California Chapter
The California Chapter completed its annual CEC meeting on October 16-17, 2019. The topics included talks form Dr. Vandehaar on “Meeting the Energy Needs of Cows: How Much Milk Will a Ration Make?”, “Fatty Acid Inclusion and Utilization by Dairy Cattle” by Dr. Lou Armentano, and an update on the work the chapter has been involved in, with UC Davis and the California Almond Board on the use of almond hulls in lactating cattle diets. The trial work is complete and the associated papers are being prepared for publication. A copy of the agenda is attached.

We are currently planning the next CEC meeting for this fall, along with planning are fundraising events. Membership and outreach to potential new members continues to be a topic that needs development. The discussion from the National meeting was shared and the chapter looked forward to the developments on the national plans for membership.

Pacific Northwest Chapter
The PNW Chapter held their annual meeting and an exam session during the 2020 Pacific NW Animal Nutrition Conference.

Southeastern, (formally South Central)
Past Symposium/Meeting: As many are aware, rather than conduct a traditional business meeting in 2019, we opted to use the funding to sponsor a symposium at ASAS Southern Section regarding the “Costs of Mismanagement at the Cow/Calf Level”. Invited speakers were Dan Thomson (K-State), John Riley (OK. State) and Dave Smith (Miss. State). To date (as far as I am aware, Riley et al have published a manuscript in AAS, from this symposium). We feel that allowing authors to publish findings from these symposia (both SERA and ARPAS) are good avenues to increase authorship within the journal.

Meeting: Instead of our traditional breakfast business meeting, we opted to go the symposium route. This left little time for the business meeting; additionally, the incoming president was on maternity leave. Unfortunately, this left the chapter in a period of “limbo”. We are without a Secretary/Treasurer and unsure what the current structure is. We are hopeful that following a business meeting this year we will be able to get things lined back up for the chapter. We will need to re-evaluate the current structure and determine how best to move forward.

Future Symposium/Meeting/Sponsorship: In past meetings, we have struggled with obtaining sufficient funding to sponsor the breakfast meetings/symposium. In discussions with ASAS, we felt we would not be able to have sufficient funding to continue the symposium due to funding required. We will need to work with ASAS to determine funding required for both symposia and booth/table use. This will allow us to better plan for future meetings.

Washington DC Chapter
WDC Chapter of ARPAS has held five monthly luncheon meetings:

September – No speaker
October - Speaker: Dr. Pat Millner, ARS, USDA, Subject: Farm-to-fork: Salad in a bag. Does aquaponics fit this supply chain?
November - Speaker: Dr. David Heron, APHIS, USDA, Subject: Role of Biotechnology Regulatory Services in regulating bioengineered crops used for food or feed in the United States
December – No Speaker
January – Speaker: Dr. Bill Price, ARPAS Historian, Subject: History, Purpose and Goals of National ARPAS
February – Speaker: Dr. Julie Long : USDA ARS, Subject: Poultry Reproduction Research
March - Speaker: Jere High, CEO/Manager, Lancaster [PA] DHIA; Subject: Lancaster Dairy Herd Improvement Association and its laboratory operations

A symposium is planned for April 29, 2020 and the title is Contemporary Topics in Companion Animals

Midwest Chapter

4th Annual Midwest ARPAS Poster Contest

The Midwest ARPAS Chapter sponsored the 4th annual graduate poster contest, held during the 80th Annual Minnesota Nutrition Conference on September 18 and 19 in Mankato, MN.

10 posters were presented to a panel of 3 impartial judges. These posters were submitted from 3 Universities: the University of Minnesota, South Dakota State University, and the University of Missouri.

Hayford Manu placed first in the competition, winning a top prize of $500.00. Second place was awarded to Amanda Palowski, earning $200.00 and Trent Dado placed third in the competition, taking home $100.00.

All three graduate posters winners were students of the University of Minnesota.

Pictured above are John Goihl, Conference Co-Chair, Alfredo DiCostanzo, Conference Co-Chair, Rick Bonander, Past President of the Midwest ARPAS Chapter, Hayford Manu, First place winner, Amanda Palowski, second place winner, Trent Dado, third place winner, and Joe Wolf, Midwest ARPAS member.

Midwest Animal Science Personal Development

Critical conversations—We all have them! They are moments of truth that can define a relationship, impact trust and success, and ultimately shape a culture. The trouble is, they are difficult, and we each have our reasons for the difficulty.

At this conference, we will

• Explore the specific difficulties we and others naturally experience when faced with a critical conversation
• Learn strategies to deal with these difficulties
• Learn a very practical process for successfully managing the conversation, separating behavior from attitude, and building personal responsibility
• Understand and apply constructive feedback—both corrective and supportive
• Improve interpersonal communication skills through practice, feedback, and coaching

Plan on attending, as seating is limited.

ARPAS University Challenge at Tri-State and 4-State 2020!

The Midwest ARPAS Committee is pleased to announce they will be offering a “Cream of the Crop” Award at Tri-State as well as Four-State, starting in 2020. To encourage students to take the ARPAS exam next year at Tri-State or at Four-State, one university can win $500 and bragging rights for a year as a “Cream of the Crop Award” winner.

The Milk Can award will go to the university with the highest number of students who take and pass the ARPAS exam at Tri-State and Four-State.

The first ARPAS “Cream of the Crop” Milk Can award and $500 was awarded to OSU at the 2019 Tri-State Meeting for their 2018 participation. This year at Tri-State, 19 students took the ARPAS exam. The university winner will be announced at next year’s Tri-State and Four-State, with the traveling Milk Can to go to the winning university.

Midwest ARPAS Schedule for 2020

PDCE/Midwest ASAS/ADSA: March 2–4.

Tri-State Dairy Nutrition Conference: April 20–22.

Four-State Dairy Nutrition and Management Conference: June 10–11.

Minnesota Nutrition Conference: September 16–17.

Certification testing is also available online when proctored by a PAS member

Midwest Board Members:

Midwest ARPAS Sponsors