Ashley is an Assistant Professor of Dairy Science in the School of Agriculture, Business and Technology. She received her both her PhD and Master’s degree in Dairy Management and Welfare from Colorado State University, where she was an integral part of the 2014 USDA-NAHMS National Dairy Survey, investigating on-farm practices that impact the productivity and welfare of dairy cattle. The focus of Ashley’s graduate work was on factors that impacted lameness, welfare, and beef quality on dairy operations. While in Colorado, Ashley gained much experience and knowledge in dairy reproduction, helping to manage the reproduction on many dairy operations, ranging in size from 100-10,000-head. Born and raised in Maine, Ashley received her Bachelor’s degree in Animal Science from the University of Maine, where she acted as student manager for the University’s dairy herd.
Teaching Interests
Ashley’s teaching responsibilities include: Introduction to Dairy Science, Breeding Dairy Cattle, Advanced Dairy Cattle Reproduction, Artificial Insemination of Dairy Cattle, Dairy Heifer Replacement Management, Dairy Farm Practicum I and II, Judging Dairy Cattle, Dairy Farm Data Management, Introduction to Animal Science, and Job and Internship Preparation. In addition, she is the coach of the Dairy Judging Team and co-advisor of the Dairy Club and the Livestock Club.
Technical/Research Interests
While at SUNY Morrisville, Ashley encourages critical thinking and inquiry in her students, encouraging them to develop research questions in many of her upper-level courses. Study topics include:
- “Impact of administering an additional PGF injection in a presynchronization protocol on reproductive efficiency in dairy cows.” DANS 340 – Fall 2019
- “Impact of feeding milk replacer 2X vs. 3X per day on health and productivity of dairy heifer calves.” DANS 305 – Spring 2019
- “Analysis of housing calves paired vs. individually on the health and productivity of preweaned heifer calves.” DANS 305 – Spring 2018
- “Impact of feeding transition milk to newborn calves on health and productivity of dairy heifer calves.” DANS 305 – Spring 2017