Research & Articles
The RuFaS model is built on peer-reviewed research to deliver a dynamic model that is reliable and agile to changing conditions and needs. Additionally, RuFaS has created opportunities to contribute to important research outcomes that we hope will serve the scientific community too.
Article
Setting the Pace for Progress: A Unified Approach to Dairy Sustainability
12/27/2025
Dairy Herd
Through collaboration and sustained effort, the dairy industry positions itself at the forefront of sustainable agriculture,...
Scientific Publication
Identifying challenges and opportunities for improved nutrient management through the USDA's Dairy Agroecosystem Working Group
12/22/2025
JD Gamble, AB Leytem, KF Reed
Nutrient management on US dairy farms must balance an array of priorities, some of which conflict. To illustrate nutrient management challenges and opportunities across the US dairy …
Scientific Publication
Predicting nitrogen excretion from cattle
12/22/2025
KF Reed, LE Moraes, DP Casper, E Kebreab
Manure nitrogen (N) from cattle production facilities can lead to negative environmental effects, such as contribution to greenhouse gas emissions, leaching and runoff to aqueous …
Scientific Publication
Estimating the energetic cost of feeding excess dietary nitrogen to dairy cows
12/22/2025
KF Reed, HC Bonfá, J Dijkstra, DP Casper
Feeding N in excess of requirement could require the use of additional energy to metabolize excess protein, and to synthesize and excrete urea; however, the amount and fate of this …
Scientific Publication
Key nitrogen and phosphorus performance indicators derived from farm-gate mass balances on dairies
12/22/2025
MBH Ros, OF Godber, AJ Olivo, KF Reed
Efficient management of N and P on dairy farms is critical for farm profitability and environmental stewardship. Annual farm-gate nutrient mass balance (NMB) assessments …
Scientific Publication
A new modeling environment for integrated dairy system management
12/22/2025
E Kebreab, KF Reed, VE Cabrera, PA Vadas
new modeling environment for integrated dairy system management | Animal Frontiers | Oxford Academic Skip to Main Content Advertisement Oxford Academic Journals Books Search Menu …
Scientific Publication
The ruminant farm systems animal module: a biophysical description of animal management
12/22/2025
JM Tricarico, VE Cabrera, E Kebreab, KF Reed
Simple Summary Consumers are increasingly concerned about the sustainable production of food, leading producers and scientists to evaluate farming practices that preserve …
Scientific Publication
Evaluation of nitrogen excretion equations from cattle
12/22/2025
ACB Johnson, KF Reed, E Kebreab
Nitrogen excretion in dairy manure is a precursor for N 2 O and NH 3 formation in livestock housing, manure storage facilities, and after manure is applied to land. Nitrous oxide is a …
Scientific Publication
Doing GOOD: Defining a green operational outcomes domain for nitrogen use in New York corn silage production
12/22/2025
OF Godber, K Workman, K Czymmek, KF Reed
Context Effective nitrogen (N) management is an essential aspect of productivity and sustainability of corn silage (Zea mays L.) production in New York (NY) dairy systems …
Scientific Publication
Transdisciplinary Model-based systems engineering (MBSE) in the development of the Ruminant Farm Systems (RuFaS) model
12/22/2025
H Hu, CA Whitcomb, TE Ploetz, KF Reed
This study adopts a transdisciplinary model-based systems engineering (MBSE) approach to support the development of the Ruminant Farm Systems (RuFaS) model, an advanced on …
Scientific Publication
Milk urea nitrogen as a predictor of urinary nitrogen and urea nitrogen excretions of late-lactation dairy cows fed nitrogen-limiting diets
12/22/2025
T Barros, KF Reed, JJO Colmenero
Our objectives were to assess the relationships between milk urea N (MUN), serum urea N (SUN), urine N (UN), and urinary urea N (UUN) in late-lactation cows fed N-limiting diets and …
Scientific Publication
Prediction of nitrogen efficiency in dairy cattle: a review.
12/22/2025
KF Reed, DP Casper, J France, E Kebreab
Increasing the efficiency of conversion of feed nitrogen (N) into milk and meat N in dairy cattle is an integral part of the effort to maintain or increase food production while decreasing …
Scientific Publication
Greenhouse gas emissions and nutrient use efficiency assessment of 6 New York organic dairies
12/22/2025
AJ Olivo, OF Godber, KF Reed, DV Nydam
Improving nutrient use efficiency and reducing GHG emissions are important environmental priorities for organic-certified dairy operations. The objectives of this research were to …
Scientific Publication
Partitioning of nutrient variation in alfalfa and corn silage by source on New York dairy farms
12/22/2025
A Lucas, J Romack, QM Ketterings, KF Reed
Variation in feed components contributes to variation and uncertainty of diets delivered to dairy cows. Forages often have a high inclusion rate (50% to 70% of DM fed) and variable …
Scientific Publication
Precision decarbonization for clean dairy farming with digital twin and edge intelligence
12/22/2025
C Feng, KF Reed, JO Giordano, F You
Dairy farming is a contributor to methane emissions, and therefore the dairy industry faces growing pressure to reduce its environmental impacts. Achieving net-zero emissions for …
Scientific Publication
Bayesian calibration of dynamic ruminant nutrition models
12/22/2025
KF Reed, GB Arhonditsis, J France, E Kebreab
Mechanistic models of ruminant digestion and metabolism have advanced our understanding of the processes underlying ruminant animal physiology. Deterministic …
Scientific Publication
Prediction of nitrogen use in dairy cattle: a multivariate Bayesian approach
12/22/2025
KF Reed, LE Moraes, JG Fadel
Quantification of dairy cattle nitrogen (N) excretion and secretion is necessary to improve the efficiency with which feed N is converted to milk N (ENU). Faecal and urinary N excretion …
Scientific Publication
Nonlinear models of 15N partitioning kinetics in late-lactation dairy cows from individually labeled feed ingredients
12/22/2025
KF Reed, M Erickson, T Barros, MAC Danes
Few studies have examined the N kinetics of individual feeds with stable isotope tracing. We hypothesized that N partitioning to milk and excreta pools as well as the rates of the …
Scientific Publication
Substitutions of corn silage, alfalfa silage and corn grain in cow rations impact N use and N loss from dairy farms
12/22/2025
CA Rotz, PA Vadas, KF Reed
Many dairy farms in the USA are growing and feeding more corn silage (CS) and less alfalfa silage (AS) to reduce feed costs. More corn grain (CG)-based concentrates are also being …
Scientific Publication
Farm-specific estimates of forage variability result in larger optimal control limits for forage quality monitoring
12/22/2025
L Moraes, J Waddell, KF Reed
Variation in forage composition decreases the accuracy of diets delivered to dairy cows. However, variability of forages can be managed using a renewal reward model (RRM) and …
Scientific Publication
328 Comparison of Predicted Nutritional Requirements of Two Feeding Systems for Dairy Cattle Implemented in a Monte-Carlo Simulation Model of Herd Dynamics
12/22/2025
E Cabezas-Garcia, KF Reed
There is increased interest in precision-feeding systems that account for individual-animal variation and temporal dairy herd dynamics to increase feed-efficiency and reduce …
Scientific Publication
The Ruminant Farm Systems Model: A decision-support tool for whole farm efficiency and sustainability
12/22/2025
KF Reed
Sustainable dairy production requires methods to quantify the environmental footprint of dairy farms that can inform management decisions. Impact inventories can provide some …
Scientific Publication
Erratum to “Greenhouse gas emissions and nutrient use efficiency assessment of 6 New York organic dairies”(J. Dairy Sci. 107: 9527–9548)
12/22/2025
AJ Olivo, OF Godber, KF Reed, DV Nydam
Erratum to “Greenhouse gas emissions and nutrient use efficiency assessment of 6 New York organic dairies” (J. Dairy Sci. 107:9527–9548) - ScienceDirect Skip to main contentSkip to …
Scientific Publication
Correction: Transdisciplinary model-based systems engineering in the development of the Ruminant Farm Systems model
12/22/2025
H Hu, C Whitcomb, T Ploetz, KF Reed
Correction on: Hu H, Whitcomb CA, Ploetz TE and Reed KF (2025) Transdisciplinary model-based systems engineering in the development of the Ruminant Farm Systems model. Front …
Scientific Publication
Extreme Weather Impacts on US Dairy Production: Evidence from 8 Million Cows
12/22/2025
Z Lin, A Ortiz-Bobea, CA Wolf, KF Reed
We examine the effect of extreme heat on US milk production. We rely on a detailed panel dataset comprised of more than 150 million daily cow lactation records (2006-2016) from …
Scientific Publication
Evaluation of the precision and accuracy of models of enteric methane emissions from ruminants using Bayesian inference
12/22/2025
TS Kiessé, R Muñoz-Tamayo, KF Reed
Reducing enteric methane (CH4) emissions from dairy cattle is essential to limit 18 global warming to the target of 1.5° C increase. Empirical models taken from the 19 literature are …
Scientific Publication
Improvement in precision and accuracy of mid-infrared analysis of milk urea nitrogen and individual animal variation.
12/22/2025
KF Reed, EM Wood, M Portnoy, DM Barbano
Milk urea nitrogen (MUN) from bulk tank samples is often tracked by nutritionists and farm managers as an indicator the status of the herd's protein nutrition. This study presents an …
Scientific Publication
165 Evaluation of Milk Urea Nitrogen Measurement Precision and Accuracy
12/22/2025
KF Reed, E Wood, DM Barbano
High levels of urea in blood, milk and urine have been linked to poor nitrogen efficiency, increased feed costs, poor reproductive performance and increased environmental impacts …
Scientific Publication
Modeling the Nutrition-Environment Nexus: Completing the Cycle
12/22/2025
KF Reed
Dairy farms are complex, interconnected systems. Nutrient management planning requires consideration of how the impacts of management decisions percolate through the entire …
Scientific Publication
Application of the Ruminant Farm Systems model (RuFaS) to assess the environmental impact of reproductive strategies in dairy farms: greenhouse gas
12/22/2025
KF Reed, DV Nydam, V Cabrera
Dairy producers are challenged to meet goals to produce milk in an economically viable and socially acceptable way that minimizes environmental footprints and maintains cow health …
Scientific Publication
RuFaS: A next generation tool to support environmentally integrated dairy farm management
12/22/2025
M Motew, KF Reed
US dairy production provides vital food and nutrition to people, yet comes with significant environmental costs. Efficient use of nitrogen (N) on dairy farms remains a pressing concern …
Scientific Publication
Prediction of nitrogen excretion from lactating cattle using a cross-classified mixed model.
12/22/2025
KF Reed, LE Moraes
"Prediction of nitrogen excretion from lactating cattle using a cross-c" by KF Reed and LE Moraes Home Search Browse Collections My Account About DC Network Digital Commons Network™ …
Scientific Publication
Predicting nitrogen excretion from lactating dairy cattle.
12/22/2025
KF Reed, LE Moraes, A Johnson, DP Casper
"Predicting nitrogen excretion from lactating dairy cattle." by KF Reed, LE Moraes et al. Home Search Browse Collections My Account About DC Network Digital Commons Network™ Skip …
Article
Dairy farm modeling tool boosts sustainability, decision-making
12/22/2025
Cornell Chronicle
The Ruminant Farm Systems modeling tool is available for open-source collaboration, and is available, free of charge, to all U.S. dairy...
Article
Next-generation whole-farm dairy sustainability analysis: The Ruminant Farm Systems Model
12/22/2025
Ag Proud
Understanding and awareness of how agricultural practices impact our environment, natural resource use, and climate is growing.
Article
Dairy Leaders Share Progress, Priorities at Fall Alliance Meeting
12/22/2025
Oklahoma Farm Report
ANAHEIM, Calif. – More than 270 leaders from across the dairy value chain gathered Nov. 18 for the 2025 Dairy Sustainability Alliance® Fall...
Article
New Study: Genetic Selection with Dairy Wellness Profit Index® Supports Measurable Productivity Gains for Dairy Producers
12/22/2025
The Cattle Site
Selecting for health, fertility and production traits helpslead to healthier, more productive cows.
Article
Five Dairy Sustainability Researchers You Should Know
12/22/2025
University of Vermont
In this post, we will highlight four researchers funded by UVM's Food Systems Research Center (FSRC) that have dedicated their careers to making dairy more...
Article
National Dairy FARM Program releases new versions
12/22/2025
Feedstuffs
New versions of the Animal Care and Workforce Development Programs update and improve agriculture-leading benchmarks for animal care and...
Article
New Study: Genetic Selection with Dairy Wellness Profit Index® Supports Measurable Productivity Gains for Dairy Producers
12/22/2025
Oklahoma Farm Report
A newly published study from Zoetis and Dairy Management Inc. (DMI) provides compelling evidence that genetic selection using the Dairy...