ARLINGTON, VIRGINIA, US — The American Feed Industry Association (AFIA) and the American Dairy Science Association (ADSA) honored Christiane Girard of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada with the 2020 AFIA-American Dairy Science Association Nutrition Research Award for her dairy cattle research.

Created to honor outstanding research in dairy cattle nutrition, the award recognizes an individual who has made a worthy contribution to dairy cattle nutrition research within the 10 years immediately prior to the year of the award.

Girard is a research scientist at the Sherbrooke Research and Development Centre, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. Her work on B vitamins has challenged the generally accepted concept that dairy cows’ vitamin requirements for B vitamins do not have to be considered because their synthesis by the rumen microflora is sufficient to prevent deficiency symptoms.

Her work has made a contribution to improving the estimations of supply and requirements of B vitamins. In a perspective of precision farming to optimize metabolic efficiency, meeting dairy cows’ requirements for B vitamins cannot be overlooked.

“Dr. Girard’s work with B vitamins has clearly led the path and made a tremendous impact on the dairy industry,” said Paul Davis, director of quality, animal food safety and education at the AFIA. “Her passion and dedication toward improving dairy nutrition made her a great choice for this year’s award.”

Previously, she was an associate professor with the Department of Animal Science and Faculty of Agricultural Food Science at Laval University in Canada.

The recognition is sponsored by the AFIA as part of its ongoing awards program that began in 1948. To date, 73 people have been awarded the dairy science nutrition award.