Elected to a one-year term in the office of vice president for the American Dairy Science Association (ADSA), Jim Drackley, emeritus professor in the Department of Animal Sciences, has been chosen to advance the ADSA’s mission to sustain and grow the global dairy industry. With his new appointment, Drackley continues his 43 years of service to the association, where he also served as director, chair of the Journal Management Committee, president of the Midwest Branch, and chair of the Production Division. After completing his term, Drackley will serve as the president of ADSA.

Before retiring from the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in 2024, Drackley ran a research program dedicated to investigating the nutrition, metabolism, and management of dairy cows during the dry period and in their transition to lactation. His studies also examined metabolism in the liver and other tissues of ruminant animals, dairy calf nutrition and management, and lipid utilization and metabolism in ruminants.

“Dr. Drackley is a world-renowned dairy nutritionist who has made a tremendous impact on the industry. He is also an incredible teacher who has made significant contributions to undergraduate instruction and graduate student training in the department. I am confident he will bring great insight and leadership to the ADSA board,” said Dan Shike, professor and interim head of the Department of Animal Sciences.

Drackley received his bachelor's and master's degrees at South Dakota State University in Brookings, South Dakota, before going on to complete his doctorate at Iowa State University. Since then, Drackley has worked alongside dairy and feed industry groups around the world, giving more than 500 invited talks at scientific conferences, industry conferences, and industry functions. Throughout his career, he published 236 articles in refereed journals, 14 book chapters, and over 450 abstracts, technical reports, articles in conference proceedings, and popular press articles. He also trained 45 graduate students.

Frequently voted onto the list of teachers ranked as excellent by their students, Drackley led courses on ruminant nutrition, energy and protein, and lactation biology. He was awarded the Paul A. Funk Recognition Award and the Spitze Land Grant Professorial Career Excellence Award from the College of ACES; the Applied Dairy Nutrition Award from Nutrition Professionals Inc.; and the 2024 Zinpro Award for Excellence in Dairy Science from ADSA. He was previously named a fellow of ADSA in 2015 and recently received the FASS-AFIA New Frontiers in Animal Nutrition Award in 2024 as well.

To learn more about ADSA’s other newly elected leaders, read the full announcement.