Thanks to Turner Swartz, an assistant professor in the department of dairy and food science, new research is taking place at the South Dakota State University Dairy Research and Training Facility.
Swartz applied for a grant through the USDA Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI) in August 2023, knowing that AFRI grants are among the most competitive grants for agricultural sciences.
Though it was noted that the USDA only funded about 20% of the applications for this priority area, Swartz’s application was selected, making this one of the many things that makes this accomplishment so impressive.
“As a young faculty member, a major milestone of our careers is being awarded a federal grant,” says Swartz.
According to the non-technical summary section of the grant, the research goal is to gain information that will be used to inform future research projects and help develop solutions to reduce the incidence of postpartum disorders like mastitis. The long-term goal of the projects is to improve dairy cattle health and reduce antimicrobial usage.
For the research, the cows will be purchased in groups of 10 to 15 at a time and then sold, completing the same process until 80 cows have gone through the study. This will happen over the course of two years, with lab work, final reports, and findings being done in year three.
Swartz expressed that the grant does not provide funding to buy the cattle needed for the research but provides funding to conduct research.
Swartz noted that this research isn’t just for him. Graduate and undergraduate students can gain experience working with dairy cows and conducting research in many ways.
Two graduate students are working on the project this semester, and an additional graduate student will join the team in the spring semester. Additionally, three undergraduate students are involved in the research.
“Students can gain hands-on experience working with dairy cattle, understanding dairy cattle health, and learning about research and dairy cattle management,” said Swartz. “We are providing training for our students that will benefit them in their future careers.”
This research is a huge opportunity for SDSU students to learn and develop in the dairy industry. It also aims to positively impact the growing dairy herds in South Dakota and beyond.
“We are also working toward developing strategies that farmers can use to make dairy cows healthier,” said Swartz. “In South Dakota, the dairy industry is rapidly growing and now has over 200,000 dairy cows. Hopefully, our research will be able to positively impact the dairy farms in the state of South Dakota, as well as nationally and globally.”
Swartz commends his passion for managing and developing nutritional strategies for dairy as a driving reason for applying for the grant.
“The department of dairy and food science at SDSU is very excited to have this research being conducted at the SDSU Dairy Teaching and Research Facility,” said Dr. Londa Nwadike, the David A Thompson Endowed head of the dairy and food science department. “Our Department and the SDSU College of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Sciences are actively working to continue to support teaching, research and extension outreach efforts in dairy production, as well as dairy manufacturing and food science.”
