The 2019 and the 81st Annual Cornell Nutrition Conference (CNC) took place last month in Syracuse, NY, with approximately 550 people learning and networking together to serve the animal agriculture industry. The Northeastern Agribusiness and Feed Alliance (NEAFA) was happy to take part in this longtime tradition that attracts people from around the globe. “NEAFA’s longstanding relationship with the Cornell College of Animal Life Sciences (CALS), and specifically their Animal Science Department, is something that we work diligently to maintain and strengthen,” said NEAFA President John Clark. “We are fortunate to have leaders like the CNC Committee, particularly Larry Chase, Tom Overton, Mike VanAmburgh and most recently Joe McFadden and Kristan Reed that consistently work to strengthen and empower agriculture in the northeast.”
Fifteen different papers were presented at the conference, and according to Larry Chase of Cornell University, the conference typically draws attendees from the US, Canada, and five to seven foreign countries. Chase retired from Cornell in 2014 but continues to help coordinate the conference by staying on the CNC’s program committee. Chase spoke on several different topics throughout the 2.5-day program, something that he has done yearly since 1975. Chase was kind enough to provide NEAFA with some historical background about the CNC, and the topics that it has covered since its inception in 1938, itself an expansion of a program run by the Cornell Poultry Nutrition School in 1934 through 1937.
“The CNC has evolved as our feed industry, animal production industries and faculty resources have changed,” said Chase. “The early conferences had a broad range of topics including farm economics, human nutrition and talks covering a wide range of animal species including dairy, beef, sheep, swine, fish, horses, poultry and pets such as dogs and cats. These talks represented the range of responsibilities that our conference participants worked with on a daily basis in their jobs. These topics were covered by a wide range of Cornell faculty and invited outside speakers. Over time, the focus of the conference has shifted to being primarily dairy related with a few papers on other species. A primary reason for this shift is that the job responsibilities of our participants are primarily dairy nutrition and management related.”
The conference is organized by the program committee, overseen by a general chairman, and a rotating program chair each year. “A rotation system is used for a Program Chairman each year that is responsible for putting together the program topics and speakers,” Said Chase. “Another significant change has been designating one of our office professionals to assist with conference logistical details on a continuing basis. These individuals (Dee Brothers, Robin Huizinga, Heather Fredenburg, Lorissa Haines, Karen Holcomb and Heather Darrow) have made significant contributions to the success of CNC. They quickly develop a rapport with our conference participants and sponsors. The conference runs smoothly primarily due to their efforts.”
While many important papers and topics have been discussed at CNC throughout the years, one from 2009 in particular stuck out to Chase. The paper in question? Sauropod dinosaurs and gigantism: a report of an international conference – P. J. Van Soest – 2009 CNC. “This paper was a report from an international conference held in Germany in 2008,” said Chase. “Dr. Van Soest touched on subjects including homeothermy, blood pressure, types of plants consumed by herbivorous dinosaurs, gut microorganisms and fiber retention time. Since no direct measures were available for these in dinosaurs, speculations on some of these areas were made using large contemporary herbivores (elephants and rhinos).”
For those that missed CNC, consider taking the Feed Dealer Seminars scheduled for December. “This series of programs was initiated in 1946 at the request of the New York State Feed Dealer’s Association,” said Chase. “The goal was to provide training and information to feed industry representatives at the local level that were unable to attend CNC. This series of seminars continues today at 8 locations throughout New York and Vermont.” NEAFA is co-hosting the December 11th Middlebury VT. program, and details for all the seminars can be found by clicking here. Or check out the ad for the December 11th Dairy Nutrition Conference posted in the NEAFA News monthly newsletter.