Thomas Overton

About

Thomas R. Overton is a Professor of Dairy Nutrition and Management and serves as the Department Chair within the Animal Science Program at Cornell University. His primary research focus is on the nutritional management of transition dairy cows, a critical period from late pregnancy to early lactation that significantly impacts health and productivity. His work aims to enhance the understanding of physiology during this phase and develop nutritional and management strategies to improve animal well-being and farm profitability. Overton's research includes controlled studies at the Cornell Ruminant Center Dairy and observational studies in collaboration with commercial dairy farms in New York, with particular emphasis on managing hypocalcemia, optimizing protein supplementation, and identifying biomarkers of metabolic and immune health in transition cows. His efforts provide foundational knowledge that informs his extension programs, which target dairy farm owners, agriservice professionals, and dairy farm employees, delivering practical solutions and educational initiatives. As the Director of PRO-DAIRY, he leads statewide efforts to positively impact the dairy industry in New York, and he also contributes to teaching undergraduate and veterinary students in dairy cattle nutrition.

Research topics

• Internal medicine
• Medicine
• Animal science
• Biology
• Endocrinology
• Chemistry
• Food science
• Obstetrics
• Bioinformatics
• Veterinary medicine

Selected publications

• Association of subclinical hypocalcemia dynamics with dry matter intake, milk yield, and blood minerals during the periparturient period

  Journal of Dairy Science · 2021 · 50 citations

  Subclinical hypocalcemia (SCH) affects many high-producing dairy cows in the postpartum period. Recent work has shown that cows experiencing prolonged or delayed SCH are at increased risk for disease and produce less milk than cows experiencing a transient reduction in or normal concentrations of plasma Ca following parturition. Our objective was to determine the association between different postpartum SCH dynamics with pre- and postpartum dry matter intake (DMI), milk yield, and blood mineral…

  DOI

• Transition cow nutrition and management strategies of dairy herds in the northeastern United States: Part II—Associations of metabolic- and inflammation-related analytes with health, milk yield, and reproduction

  Journal of Dairy Science · 2022 · 41 citations

  Senior authorCorresponding

  The objectives were as follows: (1) establish cow-level thresholds for prepartum nonesterified fatty acids (NEFA) and postpartum NEFA, β-hydroxybutyrate (BHB), and haptoglobin (Hp) concentrations associated with negative health events; (2) evaluate cow-level associations between biomarkers and 305-d mature equivalent milk at the fourth test day (ME305) and reproductive performance; and (3) identify herd-alarm levels (proportion of cows sampled above the critical threshold) for biomarkers that ar…

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Epidemiology of bovine colostrum production in New York Holstein herds: Cow, management, and environmental factors

  Journal of Dairy Science · 2022-12-23 · 29 citations

  articleOpen access

  Adequate supply of high-quality colostrum is essential for calf health. Colostrum production, at first milking, varies between animals and seasons, but herd-level and management associations with colostrum production have not been well described. Our objectives were to (1) describe colostrum production and colostrum handling practices and (2) to identify individual cow, herd management, and environmental factors associated with colostrum production. A convenience sample of 19 New York Holstein d…

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Effects of dietary branched-chain amino acid supplementation on serum and milk metabolome profiles in dairy cows during early lactation

  Journal of Dairy Science · 2022 · 25 citations

  The 3 branched-chain AA (BCAA), Val, Leu, and Ile, are essential AA used by tissues as substrates for protein synthesis and energy generation. In addition, BCAA are also involved in modulating cell signaling pathways, such as nutrient sensing and insulin signaling. In our previous study, dietary BCAA supplementation was shown to improve protein synthesis and glucose homeostasis in transition cows. However, a more detailed understanding of the changes in metabolic pathways associated with an incr…

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Transition cow nutrition and management strategies of dairy herds in the northeastern United States: Part III—Associations of management and dietary factors with analytes, health, milk yield, and reproduction

  Journal of Dairy Science · 2022-12-19 · 13 citations

  articleOpen accessSenior authorCorresponding

  The objective was to evaluate relationships between putative periparturient management and dietary factors at the pen and herd levels with metabolic- and inflammation-related analytes, health disorders, milk yield, and reproductive performance. Multiparous and primiparous cows from 72 farms in the northeastern United States were enrolled in a prospective cohort study. Farms were visited 3 times during the prepartum and postpartum periods: during the far-off dry, close-up dry, and fresh periods.…

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

Frequent coauthors

• Michael Van Amburgh

  291 shared

• Kevin C. Dhuyvetter

  Elanco (United States)

  290 shared

• Jan K. Shearer

  Iowa State University

  290 shared

• Roger Cady

  290 shared

• D.K. Beede

  290 shared

• Judith L. Capper

  Harper Adams University

  290 shared

• Alan Rotz

  Agricultural Research Service

  128 shared

• D.V. Nydam

  Cornell University

  86 shared

Labs

• Dairy Nutrition and Management LabPI

Awards & honors

• Nutrition Professionals Applied Dairy Research Award - Ameri…
• CALS Award for Outstanding Accomplishments in Extension/Outr…
• Foundation Scholar Award and Lectur - American Dairy Science…
• CALS Award for Outstanding Accomplishments in Extension/Outr…

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