Lactation biologist expert from Spain to visit South Dakota

BROOKINGS, S.D. - South Dakota State University Dairy Science Department and SDSU Extension welcome an expert in dairy ruminants (including cows, sheep, goats and camels) for the months of June and July 2016.Professor Dr. Gerardo Caja, is an animal scientist from the Department of Animal and Food Sciences, Veterinary Faculty at the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB), Spain.Caja is visiting as part of an international exchange. During his two-month sabbatical in South Dakota, Caja will share his expertise and ideas about lactation biology and animal identification with the SDSU Dairy Faculty and SDSU Extension experts. He will also visit commercial dairy farms and organizations to exchange knowledge and obtain a comprehensive view of the dairy industry in South Dakota. He will be giving seminars and conferences at the American Dairy Science Association - American Society of Animal Science (ADSA-ASAS) joint meeting in Salt Lake City, a small ruminant conference at the University of Idaho and at the SDSU Dairy Science Department in Brookings. "Dr. Gerardo Caja was mentor and professor throughout my Ph.D. studies and professional career which he continues to provide me with professional advice. I believe it is a great honor to have him in South Dakota sharing his expertise, research interests and experience with all of us," said Maristela Rovai, SDSU Extension Dairy Specialist.  More about Dr. CajaCurrently, Dr. Caja is Professor of Animal Science at the Veterinary Faculty within the Department of Animal and Food Sciences at the UAB in Bellaterra (Barcelona, Spain). The UAB is a world renowned university with the highest quality score among all universities from Spain. Professor Caja was born in La Rioja, Spain and studied Agronomic Engineering at the Polytechnic University of Valencia. He obtained his PhD in Ruminant Nutrition at the Polytechnic University of Madrid.Before joining the UAB, he conducted research and taught at the Universities of Madrid and Valencia in Spain. He was the Department Head of Animal Production at the University of Valencia while the university built up their experimental dairy sheep farm. He was instrumental in organizing a new research group on applied physiology and management of dairy small ruminants and developed an active extension program in collaboration with the Spanish Federation of Breeder Associations. This group had a significant scientific and technical impact on milking machines and nutrition of small dairy ruminants in Spain, as well as the Mediterranean region. Dr. Caja started as Professor in Animal Science at the UAB 30 years ago. He was  instrumental in the creation of the Veterinary Faculty and the UAB's Experimental Farm where he is still conducting research and teaching. He has chaired the Department of Pathology and Animal Production, and been a member of the University Council among other universities administrative activities. He created and is currently director of the Group of Research in Ruminants, recognized as a Consolidated Group of Research by the Govern of Catalonia, Spain since 2002. He has initiated research in lactation biology and in electronic identification of farm animals, significantly contributing to the generalized use of lipids in small ruminant nutrition and of the implementation of the electronic identification of farm animals in Europe. He currently devotes 50 percent of his time to teaching (graduate and post-graduate) and 50 percent to research and extension. Teaching expertise includes lactation biology and dairy production, ruminant nutrition, animal identification and traceability. His main fields of research and extension are related to ruminant production (nutrition, feeding, milking and management of dairy ruminants) and electronic identification of livestock (cattle, sheep, goat and pigs) in which he has been the supervisor of many international Masters and Doctorate students. He became a member of several Scientific Societies on Animal Sciences in Spain, the European Union and the USA, serving as the Secretary of the Organizing and Scientific Committees of the 60th EAAP Annual Meeting held in Barcelona 2009,as well  as a member of the International Committee of Milking of Small Ruminants, the International Committee of Animal Recording (Working Group on Electronic Identification), - the International Standardization Office (Animal Identification), the ASAS Contemporary & Emerging Issues Joint Program Committee, and ADSA International Animal Agriculture Committee. He was elected as a permanent member of the Academy of Veterinary Sciences of Catalonia (Spain) in 2003 and awarded with the International Dairy Production Award of the American Dairy Science Association (ADSA) in 2006. Dr. Caja is a frequent traveler (past research projects conducted in the USA, Europe, Asia, Africa and NZ). Throughout his travels, he reached his goals on obtaining innovated ideas but the unexpected friendships along the way is something he cherishes.