McArt Lab members @ 2016 AABP annual conference

Six members of the McArt Dairy Cow Lab spent last week in Charlotte, NC at the 2016 American Association of Bovine Practitioners Annual Conference. We were busy learning, giving research presentations, exercising, and catching up with colleagues.

Dr. Kathryn Bach presented a research summary discussing her work comparing handheld ketosis meters, for which she won 1st place in the graduate student competition! Dr. Raf Neves gave an excellent presentation on his recent study evaluating risk factors associated with postpartum subclinical hypocalcemia, and Isabelle Louge gave her first national presentation in the student research summary session on her work with single-administration oral calcium supplementation. All three did a fantastic job representing our lab and have set a great standard for future lab members!

Three of our members also participated in the 4th annual Stampede 5k race, which seemed like a good idea at the time of registration. Perhaps not so much at 6:30am on a Saturday, but Stephanie Tarlowe, Isabelle Louge, and Jess McArt joined 94 other participants in a 5k run to raise money for the Amstutz Scholarship Fund with smiles at the finish!

We are all now back in Ithaca taking classes, doing field projects, and analyzing data. Stay tuned for more research updates!

Metabolic Armageddon

Seems as if the February 25 issue of Progressive Dairyman likes to discuss metabolic disease in early lactation cows every year!  In the 2016 issue, McArt Lab post-doc, Dr. Sabine Mann, discusses how to manage and monitor the metabolic “Armageddon” in transition cows.

Click the image below to read the full article:

Metabolic Armageddon

Raf Neves’ ADSA Poster

Dr. Raf Neves represented The McArt Lab at the 2015 American Dairy Science Association Annual Conference in Orlando, FL, giving both a poster and oral presentation on his work validating a cow-side ionized calcium meter for periparturient dairy cows.

Click the image below for a PDF of his poster:

2015 ADSA Poster_Neves_Final

New toys…

I guess we have to call our lab legit now because we just purchased our first BIG piece of equipment: a -80 freezer!  I don’t think I’ve ever really seen the inside of one before (without all the frost, that is).


Now all we need are a few samples to start storing in this behemoth!  All in due time, all in due time!

More Dr. McArt in the News!

Dr. McArt has been spending a lot of time in the spotlight these days!  Check out her most recent publication in Journal of Dairy Science discussing the costs of hyperketonemia in early lactation dairy cattle.

Click the image below to read the full article:

Cost of Hyperketonemia Article

Lab Therapy!

This past weekend, the McArt Lab ventured up north, through the snow, to Lowville, NY where we met DHMA Capture Logowith Dr. Mark Thomas and company of Dairy Health & Management Services (DHMS).  DHMS is working with us on a collaborative project which we are excited to get rolling in the next month or so and will be sure to keep you all posted on!

During our visit, we had a chance to get to know the crew of DHMS, checked out some of their cool, new lab equipment, visited a few of the dairies we will be working with, and even got to know some of the hot spots of Lowville.  Of course, no trip to North Country is complete without snow machining and cross country skiing.  We all had a blast and even learned that, though Raf may have been born and raised in Brasil, he is LOVES snow sports!

Check out some pictures from our trip!  Feel free to click the images for larger versions.