The Cornell Nutrition Conference was held in East Syracuse from October 21 – 23, 2025. During this meeting, feed manufacturers, nutritionists, consultants, researchers, and university faculty gathered to share the latest developments in animal nutrition.
Here are a few key takeaways. Are you implementing any of these strategies?
- Don’t lose sight of the importance of the cow housing environment and time budget. Modern barns are still being built with inadequate water availability. 4-row barns are still king when it comes to performance.
- As climbing butter fat percentages become a challenge for milk processors, the answer still lies in amino acid balance to amplify milk protein. Fat percentages are outpacing protein percentages, creating imbalances in the required ratio for cheese production. Will the milk processors put caps on fat percentages? Is it time to recalibrate what percent whole milk is, 4% fat instead of 3.5%?
- All amino acids are critical, but Histidine and Arginine are of particular interest to academia and industry as the next step toward unlocking higher milk protein percentages. Not commercially viable at this point, but infusion studies show significant increases in milk protein under research conditions.
- The Holstein breed is outpacing the Jersey breed in total component yield. The Holstein breed has responded to the milk component pricing system implemented in 2000 at a furious pace. Have we self-created the issue we are facing from a milk supply standpoint?
- Calcium recommendations for prefresh cows remain at 1.5% calcium, based on recent Cornell research and a meta-analysis. We are also seeing a new frontier with DCAD diets combined with phosphorus-binding products.
Have questions? Reach out to our Nutrition Team and learn more here about our nutrition services.