SDSU graduate wins regional dairy award

BROOKINGS, S.D.— A South Dakota State University graduate won a dairy research award at the annual meeting of the Midwestern Section of the American Dairy Science Association in Des Moines, Iowa, March 21-23.
Jeff DeFrain, who earned a Ph.D. in dairy science from SDSU in Fall 2004, received the Innovations in Dairy Research Award. The award, which is sponsored by Land O’ Lakes Feed, comes with a $500 grant and rewards scientifically based original and innovative ideas that are relevant to the dairy industry.
DeFrain received the award in recognition of his research on feeding lactose to dairy cows in the transition period between late gestation and early lactation. Lactose is the sugar found in whey produced during the manufacture of cheese. Because of the low cost and availability of whey, it is a popular supplement in diets of lactating dairy cows.
DeFrain’s research demonstrated that lactose fed to dairy cows for three weeks before and three weeks after calving provides a good source of energy for the cow and may help prevent fatty liver syndrome, a serious metabolic disorder that often affects high producing dairy cows.
DeFrain’s adviser at SDSU, Associate Professor of Dairy Science Arnold Hippen, and SDSU dairy scientists Kenneth Kalscheur and David Schingoethe also contributed to the research.
DeFrain is a native of Fairbury, Neb. He now works in Wahpeton, N.D., as a dairy technical consultant with Minnesota-based Hubbard Dairy Services.

Marianne Stein
SDSU AgBio Communications Unit
Box 2231, ACC 203
Brookings, SD 57007
(605) 688-4647
marianne_stein@sdstate.edu

South Dakota State University / Dairy Science Department
Dairy Microbiology Rm 109 / Phone: 605-688-4116
College of Agricultural and Biological Sciences