2023 CDCB Industry Meeting

Report your genetic abnormalities

October 12, 2023

By Katelyn Allen, for Hoard’s Dairyman

Looking to the future of genetic collaboration

October 23, 2023

By Katelyn Allen, for Hoard’s Dairyman

Marking a decade of genetic gain with CDCB

September 11, 2023

By Katie Schmitt, for Hoard’s Dairyman

Event Photos

Speakers at the 2023 CDCB Industry meeting Front row (left to right): Genetic conditions panelists Matt McClure, Spencer Hackett, Paul VanRaden, George Wiggans, and J.R. Tait, Jr. Back row (left to right): Neal Smith, Francisco Peñagaricano, Robert Fourdraine, Asha Miles, Kristen Parker Gaddis, Katie Schmitt, Lindsey Worden, João Dürr

Ole Meland (middle) was CDCB Chair in 2013-14, when more than 75 individuals from A.I. organizations, milk recording, dairy records processing and breed associations collaborated through the CDCB Board and various committees and working groups to provide direction and functional support as the genetic services transitioned from USDA to CDCB.

Eddie Ormonde of VAS (middle) was recognized by João Dürr and Lindsey Worden for his service on the CDCB Board of Directors.

Featured Speakers

Dr. Asha Miles joined USDA AGIL in March 2021 and quickly embraced the role for research and development of genetic applications that can future improve dairy cattle and farm livelihood. Dr. Miles’ research and academic background spans biotechnology, molecular genetics, immunology, epidemiology, and microbiome science. Her goals as a researcher are to apply these skills in an integrated approach to understand animal health and production, and to translate these findings into innovative interventions which can be applied on farm.

USDA AGIL Research Updates

At CDCB since 2016, Dr. Parker Gaddis has led incorporation of cow health records into the CDCB database, implementation of disease resistance evaluations for Holsteins and Jerseys, and development of the Feed Saved trait. An author or co-author of several published papers, Kristen frequently speaks at global conferences. Her PhD research at North Carolina State University focused on utilization of producer-recorded cow health information to improve understanding of the genetics behind disease resistance, analysis of health data, and estimation of traditional and genomic breeding values for common health traits. Kristen conducted Postdoctoral research at University of Florida and USDA AGIL.

CDCB Research Updates

Francisco Peñagaricano is originally from Uruguay, where he earned his BS (2005) in Biology and Biochemistry and his MS (2010) in Animal Science, all from Universidad de la República. He continued his graduate studies at the University of Wisconsin where he earned his MS (2014) in Statistics and Ph.D. (2014) in Animal Science. Before joining UW, Francisco was a faculty member (2015-2020) in the Department of Animal Sciences at the University of Florida.

His research interests are in quantitative genomics and computational biology. His research program focuses on the development and application of methods to dissect the genetic architecture of economically relevant traits in livestock. He typically combines large, nationwide phenotypic datasets or field experiments, with high–throughput genomic technologies, and advanced statistical and computational methods in order to elucidate the connection between genome and phenotype. His research involves gene mapping, gene-set analysis, genomic prediction, methylome and transcriptome analysis, multi-omics data integration, and network modeling.

Reducing Enteric Methane Emissions from Dairy Cattle

Sustainability Metrics in the International Dairy Community

Recap of National Cooperator Dairy Database Workshop