Rick grew up on a dairy farm near Potsdam, NY. He has a Bachelor of Science degree in Animal Science from Cornell University and a Ph.D. in Ruminant Nutrition from Purdue University. Rick spent 13 years at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln as a professor of ruminant nutrition and extension dairy specialist. His areas of interest include forage and non-forage sources of fiber, carbohydrate nutrition, and dairy cattle behavior. He has been president at Miner Institute since 2003. As president, his primary role is to provide leadership to Institute staff as they work toward the common goal of optimizing the crop-animal-environment interface through research and educational programs. In 201