Kurt W. Cotanch
Director of Forage Lab

Kurt Cotanch has actively worked in the dairy industry since 1981, both on farms and a cheese plant and in research since 1983. He received both his B.S. in Psychology and M.S. in Ruminant Nutrition from the University of Vermont. He managed the forage lab at the UVM Agricultural Testing Lab from 1990-1996 and from 1998-2000. From 1996-1998 he worked for Nutrena Feeds as a Territory Manager, Dairy Nutritionist out of the Swanton, VT, mill. In 2001, he joined Miner Institute as Forage Lab Manager. His responsibilities include instructing students regarding forage quality, farm evaluation and ration balancing, as well as presenting research at local and national meetings. Most recently he has been involved with the generation of the feed dictionary for the CPM v.3.0 ration balancing program and researching nutrient management of phosphorus on farms. His primary focus is to provide an applied perspective to research and forage analyses. He continues to milk cows part-time, in addition to coaching youth sports.