The Dairy Podcast Show - #12 - Research with fermenters: how does it affect the dairy industry?

When we talk about dairy research, the key to unlocking some answers for questions such as the importance and function of protozoa in the rumen environment and in methane mitigation can lie with fermenters. Today’s guest, Dr. Benjamin Wenner, breaks down the topic and sheds some light on how those fermenters work, and how the research done with them can impact the dairy industry. Additionally, he discusses some important points that we, the dairy industry, need to improve about our production. 

 What you’ll learn:

1. How does a fermenter work?
2. Research with fermenters
3. The importance of fermenters on how we feed cows
4. Protozoa in research with fermenters
5. The impacts of protozoa in the rumen
6. Good-quality water on the farm
7. The way farms are run should be challenged
8. Setting up successful dairy professionals

Meet the guest:

Dr. Benjamin Wenner attended Michigan State University for his B.S., completed an M.S. in Animal Sciences at the Ohio State University, and received his Ph.D. in Nutrition from the OSU Interdisciplinary Ph.D. Program. At the latter, he used continuous culture fermenters to demonstrate the effect of rumen physiological conditions on microbial growth and diet fermentation. After a couple of years in the industry, with dairy technical services and research, Dr. Wenner returned to OSU, where he is now an Associate Professor in Animal Sciences with teaching and Extension roles. Primarily, he teaches the principles of nutrition, small ruminant management, vitamin and mineral metabolism, and hands-on laboratory learning courses; with Ohio 4-H, Benjamin pioneered virtual youth Skillathons during the COVID pandemic; and he also devotes his Extension time to a growing statewide livestock educational contest participation and teaching core animal feeding practices. While his research interests vary widely, they can be summarized into three categories: continuous culture fermentation as a mechanism to investigate feed additives for methane mitigation, the use of small ruminants as potential control mechanisms for invasive plant species, and supporting undergraduate research projects that enhance lab methodologies or teaching strategies.