Dr. Normand St-Pierre was inducted into the Ohio State Dairy Science Hall of Service April 2, 2016. The event took place during the Evening of Excellence recognition program hosted by the Department of Animal Sciences.
Dr. St-Pierre was born in Quebec and obtained his BS (1978) and MS (1979) degrees from Laval University, Quebec City, in dairy nutrition. He earned his PhD (1985) from Ohio State in the area of statistical applications in dairy nutrition and management. Prior to his employment as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Animal Sciences at Ohio State in 1997, he worked in the dairy feed industry. He retired from OSU on March 31, 2016.
His love of statistics and quantitative approaches has led to major impacts on dairy production. He developed computer software that finds statistical relationships between feed prices and nutrient composition, allowing for economic comparisons among feeds in a local market. He also developed software to determine optimal sampling schedules for forages. One of his greatest achievements in research was the development of a new method to conduct meta-analyses, statistical methodology to collate results from numerous experiments. In addition, his applied research in protein nutrition has greatly benefited the dairy industry. His has 2 patents, authored or co-authored 94 peer-reviewed articles, and published 381 abstracts.
Dr. St-Pierre has significantly influenced the dairy industry in Ohio and nationwide through his Extension program, especially in advising on dairy farm management and economic assessment of farming practices. His wide -ranging expertise allowed him to interact effectively with dairy farmers, Extension educators, industry technical personnel, and policy makers. He has written 571 popular press articles and provided over 406 presentations.
For 4 years, he has taught animal nutrition, dairy herd management, and applied biometry in the Department and given many lectures in various courses during his 20 years at Ohio State. He has been on many local, State, and national committees and boards, including American Dairy Science Association (ADSA), Western Dairy Herd Management Conference, and Professional Dairy Producers of Ohio which led to the formation of ODPA. During 2012 to 2015, he was a Visiting Researcher, National Academy of Science and Technology, Brazil. He has received many awards, including 2 (Extension and research) from ADSA, GSD Extension Award of Merit, and William E. Krauss Directors Award for outstanding Ph.D. Dissertation.
Through his advice to dairy farmers, training of graduate and undergraduate students, software development, and contributions to dairy research, he has had far-reaching effects on the dairy industry. The recognition provided as a recipient of the Dairy Science Hall of Service Award acknowledges Dr. St-Pierreās impact on the dairy industry, the scientific community, and students.