Professor
Education:
B. Sc. Université Laval, Québec, Canada, 1978.
Major: Animal Science
M. Sc. Université Laval, Québec, Canada, 1979.
Major: Animal Nutrition
Minor: Biochemistry
Ph.D. The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio, 1985.
Major: Dairy Science (Nutrition)
Minors: Statistics, Agricultural Economics
Discipline(s):
Management
Nutrition
Websites of interest:
OhioDairy.org
My Homepage
AS668 website
Courses Taught:
Applied Biometry (AS 668 – Spring quarter).
Brief course description:
Science typically has one of two objectives. One is to pose hypotheses and test them empirically. The other is to understand phenomena well enough to predict their behavior. In the first instance, quantitative methods focus on inference and hypothesis testing and are statistical-based methods. The second objective is commonly known as mathematical modeling and covers a wide range of applications: dynamic modeling (kinetics), mathematical programming, deterministic and stochastic optimal control, etc. AS-668 covers both objectives in an integrated fashion. The course extends the use of mathematical and statistical methods in applied biological sciences. The tone is much applied in nature and makes extensive use of SAS. Upon completing the course, the student will 1) understand the principles and assumptions to common statistical methods with emphasis on mixed-model analyses, 2) have a good working knowledge of SAS and a solid interpretation of its various outputs, and 3) have a general understanding of the mathematics used to quantify biological systems.
Basically, this is a course in applied statistics – the applications being those typically found in biological sciences. It is taught at a graduate level; I do allow exceptional undergraduate students to enroll. Students come from many majors, including: animal sciences; nutrition (OSUN); food science; food, agricultural and biological engineering; evolution, ecology and organismal biology; geology; neuro-physiology; horticulture and crop science, etc. A full syllabus can be found at my AS668 website.
Grants & Awards:
2006 Merial Dairy Management Research Award, American Dairy Science Association.
2001 First place award, Denman Undergraduate Research Forum (advisor to Sarah K. Ivan).
2000 Outstanding Extension Group Award, American Agricultural Economics Association. (Managing Risks and Profits – Multi-Institutional, Multi-Disciplinary Extension Program)
Publications:
A full list of publications can be found at my extended website, http://ansci.osu.edu/St-Pierre/
Species:
Dairy
My overall responsibilities are to have outreach (80%) and research (20%) duties aligned with dairy management issues.
My research focuses primarily on the control function of management. Ongoing research projects are:
(1) quantitative methods for evaluating dynamic animal systems,
(2) feed cost optimization, estimation of unit costs of nutrients and nutritional economics,
(3) management and nutritional strategies to reduce nutrient excretion, including amino acid supplementation of ruminant diets, and prediction of nutrient excretion (with Dr. William (Bill) Weiss), and
(4) impact of nutrient variation of feedstuffs on animal productivity, and methods of control of nutritional variation.
My extension program focuses on four inter-dependent areas:
(1) long-term strategic planning of dairy businesses,
(2) production and financial benchmarks for evaluating short, medium and long-term outcome,
(3) nutritional management, herd structure and cost control, and
(4) production risk management in dairy.
These activities are conducted in partnership with local extension agents, district and state teams, and agribusinesses.
“Science not founded on exact experience and mathematics is either deception or madness – a banner of charlatans, blown full by the wind, after which the foolish rabble flocks”. -- Leonardo Da Vinci (1452-1519)
