Projects
The Boerman Lab is currently involved in projects related to animal nutrition and management from calves to lactating dairy cows. Some of those projects are conducted at the Purdue Animal Sciences Research and Education Center while others are conducted on commercial dairy farms in Indiana. Some of our current projects are listed below. If you would like more details, please feel free to contact us.
Project Details
Around the time of calving, dairy cows mobilize a large amount of tissue in order to meet their metabolic requirements. We are trying to quantify, predict, and ultimately develop management and nutrition strategies to minimize tissue mobilization as a way to improve health of dairy cattle.
There is currently the option for increased automation on dairy farms. Large amounts of information can be collected on an individual cow basis. Being able to capture, understand, and transpose that data into meaningful information for dairy farmers means that they will be better able to make informed decisions to improve the efficiency and profitability of their business. Applications currently being explored in the Lab include automated calf feeders and depth imaging in relation to feeding behavior and welfare analysis.