RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, NC, October 14, 2010 – BASF Plant Science announced a $2,000 donation to the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Department of Animal Sciences during the 2010 World Dairy Expo in Madison, Wis. The donation, which recognizes retiring professor Dr. Michael Hutjens for his contributions to the dairy industry, will establish the “Michael F. Hutjens BASF Graduate Student Travel Awards” scholarship fund.
BASF Plant Science manager of nutrition and technical service Jerry Weigel announced the donation while introducing Dr. Hutjens at the “Managing Feed Costs 2010” seminar during the World Dairy Expo. The seminar was his last prior to retiring, and was delivered to a packed room of dairy producers, nutritionists and other dairy stakeholders.
The “Michael F. Hutjens BASF Graduate Student Travel Awards” fund will grant $500 travel scholarships to exceptional graduate students, two each in 2011 and 2012, whose research and career interests are in dairy cattle nutrition and management. The funds will cover travel and other expenses associated with attendance at the American Dairy Science Association (ADSA) meetings.
“We are pleased to support dedicated students in the University of Illinois Department of Animal Sciences and demonstrate our appreciation of Dr. Hutjens’ service to the dairy industry,” said Weigel. “The scholarships will allow Dr. Hutjens’ contributions to continue to grow even after his retirement.”
Dr. Hutjens, professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2008 American Dairy Science Fellow and 2008 World Dairy Expo Industry Person of the Year, has provided significant developments in dairy nutrition and research. In his 2010 World Dairy Expo seminar, Dr. Hutjens discussed strategies for evaluating forage inputs, building rations for optimal performance in high-producing cows, and determining nutrient levels and forms.
At the World Dairy Expo, BASF Plant Science and NutriDense Silage also gave away four 50-yard line tickets to the Green Bay Packers vs. Minnesota Vikings game as well as free cheese sandwiches and milkshakes from the University of Wisconsin at Madison’s Dairy Badger Club Cheese Stand.
NutriDense Silage is nutritionally enhanced corn silage developed specifically for efficient milk production. University studies show NutriDense Silage provides a four to eight percent improvement in feed efficiency, or converting feed to milk, giving dairy producers an income over feed cost advantage. The result is lower feed costs and greater profitability for dairy producers. NutriDense Silage yields equal to or greater than dual purpose and greater than brown midrib, so producers can achieve high-quality corn silage without sacrificing yields.
To learn more about NutriDense, visit www.nutridense.com, follow on Twitter @NutriDense or find us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/NutriDense.
About BASF Plant Science
BASF is the world’s leading chemical company: The Chemical Company. Its portfolio ranges from chemicals, plastics and performance products to agricultural products, fine chemicals as well as oil and gas. BASF Plant Science – a BASF group company – is one of the world’s leading companies providing innovative plant biotechnology solutions for agriculture. Today, more than 750 employees are helping farmers meet the growing demand for improved agricultural productivity and healthier nutrition for humans and animals. BASF Plant Science has developed an unparalleled gene discovery platform focusing on yield and quality traits in crops such as corn, soybean and rice. Jointly with leading partners in the seed industry BASF Plant Science is commercializing its products. Current projects include higher yielding row crops, nutritionally-enhanced corn for animal feed or higher content of Omega-3’s in oil crops for preventing cardiovascular diseases. To find out more about BASF Plant Science, please visit www.basf.com/plantscience.
About BASF
BASF – The Chemical Company.
BASF Corporation, headquartered in Florham Park, New Jersey, is the North American affiliate of BASF SE, Ludwigshafen, Germany. BASF has approximately 16,000 employees in North America, and had sales of $13 billion in 2009. For more information about BASF’s North American operations, or to sign up to receive news releases by e-mail, visit www.basf.com/usa.
BASF is the world’s leading chemical company: The Chemical Company. Its portfolio ranges from chemicals, plastics and performance products to agricultural products, fine chemicals and oil and gas. As a reliable partner, BASF creates chemistry to help its customers in virtually all industries to be more successful. With its high-value products and intelligent solutions, BASF plays an important role in finding answers to global challenges, such as climate protection, energy efficiency, nutrition and mobility. BASF posted sales of more than €50 billion in 2009 and had approximately 105,000 employees as of the end of the year. Further information on BASF is available on the Internet at www.basf.com.
NutriDense is a registered trademark of BASF Plant Science L.P.
