This Saturday, July 8, marks the start of the ASAS-CSAS Annual Meeting & Trade Show, and to kick things off we have an Ice Cream Social planned from 4:15-5:15 p.m. in the Hilton Baltimore. The Opening Session will follow at 5:30 p.m. in the Baltimore Convention Center.

Instead of a keynote, five speakers will give short, TED-style talks about animal science, which we call AnimalX. Here are our 2017 AnimalX speakers, in presenting order:

The annual Academic Quadrathlon brings together undergraduate teams from the four ASAS sections for a two-day competition involving a lab practicum, written exam, oral presentation, and quiz bowl. The Animal Science Image Gallery contains several images from the 2016 AQ.

Search the Gallery for and download more images like the one shown here of members of the 2016 Purdue University Academic Quadrathlon team demonstrating sheep hoof trimming during the lab practicum portion of the competition.

The 2017 AQ kicks off Friday, July 7, at the University of Maryland, College Park. Teams from the four ASAS sections include Penn State University, Texas Tech University, Kansas State University, and California State University, Chico.

Download or submit images to the Gallery at: www.animalimagegallery.org. There is no charge to download or submit images if you are an ASAS member.

Join us for a Networking Lunch on Monday, July 10, from 12:00 to 2:00 PM at the 2017 ASAS-CSAS Annual Meeting! The Networking Lunch is a great way to invest in your future, engage with fellow ASAS members and catalyze connections within Animal Science!

A new article has been posted to First Look in Translational Animal Science.

Join the American Society of Animal Science, friends and colleagues as we honor the contributions of Dr. Donald Mahan of The Ohio State University and Dr. Cornelis (Kees) de Lange of the University of Guelph at this year’s Foundation Heritage Lunch.

The American Society of Animal Science (ASAS) Board of Directors is excited to announce new board members for 2017-2018!

Northeast members: For the 2017-2018 election, the Northeast Section must fill the positions of Secretary-Treasurer and Graduate Director.

The nominees for Secretary-Treasurer are Dr. Tara Felix and Dr. Maria Hoffman.

The nominee for Graduate Director is Dominique Martin.

The deadline to vote in the election is July 7, 2017 at 11:59 p.m. CDT.

By Dr. Cassie Welch, ASAS Public Policy Committee

The Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research (FFAR) has been busy over the past few months! Below is a summary of their most recent activities, and to stay in the loop, you can sign up for the FFAR newsletter or follow them on Twitter @FoundationFAR.

In the News

Senate Agriculture Committee Hearing

We’ve built a mobile app for the 2017 ASAS-CSAS Annual Meeting & Trade Show! It has all the important information you’ll need for the event and features to enhance your event experience. You can view a video tutorial on how to download and use the mobile app on the 2017 ASAS-CSAS Annual Meeting & Trade Show website.

There’s still time to register online and save yourself time in the on-site registration line!

There is also still time to book your hotel room. Rooms are still available at the beautiful Holiday Inn – Inner Harbor. You can reserve your room online or by phone at 1-877-505-0680 or 1-801-505-4618.

ASAS has launched a new campaign to support our Public Policy program. It is called the $20 in ’17 Campaign. ASAS is asking each professional member to donate an extra $20 in 2017! Please read this letter to learn more about this important effort.

Dear ASAS Members,

As many of you know, Public Policy has been an ASAS passion for the last 25 years. Our public policy program has undergone a number of changes and has weathered a few storms. Today, we keep our public policy program alive through a combination of strategic partnerships (i.e., NAAAS, ACSESS, FASS, CAST and The Randel Group) and our own individual programs. As part of our strategic plan launch in July, we will begin to more fully develop our plan, and in particular, we will work on developing a business model to provide enhanced long term support of ASAS public policy programs.

The following are some of our most visible public policy programs:

By Dr. Casey L. Bradley, ASAS Public Policy Committee

In the last few months, President Donald Trump has issued an Executive Order for Agriculture, and we have seen Sonny Purdue confirmed as Secretary of Agriculture.

President Trump’s Executive Order confirmed his intentions of continued economic prosperity in America. Within the order, he created a Task Force with a minimum of 21 members and the ability of the President or Secretary of Agriculture to designate other members.

The main purpose of the Task Force is to identify legislative, regulatory, and policy changes to promote agriculture, economic development, job growth, infrastructure improvements, technological innovation, energy security, and quality of life in rural America. Ten areas of interest were highlighted:

The pre-conference is a ticketed event, so please make sure to add it to your meeting registration. Cost is $150 for professionals and $35 for students.

Conference co-chair, Dr. Teresa Davis, will kick off the symposium with a presentation on the Nutritional and social importance of animal sourced proteins.

By Dr. Michael Azain, ASAS Public Policy Committee


The theme of the April 2017 issue of Animal Frontiers was “GMO Crops in Animal Nutrition.” Articles in this issue provide an excellent update and review of the history and future of GM crops, a review of studies where GM crops have been fed to livestock and the methods of assessing their safety, the potential for use of gene editing technology in livestock, and the politicization of food security.

The editorial entitled “Human needs and future challenges,” by Zaheer and Reuter highlights the need for increased crop yields to support a greater human population, but also the expected increased demand for livestock products and the impact that climate change could have on production.

In “The future of genetically engineered plants to stabilize yield and improve feed,” Dhariwal and Laroche outline potential crop modifications that can lead to improved digestibility in livestock or enhance biofuel production from plants.

The ASAS Public Policy Committee (PPC) was formed in 2009 to help ASAS shape public policy and public opinion related to all aspects of food animals and companion animals by engaging policy makers. The committee has been actively involved in a variety of activities!

We are pleased to introduce you to Ben Rietmann, Oregon State University. Ben is one of six ASAS Science Policy interns currently in Washington, D.C. Ben is interning with the USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA).

ASAS has launched a new campaign to support our Public Policy program. It is called the $20 in ’17 Campaign. ASAS is asking each professional member to donate an extra $20 in 2017! Please read this letter to learn more about this important effort.

Meet the new talented people who have accepted to serve on the 2017-2018 CSAS Executive Committee:

Eastern Director: Dr. Anna Kate Shoveller (Assistant Professor, University of Guelph)


Anna Kate Shoveller grew up on a hobby farm where she eagerly raised horses, pigs, chickens, goats, sheep, rabbits and a host of cats and dogs. It is no surprise that she translated her love of animals into a desire to learn as much as possible about them. Her personal mission is to conduct research that will help improve the lives of cats and dogs, while also teaching and mentoring the next generation of companion animal scientists and pet product experts. Shoveller received her BSc, Honours in Animal Biology from the University of Guelph in 1997 and her PhD in Nutrition and Metabolism from the University of Alberta in 2004. Her PhD thesis was focused on sulfur amino acid metabolism in baby piglets and the role of the gut.

In 2009, Shoveller was selected by the American Society for Nutrition to receive the Peter J. Reeds Memorial Young Investigator Award, which recognized her contributions to the understanding of neonatal sulfur amino acid metabolism and specifically for the changes that have been made in the parenteral feeding industry due to the knowledge developed in her PhD. Shoveller served as the provincial equine nutritionist for Alberta Agriculture, Food and Rural Development (2003-2004) prior to joining the University of Guelph as a post-doctoral fellow in companion animal nutrition (2004-2007). Her post doctoral research developed and validated a minimally invasive technique to measure amino acid requirements in dogs and will provide the basis for better understanding the variables that affect amino acid requirements in dogs.

Two CSAS symposia will be taking place at the 2017 ASAS-CSAS Annual Meeting & Trade Show 8-12, July, in Baltimore, Maryland.

Title: From one to all biological components – the new approach of Systems Biology

Date and Time: Sunday July 9th, 2:00 – 5:00 pm.

See the speaker list!

You are all cordially invited to attend the Annual General Meeting (AGM) where important issues affecting us as a society will be discussed and decisions taken.

A reminder that the CSAS Awards Banquet is on Monday, July 10, beginning at 6:00 p.m. During the banquet we will recognize and celebrate outstanding professional and student members of our society. You are all invited to join in the celebration of great achievements. Come and cheer your colleagues on! This activity will be followed by the Members Mixer, an occasion where ideas flow freely and where partnerships are forged. This is a must attend event. Remember to attend and encourage our students during the student poster and oral competitions.

Here are details on activities and times:

Students: Here are some events for you at the 2017 ASAS-CSAS Annual Meeting & Trade Show. The meeting is coming up 8-12 July in Baltimore, Maryland!

Sunday, 9 July:  CSAS Graduate Student Poster Competition

Sunday, 9 July: CSAS Graduate Student Oral Competition

View information about CSAS symposia taking place at the Annual Meeting.