on the 2004 Joint ADSA, ASAS, and PSA meeting, please check the web site http://www.fass.org/2004.

Program Areas

ADSA Southern Branch and the Northeast Branch/Section of ADSA and ASAS -- Business meetings and normal annual meeting activities of these Branches/Sections will be incorporated into the meeting in St. Louis. The Southern Branch of ADSA is planning a symposium: “Meeting the Future Needs of the Dairy Industry”.

Graduate Student Paper Contests—ADSA Dairy Foods and Production Division (National), Northeast ADSA/ASAS Branch/Section, and Southern ADSA Branch -- Both the Dairy Foods and Production Division of ADSA strongly encourage graduate students to submit abstracts for the national competition. Not only do the winners receive outstanding recognition and have something to add to their resume, there is money to be made, too. Check the web site (www.fass.org/2004) for graduate student competition rules and information. The ADSA Production Division students also can present their paper a second time as a poster in the appropriate session if they so desire, in addition to the special competition session early in the week.

Alpharma Beef Cattle Nutrition -- A half-day symposium is planned on “Factors affecting feedlot profitability”. The feedlot industry is in a tremendous state of flux. Value-based (grid) marketing for individual carcasses (rather than a single price based on live wt) has just recently become the standard. This symposium will cover economic factors that affect profitability and will contrast the relative importance of various traits and production inputs on profitability. In addition, speakers will cover nutrition, health, and management strategies that influence carcass value and profitability.

Animal Behavior and Well Being -- “The positive impact of animal behavior and welfare research on animal production” is the topic of the symposium by the Animal Behavior and Well Being Program Committee. There is need for emphasis regarding the positive effects of animal behavior and well being research and extension efforts and the impact on animal production. This symposium will highlight different aspects of animal behavior and well being research that have had a fundamental and positive impact on animal production.

Animal Health -- This program committee will sponsor a symposium on “Integrative aspects of immunity, nutrient metabolism, and production in livestock”. The study of immune function in food animal production has evolved into an investigation of integrative biology with both general application across livestock species and also specific application to economically important issues within each of the major production systems. The intent of this symposium will be to highlight aspects of immune function in domestic livestock as integrated with nutrient metabolism, growth in swine and ruminant species, or lactation in dairy cattle.

Beef Species -- The Beef Species Program Committee will feature two invited speakers to review information on energetic efficiency. This committee is encouraging the submission of abstracts on enhancing energetic efficiency.

Bioethics -- This new committee has elected to sponsor a symposium and round table discussion on “Ethics and the cost of food: What is the impact of lessening food prices on citizens, producers, animals, and the environment?”. The Bioethics Program Committee will also sponsor their first abstract session. An invited speaker will lead off the abstract session on the topic of “Ethics and food prices”.

Breeding and Genetics -- The Breeding and Genetics Program Committee is sponsoring a symposium on “Genetics of efficient feed utilization”. There is a renewed interest in beef cattle research for breeding tools to improve the genetics of efficient feed utilization. While traditional genetic improvement tools have focused on output traits, feed efficiency is an economically important trait that focuses on reduction of inputs rather than increasing outputs. This committee will also sponsor an invited speaker on the topic of “Potential for inclusion of health data in international genetic programs”.

Companion Animals -- The Companion Animals Program Committee has planned a symposium on “Problems of obesity associated with companion animals”. Obesity is the most common nutritional disease in companion animals today (20-45% of dogs; 20-35% of cats) and this condition is associated with a number of health problems. This is a timely topic that should draw interest not only from companion animal scientists but also from animal scientists working with other species.
Contemporary Issues -- FASS and Poultry Science Association will sponsor a symposium on “Current and future prospects for animal nutrition management for environmental impact reduction”. This symposium should be of interest to animal scientists from all three of the animal science societies. This symposium will increase the knowledge and awareness of members of the three animal science professional societies on the importance of their work for animal production, and the mechanics of policy development for bringing that work to the animal industries and producers.

Dairy Foods -- The ADSA Dairy Foods Division has an exciting and excellent program planned involving two symposia and a workshop that will surely be of interest to members of all societies involved in food products and research. The first symposium is on “Perspectives on the 60-day hold rule for cheese”. Over the last decade there has been substantial growth in the specialty cheese market, including the market for raw milk cheeses. In spite of heated opinion, research continues to suggest that the basis for existing regulatory requirements for ensuring the safety of such cheeses is inadequate. The nature of the symposium is to detail current research, market interest and regulatory actions of significant to this topic.

The second symposium topic is “Dairy foods and human nutrition”. Dairy foods continue to be a source of nutrition in the human diet. Additionally, research has revealed a number of biologically active compounds of significance to human health. This symposium will review major findings in the current research pool and provide perspectives for the utilization of these compounds in the context of current human health status.

The pre-meeting workshop on “Dairy product evaluation using sensory techniques” is scheduled for Saturday afternoon, July 24 and Sunday morning, July 25. The objectives of this workshop is to educate students and others in traditional and new dairy product evaluation techniques and provide an additional training and practice forum for students participating in the National Collegiate Dairy Product Judging Competition.

Extension Education -- The Extension Education Program Committee will sponsor three symposia and one workshop. One is on “Applied reproductive management”. In recent years, a number of products (CIDR, Regumate, etc.) and protocols were introduced to assist producers in the management of estrous cycles (beef, dairy and swine). Therefore, a review of these products and protocols and how they can be applied would be very timely and appropriate.

The second symposium is on “The use of electronic media for extension and producer education. Electronic media has continued to become a viable source of information for Extension educators and producers. This symposium will explore different educational programs that use electronic media to provide information to extension educators and producers.

The third extension education symposium is entitled “What is the future role of extension education?”. During the last eight to ten years, federal funding for Extension has been flat or decreasing. State funding for Extension and higher education has been challenging at best. This forced many Land Grant Institutions to critically review their teaching, research and extension programs and set difficult priorities. Today, there are fewer Extension Animal, Dairy and Poultry Scientists to transfer unbiased research information that ultimately reaches the producers. With the decline in numbers of production operations but with an increase in size of operations and evolution towards integration in many industries, the future role of Extension is of concern.

Combined Extension Workshop -- The ADSA, ASAS, and PSA Extension Committees will sponsor a full-day combined Extension workshop. The workshop will feature four sessions on: environmental, biosecurity, international, and extension realities with several presentations under each topic.

Goat Species -- This committee is planning a symposium on “Export potential, market outlook, and value-added processing”. Goat production, in particular rearing of meat goats, is the most rapidly growing livestock industry in the US. Nonetheless, for continued expansion, it is desirable to consider and take advantage of opportunities in export potential, market outlook, and value-added processing.

Growth and Development -- Two symposia and one workshop have been submitted and approved from the Growth and Development Program Committee. The first symposium on “Emerging roles of gut peptides in the regulation of appetite and metabolism” will feature four invited speakers. The second symposium is on “Mammary development—The role of progenitor cells, nutritional modulation and impacts on lactation”. Abstract submissions on the role of leptin in the developing mammary gland, a re-evaluation of the data of Sinha and Tucker (1969) with a new data set and a couple of abstracts describing the role of estrogen in developing gland are encouraged for this symposium.

The Growth and Development workshop on “Perspectives, insights and tools for animal scientists to obtain USDA and NIH funding” will be presented by three invited speakers and will cover research funding for animal, dairy and poultry.

Horse Species -- “Equine carbohydrate associated disorders” is the symposium planned by the ASAS Horse Species Program Committee. Several disorders occurring in horses have been linked to consumption of diets containing a high proportion of grain relative to roughage. These disorders include gastric ulcers, laminitis, insulin resistance, and polysaccharide storage myopathy, all of which are significant problems occurring in horses. The objective of this symposium is to provide attendees with current information regarding this topic, and to promote discussion aimed at motivation of future research in these areas.

International Animal Agriculture -- This committee will sponsor a symposium on “Animal agriculture in global context”. This symposium will strengthen our relationships with the animal science community around the world. The symposium will provide opportunity to the US animal science community to interact and develop/strengthen relationships with international community. Speakers will talk in detail about livestock revolution, research/extension/training, environmental and trade issues in global context.

Lactation Biology -- “Molecular mechanisms governing mammary development” is a symposium being planned by the Lactation Biology Program Committee. Mammary development continues to be a large scientific focus in many academic, government and pharmaceutical sectors. In fact, with the recent discoveries that animal growth rates can be accomplished without a detrimental impact on mammary development/function warrants a re-evaluation of how nutritional, hormonal, cellular, and molecular events dictate mammary growth. The biology of mammary cancer closely reflects many of the normal developments of mammary growth and thus will provide a forum that merges these two closely related fields.

Physiology and Endocrinology -- This committee will sponsor two symposia: “Functional genomics and its relevance in animal biology and food production” and “The biology and management of stress in animal production”. The genomics symposium is intended to update and bring into focus the topic of functional genomics as it relates to advances in biology and food production. The stress symposium is intended to cover the broad issues of stress in domestic animals and birds (poultry).

Poultry -- A symposium on “Antibiotics in animal feeds: Are there viable alternatives?” is being planned by the PSA. This symposium will address three key issues: 1) Current practices; 2) Monitoring and identifying the key problems; and 3) Resistance mechanisms, related problems and potential alternatives.

Poultry Informal Nutrition Conference – The topic of this session will be on “Digestive physiology and metabolic challenges”.

Poultry Ancillary Scientists Symposium -- This symposium on “Agricultural biosecurity: Emerging issues in homeland security and food safety” will address five recent developments in global economics and public concern that affect the poultry industry: 1) New challenges posed by human, product, and disease mobility; 2) New emphasis placed upon food security plans in addition to food safety plans; 3) New transmissible diseases within our food system; 4) Recent reemergence of devastating poultry diseases; 5) Novel technological developments that promise new approaches to these challenges.

World’s Poultry Science Association Lectureship (U.S. and Canadian Branch) – This lectureship, presented by Dr. Mike Doyle of the University of Georgia, will be on “Reducing the carriage of foodborne pathogens by livestock and poultry”.

Poultry – PSA will sponsor a symposium on “Air emissions and poultry production”. As EPA is revisiting the Clean Air Act and air quality from agriculture enterprises are under greater scrutiny, poultry and livestock operations and their emissions are at issue. This symposium is designed to bring all attendee’s up to date with the latest regulations, understanding of the chemistry and environmental consequences and finally dietary and management practices that may be brought to bare to better the environment and poultry production.

Production and Management -- This committee will not have a symposium but will invite a few speakers for a 30-minute presentation to initiate a few Production and Management sessions.

Ruminant Nutrition -- The Ruminant Nutrition Program Committee will sponsor a symposium and two sessions with invited speakers. The symposium is on “Basic science of ruminant nitrogen metabolism and its application to feeding cows”. The goal of this symposium is to provide a basic review of protein metabolism in the rumen and the post-ruminal digestive tract of beef and dairy cows and to relate this information to our current understanding of their dietary protein requirements and current methods used to feed these ruminants. Strengths and weaknesses of models (such as the 1996 and 2001 NRC models for beef and dairy, CPM, and MOLLY) currently used to formulate diets for ruminants will be described. One oral session will feature a talk on “Estimation of energy value of feed and its use in ration formulation. The other session will feature two invited speakers with presentations on “Impact of water quality on ruminant production” and “Mitigation of water quality issues”.

Swine Species -- A half-day symposium entitled “Improving sow productivity: Recent developments in gilt and lactation managing” will be sponsored by the Swine Species Program Committee. The aim of the symposium is to provide a comprehensive review of research in this area and to present examples from field experience. The goal of the committee is to secure speakers who will present information that is scientific in nature as well as being directly applicable in the field. In addition to the symposium, the committee requests abstracts addressing a variety of applied problems in swine production, particularly those related to improving animal husbandry. Abstracts submitted in this area would be presented in either oral or poster formats with a preference for oral presentation. The committee would entertain abstracts from technical staff in private firms based upon field data so long as the correct scientific method has been applied in the analysis and interpretation of the data available. The committee feels that soliciting participation from private industry will enhance the number of papers in swine production and increase attendance due to the interest in current topics.

Triennial Growth Symposium -- The theme for the one-day pre-meeting Triennial Growth Symposium will be “Applications of genomics and proteomics to production animal development and growth research”. Some of the results of the largest and most successful biomedical research projects of the past century, e.g., the sequencing of the human genome, are now having an impact on production animal development and growth research. The technologies are at the early stages of being commercialized in the animal industries.

Women and Minority Issues in Animal Agriculture -- The committee is planning a symposium on “Women and minority issues in animal agriculture” featuring 7 speakers on such topics as “Animal agriculture traditions and their current influences with respect to participation of women minorities”, “Gender and animal agriculture issues”, “Women and minorities in Western Agriculture”, and “Personal experiences of animal and poultry scientists”.