Plenary Speakers

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Kenneth Kalscheur

Research Animal Scientist
Dairy Forage Research
USDA-ARS

Dr. Kenneth Kalscheur received his B.S. in Dairy Science from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and his M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Animal Science from the University of Maryland. For 13 years, Kenneth Kalscheur was a Professor of Dairy Science at South Dakota State University. Since 2014, Dr. Kalscheur is a Research Animal Scientist at USDA-Agricultural Research Service, U.S. Dairy Forage Research Center in Madison, Wisconsin. Research conducted by Dr. Kalscheur focuses on the utilization of forages, alternative feedstuffs, and feed additives in dairy cattle diets to improve milk production, milk composition, nutrient utilization, and feed efficiency while reducing nutrient excretion and gaseous emissions to the environment. The overall goal of Dr. Kalscheur‘s research program is to investigate how we can increase the use of forage and fiber in high production dairy cow diets while minimizing impact on the environment.

Giorgio Borreani

Professor
Universirty of Turin
Italy

Full professor in Agronomy at the University of Turin, Italy. His research activities are focused on forage production and silage conservation. He collaborates as a researcher and consultant for dairy farmers to increase efficiency of forage and feed production, improve protein and energy self-sufficiency in the animal rations, and to improve sustainability and reduce environmental impacts of dairy farms. He is in charge of several research projects with European Union and international private companies working on silage technologies.

Xusheng Guo

Professor
Lanzhou University
China

Professor Xusheng Guo is working at the School of Life Sciences, Lanzhou University. His research interests mainly on silage, developing novel and probiotic lactic acid bacteria strains for silage fermentation and animal health. He was the co-chair of the 19th International Silage Conference in 2022, Beijing, China. Dr. Guo has published more than 160 papers, including 110 papers in peer-reviewed international journals. He was selected as World's top 2% scientist in 2023.

Kevin Shinners

Emeritus Professor
University of Wisconsin, Madison
Wisconsin, USA

Dr. Kevin Shinners is an Emeritus Professor of Agricultural Engineering in the Department of Biological Systems Engineering at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. His research efforts have focused on machines and systems for harvesting, processing, storing and transporting hay, forage and biomass crops; and sensors and systems for monitoring equipment performance and crop properties on hay, forage, grain and biomass harvesting equipment.

Frank Mitloehner

Professor
University of California, Davis
California, USA

Dr. Frank Mitloehner is a professor and air quality specialist in cooperative extension in the Department of Animal Science at UC Davis. As such, he shares his knowledge and research, both domestically and abroad, with students, scientists, farmers and ranchers, policy makers, and the public at large. Frank is also director of the CLEAR Center, which has two cores – research and communications. The CLEAR Center brings clarity to the intersection of animal agriculture and the environment, helping our global community understand the environmental and human health impacts of livestock, so we can make informed decisions about the foods we eat and while reducing environmental impacts. Frank is committed to making a difference for generations to come. As part of his position with UC Davis and Cooperative Extension, he collaborates with the animal agriculture sector to create better efficiencies and mitigate pollutants. He is passionate about understanding and mitigating air emissions from livestock operations, as well as studying the implications of these emissions on the health of farm workers and neighboring communities. In addition, he is focusing on the food production challenge that will become a global issue as the world’s population grows to nearly 10 billion by 2050. Frank received a Master of Science degree in animal science and agricultural engineering from the University of Leipzig, Germany, and a doctoral degree in animal science from Texas Tech University. Frank was recruited by UC Davis in 2002, to fill its first-ever position focusing on the relationship between livestock and air quality.

Karl-Heinz Südekum

Professor
University of Bonn
Germany

Karl-Heinz Südekum, retired, Professor of Animal Nutrition at the University of Bonn in Germany from October 2004 to July 2023; from 1979 - 2004 University of Kiel, Germany. Background in Agricultural Science, specialized in Farm Animal Nutrition. Passionate about ruminant species and feedstuffs. Research has focused on protein and energy evaluation but also on changes occur¬ring during aerobic exposure of silages and how these can be detected by chemical, in vitro- and animal-based methods.

Horst Auerbach

Chief Research Officer
International Silage Consultancy
Germany

Dr. Horst Auerbach graduated from Leipzig University, Germany, with an MSc, in Agricultural Sciences in 1992. His PhD work, conducted at the Federal Research Centre of Agriculture (FAL), Institute of Grassland and Forage Research, Braunschweig-Völkerode and the University of Hohenheim, Germany, focused on the incidence of moulds and mycotoxins in silages and the use of silage additives in the prevention of mould growth and mycotoxin formation. After his post-doc on ruminal metabolism of mycotoxins at Utrecht University (Institute of Pharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmacy) and more research on silage quality at FAL, he worked in the European feed additive industry (technical marketing, R&D, sales and regulatory affairs) for 15 years, before he became a freelance consultant (International Silage Consultancy) on silage production in 2014. Since the foundation KONSIL EUROPE GmbH in 2015, he has also focused on developing and commercializing silage additives.

Kyle Beauchamp

President and Owner
KB Custom Ag Services, LLC
Colorado, USA

Kyle Beauchamp is the owner and President of KB Custom Ag Services which harvests 5MM tons annually of corn, wheat, alfalfa and sorghum silage in the Midwestern United States. His operation delivers optimized forage quality for large scale dairies through full cycle harvest management, which includes monitoring plant maturity, yield estimation, customized processing specifications and focus on processes that target ideal ensiling. Kyle graduated from Colorado State University, with degrees in Crop & Soil Sciences and Agricultural Economics.

Richard Muck

Emeritus Professor
University of Wisconsin, Madison
Wisconsin, USA

Richard E. Muck is a professor emeritus, University of Wisconsin-Madison. He received his Ph.D. from Cornell University in agricultural waste management. He worked for the Agricultural Research Service (ARS), U.S. Department of Agriculture, as a research agricultural engineer his whole career. In 1983, ARS transferred him to the U.S. Dairy Forage Research Center in Madison, Wisconsin where silage research was his focus until his retirement in 2014. His research included documenting silo losses, improving silage density, comparing silo covers, enhancing protein preservation during ensiling and studying silage additives.

Marketta Rinne

Professor
MTT Agrifood Research
Finland

Marketta Rinne has received her MSc and PhD degrees from University of Helsinki, Finland. She has worked at Natural Resources Institute Finland over 30 years and published over 100 peer reviewed scientific articles. Her main interests are dairy cow nutrition, feed production and feed preservation. Recently, silage microbiome research, green biorefineries and sustainability of dairy production have also been in her focus. Marketta Rinne has attended all International Silage Conferences since 1996 and chaired the organizing committee of XVI ISC in Finland in 2012.

William Rooney

Regents Professor
Texas A&M University
Texas, USA

Dr. William Rooney is a Regents Professor and the Borlaug-Bayer Chair in Crop Improvement in the Soil and Crop Sciences Department at Texas A&M University. He holds BS (Agronomy) and MS and PhD degrees (Plant Breeding) from Texas A&M and the University of Minnesota, respectively. His research program seeks to enhance the productivity of grain, forage, and bioenergy sorghum. Dr. Rooney has authored over 250 journal articles and has released numerous sorghum germplasm, lines and hybrids.

Limin Kung Jr.

Professor
University of Delaware
Delaware, USA

Limin Kung, Jr. is a native of Honolulu, Hawaii where he obtained his BS and MS degrees in Animal Science at the University of Hawaii. He completed his PhD at Michigan State University in Dairy Science. He is Professor Emeritus in the Department of Animal and Food Sciences, University of Delaware. Limin had a research, teaching and extension appointment and led the Department as Chairperson. His research centered on ways to improve the productive efficiency of lactating dairy cows through a better understanding of fermentation processes that occur in silage and in the rumen of cows. His silage program was been recognized in the US and internationally and he is still a sought-after speaker at dairy meetings throughout the world.

Tim McAllister

Research Scientist
Agri-Food Canada
Canada

Tim McAllister grew up on his parents’ cow/calf farm in Innisfail, AB. He obtained a B.Sc. (Agr) and M.Sc. from the University of Alberta in Edmonton, and a Ph.D. in ruminant nutrition and microbiology from the University of Guelph, ON. He accepted an NSERC post-doctoral fellowship at the University of Calgary in 1991 and joined Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada in Lethbridge, AB in 1992. Dr. McAllister has been a research scientist in Rumen Microbiology, Feed and Nutrition since 1997. His research focuses on microbiology, nutrition and beef production and on food and environmental safety issues related to livestock production, strategies for mitigation of Escherichia coli O157:H7, prion inactivation within the environment, antimicrobial resistance in bacteria in feedlots and investigating the discovery and characterization of fibrolytic enzymes from rumen microbes. He also has extensive research experience in GHG emissions within animals from manure and the impact of manure handling procedures, such as composting, on emissions. Dr. McAllister has been recognized internationally for his leadership role and significant contributions to agricultural research and innovation in the areas of ruminant nutrition/microbiology and molecular biology as they apply to animal health, environmental health and food quality for the benefit of the agricultural industry in Alberta, Canada, and beyond.

Michelle Chang Der-Bedrosian

Director of Research and Innovation
Animix
Wisconsin, USA

Michelle Chang Der-Bedrosian specializes in silage and rumen microbiology, and how the interaction of these two populations affects the health and production of dairy cows. Michelle has presented their research at national and international conferences, in scientific journals, and while teaching University classes. Michelle has visited hundreds of farms, globally, with an overall objective to help the dairy industry produce better quality feed, and keep healthier cows.