Kyohei Ishida Finds HIs Way in Chazy

Kyohei Ishida stands near the Miho Tomita block print of a Holstein cow that was donated to Miner Institute from Zen-Noh in recognition of 20 years of research collaboration.

Kyohei Ishida has adapted well to life in the United States over the past year.  Kyohei is halfway through his two-year position as the visiting researcher from the Zen-Noh agricultural Cooperative in Japan.  Miner Institute and Zen-Noh have had a collaborative research relationship for more than 20 years.

Kyohei grew up in Kyoto, an area that is well known for its traditional shrines and temples and is considered one of the best preserved cities in Japan.  Agriculture in the region is mostly rice and vegetable production, with some Wagyu beef, he said. Kyohei is the oldest child in his family; he has three younger sisters.  His oldest and youngest sisters and his parents all still live in Kyoto.  His middle sister recently started college in Korea.
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Kyohei has both an undergraduate and a master’s degree from Kyoto University.  He studied animal science, with an emphasis on beef cattle nutrition. He has been employed by Zen-Noh for five years.  Growing up, Kyohei remembers that his family had local milk delivered daily.  “I loved that milk,” he said. He always loved animals as a child and there was a beef farmer just behind his elementary school. He recalls being able to hear the cows mooing and so “it was very natural to become interested in agriculture.”

Since coming to Miner Institute in early 2016, Kyohei says that his interest in dairy cow nutrition has grown. He is especially interested in forage dynamics and ration formulation.  An upcoming project this spring will focus on forage fiber digestion, he said, adding that he’s “really excited about it.”

Kyohei’s current role for Zen-Noh is to help develop new theories for improving productivity and efficiency for Japanese dairy farmers. The relationship between Miner Institute and Zen-Noh was initiated by Dr. Charlie Sniffen in the mid-1990s, when Sniffen was president of the Institute. Japan’s primary agricultural region – Hokkaido – has similar growing conditions to Chazy. That, coupled with Miner Institute’s focus on dairy nutrition and management makes the collaboration a good fit. Additionally, Kyohei visits area farms and attends conferences. He also translates and participates in Zen-Noh sponsored research projects. If he were able to request his next position at Zen-Noh, Kyohei said that he would like to do research, nutrition or extension work.  He likes working with farmers and visiting farms.  Ultimately, though, Zen-Noh will decide his next position when he returns to Japan in 2018.
 
“I really like Miner,” Kyohei says. “The people are motivated and the research is important and exciting.” Even though the area is more rural than what he is used to in Japan, Kyohei says that he likes the landscape here and enjoys snowboarding and hiking. Adapting to life in the United States was a challenge, though, he admits. “The meals here are huge!”

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