Katie Schmitt, Outreach Specialist at the Council on Dairy Cattle Breeding (CDCB), will address the attendees of the annual meetings of the American Jersey Cattle Association
and National All-Jersey Inc.
The meetings will be held June 19-22, 2024, in Springfield, Mass., at the Sheraton Springfield Monarch Place.
As Outreach Specialist at CDCB, Katie is a key resource for dairy producers across the country and a voice for the third-party, independent research conducted by CDCB and USDA’s Animal Genomic and Improvement Laboratory (AGIL). She will address all attendees on Thursday, June 20 at 8:00 a.m. at the hotel in her discussion on “The Future of Genomic Selection Traits.”
“As an engaged breeder, you pay close attention to current genetic evaluations—whether it be bull proofs or female genomic results,” said Schmitt. “This will be your chance to learn what traits are coming down the pipeline through current research projects led by CDCB and AGIL, as well as changes anticipated in the August 2024 triannual evaluation run.”
Schmitt will also address several ongoing research projects including a heat stress study being conducted at the University of Connecticut, a tour stop during the meetings. Other projects in the works are in the areas of mobility and hoof health, lactation factors, and female fertility review.
Raised on her family’s dairy farm in Rice, Minnesota, Schmitt began her tenure as the Outreach Specialist for CDCB in the spring of 2023. Before joining the CDCB team, Katie worked at World Dairy Expo in various communication and marketing roles including as Communications Manager. She received her bachelor’s degree in animal science with an emphasis in Industry and Business at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities. In 2022, Schmitt was recognized as a “35 under 35” by Wisconsin Farm Bureau for her work with The Dairy Show, World Dairy Expo’s podcast.
Also at the Jersey association’s annual meeting on June 22, officials will report a twelfth consecutive year over 100,000 registrations, records in many primary service categories, and the highest level of Jersey production in history—a per-cow average of 23,241 pounds energy-corrected milk and a historical high 5.02% butterfat test for the breed.
Registration for the 2024 AJCA-NAJ Annual Meetings is open on the USJersey web site — https://usjerseyannualmeeting.