Dr. Boggess replaces Dr. Neal Martin who directed the center from 1999 to 2013. Within the USDFRC, 18 scientists conduct research to improve the utilization of forages in dairy cattle diets and to reduce the environmental impact of dairy farm systems.
Q: You’ve had many work and educational experiences leading up to this appointment as director; what is one experience that stands out in your mind as a turning point?
A: BOGGESS: I have always been a farm kid and a livestock producer. In fact, I was never interested in becoming a veterinarian because I wanted to be around the best and most productive animals, and I have spent my career focused on improving animal production systems.
The one experience that opened my eyes to the potential of the dairy industry was my master’s degree program at Cornell University, where I learned first-hand the capacity and capability of modern dairy systems.
Today, dairy systems are even better and are models for sustainable intensification in the livestock communities. The U.S. dairy industry has better data, world-class genetic programs, industry-driven sustainability research and development programs, and the most efficient production systems in the world.
Q: Through your professional experience working with forages, what trends have you observed?
A: BOGGESS: The forage industries have always struggled with funding for research and development, including both private and public institutions.
That, and the complexity of forage genomes, has limited genetic progress for yield and other important traits compared to other crops.
That is changing now. While much of the positive trend historically has been on improving forage harvest, storage quality and management, ARS and the forage industries are now studying traits such as low or reduced-lignin (RL) and Roundup Ready alfalfa.
Additional research emphasis is also being focused on improved protein utilization, on tannins and on further exploration of genomic traits and opportunities.
The forage industries have also dramatically improved their basic business structure, resulting in improved intensive grazing management, improved forage quality, stronger domestic markets and a dramatic increase in forage exports. These trends will continue as well.
Q: With the anticipation of low-lignin alfalfa’s approval, how do you see that affecting dairy rations?
A: BOGGESS: Reduced-lignin (RL) alfalfa promises to have a major impact on the dairy industry. RL alfalfa has the potential to improve forage digestibility in the cow and may lower ration costs on the farm.
Consequently, RL alfalfa may allow dairymen to increase the amount of forage in the ration without compromising energy levels, which will also improve rumen health. These advantages will be potentially even more valuable as corn and other energy ingredients increase in cost relative to alfalfa.
Q: How do you see low-lignin alfalfa affecting the forage industry as a whole?
A: BOGGESS: A potentially huge advantage to RL alfalfa is that the improved digestibility allows for fewer and larger cuttings in the field, which will reduce harvest costs and may increase total tonnage yield for the growing season. Both are very positive advantages for forage growers.
From my perspective, RL alfalfa is one big step toward adapting or developing “improved” forages for specific animal uses.
Its success in the field will encourage additional research and development and potentially rapid improvement in many areas for forages – yield, quality, drought and salinity tolerance, disease and pest resistance, etc.
Going forward, I see many more “designer” forages being developed for use in dairy and other animal systems that promote yield, improved grazing management and production efficiencies, and that are locally adapted and resilient. This will continue to be an area of key focus for the USDFRC.
Q: Some reports indicate Roundup Ready alfalfa now equals 49 percent of all alfalfa grown. How do you think that will compare with the adoption of low-lignin alfalfa?
A: BOGGESS: In my opinion, RL alfalfa adoption will exceed that of RR for the reasons stated previously, assuming all other factors are similar.
RL alfalfa not only reduces production costs in the field, it also will potentially increase yield for the grower and lower ration costs for the dairyman. Consequently, RL alfalfa provides more total potential benefit to the value chain.
Q: What role does the USDFRC play in monitoring or researching a product like low-lignin alfalfa when the original product is held by a non-government entity?
A: BOGGESS: As you know, USDA-ARS research is driven by industry and stakeholder priorities.
The USDFRC will continue to support the dairy and forage industries in many roles, and it will continue to work with diverse private and public research organizations, such as those in the Consortium for Alfalfa Improvement, that developed low-lignin alfalfa.
In this role, the USDFRC supports cooperative testing and evaluation trials and future management and systems technology development.
The mission of the USDA-ARS and the USDFRC is to promote problem solving and solutions for agriculture by providing the basic research necessary to develop translational and applied technologies.
Consequently, the USDA-ARS has played many critical roles in developing basic research which serves as the foundation for many of the products and technologies that eventually reach the farm through other federal agencies, academic and commercial entities.
Today in ARS there are many potential traits and technologies being explored that may eventually be commercialized for the forage and dairy industries by ARS or other stakeholders.
Q: Where do you anticipate the focus of forage research to be in the next 10 years?
A: BOGGESS: The easy answer is that forage research will continue to focus on conventional traits such as yield, disease resistance, forage quality, bloat reduction, etc.
Of course, these will remain priorities. However, additional focus is being placed on new traits related to emerging genomic information for traditional and novel traits such as protein value and drought – salinity tolerance.
Our role at the USDFRC is to focus on the relationships between the dairy cow and dairy forages with an emphasis on the evaluation of integrated dairy nutrition systems.
In other words, improving the ability of forages to serve the dairy cow, then exploring how dairy cows can be selected or managed to improve forage utilization efficiency, resulting in increased production and sustainability for the dairy industry.
The challenge is: These are very complex relationships subject to numerous genetic, environmental and management factors.
We lack the “cow data” necessary to address these factors and to support the “next-generation” development of forages for the sophisticated rations needed for our highest-producing cows. So that will be a priority and role for the USDFRC.
Q: If I’m a producer with 100 acres of forage, and I use my seed rep, fertilizer rep and other professionals for consultants, what is it the ARS has to offer me?
A: BOGGESS: The USDA-ARS and the USDFRC conduct basic research that paves the way for the applied technologies and best management practices these representatives and consultants bring to your farm.
That is our unique role because we have the resources and expertise to focus over the long term and address basic scientific questions that don’t often translate directly to the field.
We also have the resources and expertise to begin to optimize highly complex and integrated production systems accounting for diverse genetic, environmental and management factors.
These resources and the data we are now creating are unique in the research communities and will enable the USDFRC to begin to help the dairy and forage industries better address evolving challenges such as drought and climate change in addition to production and efficiency traits.
In summary, ARS is in business to provide solutions for agriculture, dairy and forage industry challenges, either directly or in partnership with industry and academic stakeholders. FG
