Prof. Reid Ivy, food science, studies the microbes in your milk that may you spoil your breakfast, and applies his research to improve food safety.

The renovation of Stocking Hall has forced a halt to the production of Cornell’s famous ice cream. Once the supply of Cornell Dairy ice cream runs out during the spring semester, the relocated scooping station in Trillium Express will begin serving Premium Perry’s Ice Cream.  

Prof. Thomas Overton, animal science, works to improve dairy cattle performance by identifying relevant health risks in real-world settings. His outreach to farmers improves dairy facilities and management strategies. 

The symbiotic relationship between livestock and the microbes in their stomachs generates methane gas, a potent greenhouse gas.  Dairy farms modify the diets and digestion of livestock in order to reduce emissions of greenhouse gas.

From Food, Inc. to Michael Pollan’s novels, in recent years, the public at large has criticized agriculture.  Often, the public portrays farmers as villains. Busy farmers frequently remain unheard in the media. Recently, ABC ran a special with the headline, “Got Milk? Got Ethics? Animal Rights v. U.S. Dairy Industry.”

We come to Cornell to work hard and achieve success. Yes, we have all proclaimed that education is our number one concern. But it’s time to come clean Cornell, our true mission is to complete the Big Red Ambition list, the 161 Things Every Cornellian Should Do. If you have not checked off number 12 yet, “Order ice cream from the Dairy Bar,” you’d better hurry up.

Even though the University has had to deal with its own internal problems brought on by the current recession, the Cornell Cooperative Extension is still making a concerted effort to help New York dairy farmers cope with the downturn of the dairy market.

“The milk market over the last 10 years has developed a pattern of spikes and valleys in prices,” said Carl Tillinghast, executive director of the Franklin County branch of CCE. “This is our fourth cycle; we had experienced higher prices over the last year or two and now we’re bottoming out. Time will tell if the price goes back up and to what extent.”

Cornell food science students have spoken, and their choice for the next ice cream flavor to be showcased at the Cornell Dairy Bar will be “Slammin’ Yamz.” The culinary concoction with a vanilla ice cream base, includes yam puree, molasses, cinnamon and nutmeg, with a marshmallow swirl.

The new flavor that will be sold in the spring contains beta-carotene and fiber. The contest required that the ice cream must be relatively healthy, with less than 4 percent fat.