Feeding Fats and Fatty Acids, Finding Transition Balance, and Making Science Actionable with Adam Lock, PhD

Growing up on a dairy farm in the United Kingdom, Adam Lock, PhD, always thought he would take over the family business and milk cows for a living. Instead, he now works to help dairy professionals increase their cattle’s health, productivity, and profitability through nutrition. Join us to find out how!Host Matt Lucy sits down with Adam, a professor and associate chair for farm operations in the Department of Animal Science, and interim chair of the College of Veterinary Medicine’s Department of Large Animal Clinical Sciences at Michigan State University. He explains the central focus of his research on fatty acid digestion and metabolism in the dairy cow and the impact of bioactive fatty acids on animal production and human health. The two focus on Adam’s recent work optimizing fat-feeding strategies during the transition period. The previous dogma around feeding fresh cows recommended against supplementing fats, but that is now changing. Adam and his team are proving that particular blends of individual fatty acids can help fill a cow’s unique needs during this time, promote energy balance, and increase milk production. The pair also discuss Adam’s focus on making all of his work immediately applicable to farmers and industry professionals, and the importance of extension work in dairy. Finally, he shares his philosophies around ensuring his lab is fun for students, the best way to connect with and train students, and how to embrace the fortuitous twists and turns your career in science might take. Episode Twenty-Six Show NotesLearn more about Adam Lock and connect with himon LinkedIn.  Are you interested in learning applied nutrition strategiesdirectly from Adam? Join us at the 2025 ADSA AnnualMeeting in Louisville, Kentucky, this June! Adam is speakingduring our first-ever applied nutrition symposium and panel discussion focused on feeding high oleic soybeans and balancing diets for milk fat.Start earning rewards and journal savings via the ADSA Loyalty Rewards Program for the Journal of Dairy Science and JDS Communications.Catch up with the discussion of dairy nutrition dogma in Arandom view of the world: Because we are never absolutely sure of anything from Normand St-Pierre at the 2024 ADSA Annual Meeting. Catch up on the papers and presentation discussed in theepisode:Effects of raw and roasted high oleic soybeans on milk production of high-producing dairy cows, Journal of Dairy Science (2024)Effects of increasing dietary inclusion of high oleic acid soybeans on milk production of high-producing dairy cows, Journal of Dairy Science (2024) Milk production responses of dairy cows to fatty acid supplements with different ratios of palmitic and oleic acids in low-and high-fat basal diets, JDS Communications (2024) Increasing palmitic acid and reducing stearic acid content of supplemental fatty acid blends improves production performance of mid-lactation dairy cows, Journal of Dairy Science (2024)Oleic acid abomasal infusion limits lipolysis and improves insulin sensitivity in adipose tissue from periparturient dairy cows, Journal of Dairy Science (2023)