Dr. Mark McGuire: The future of research in the dairy industry

Over the years, a lot of research has been done in the agriculture industry. The purpose is to help producers with new ways to produce more efficiently and sustainably. In today’s episode, Dr. Mark McGuire explains how an ag research facility operates. He focuses on a new facility in Idaho, the Center for Agriculture, Food and the Environment, that is designed to attend to the needs of the agriculture industry. Additionally, he talks about the challenges they face in ag research and the impact it brings to the dairy industry.?

What you’ll learn:

1. Agricultural Experiment Stations
2. The dairy industry in Idaho?
3. The Center for Agriculture, Food and the Environment (CAFE) facility
4. Ag research challenges
5. Positive promotions in the dairy industry
6. What makes a successful dairy professional?

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Meet the guest:

Dr. Mark McGuire is the Director of the Idaho Agricultural Experiment Station and Associate Dean in the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences at the University of Idaho. Mark is a professor who studies nutrition, milk synthesis, and the role of animal products in the human diet. His work includes studies of lactation in dairy cows and women with a significant effort toward understanding the potential transmission of COVID-19 through breastfeeding. Mark has published over 120 refereed papers, 8 book chapters and edited one textbook. He has received over $16,000,000 in external grants from various sources, including USDA, NIH, NSF, and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Mark received his BS from the University of Illinois (1984), MS from the University of Florida (1987), and his Ph.D. from Cornell University (1994). He has been on the faculty at the University of Idaho since 1995 and is a University Distinguished Professor. Mark served as Head of the Department of Animal and Veterinary Science from 2012 to 2015 before becoming the Director of the Idaho Agricultural Experiment Station and Associate Dean for Research in the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences in August 2015. As Director, Dr. McGuire oversees all research conducted in the College across Idaho. Mark is an active member of the American Dairy Science Association, American Society for Nutrition, American Society for Microbiology, American Society of Animal Science, and the International Society for Research in Human Milk and Lactation (ISRHML). He served on the executive committee of ISRHML from 2013 to 2016.