2026 David R. Mertens: Animal Science and Veterinary Researcher – H-Index, Publications & Awards

Discipline name	D-Index	World Ranking	Current World Ranking	National Ranking	Current National Ranking	Publications	Citations
Animal Science and Veterinary	50	596	547	200	170	103	16324

Research.com Recognitions

2021 - American Dairy Science Association Fellowship Award
2004 - DuPont Pioneer Forage Award, American Dairy Science Association
2003 - American Feed Industry Association Award, American Dairy Science Association

Overview

What is he best known for?

The fields of study he is best known for:

Biochemistry
Food science
Botany

David R. Mertens mostly deals with Forage, Animal science, Neutral Detergent Fiber, Agronomy and Digestion. David R. Mertens combines subjects such as Body weight, Feed conversion ratio and Nutrient deficiency with his study of Forage. His Animal science research is multidisciplinary, incorporating elements of Mathematical model and Fodder.

His research in Neutral Detergent Fiber intersects with topics in Dairy cattle and Biotechnology. His work in Agronomy tackles topics such as Starch which are related to areas like Digestion and Residue. His biological study spans a wide range of topics, including Rumen, Fermentation, Retention time and Infrared Spectrophotometry.

His most cited work include:

Gravimetric Determination of Amylase-Treated Neutral Detergent Fiber in Feeds with Refluxing in Beakers or Crucibles: Collaborative Study (1673 citations)
Creating a System for Meeting the Fiber Requirements of Dairy Cows (915 citations)
Forage Quality, Evaluation, and Utilization (577 citations)

What are the main themes of his work throughout his whole career to date?

The scientist’s investigation covers issues in Animal science, Forage, Food science, Neutral Detergent Fiber and Agronomy. His Animal science study combines topics from a wide range of disciplines, such as Rumen, Fodder and Manure. His Forage research incorporates themes from Hay, Milk production and Ruminant.

The various areas that David R. Mertens examines in his Food science study include Propionate and Polysaccharide. As a member of one scientific family, he mostly works in the field of Neutral Detergent Fiber, focusing on Repeatability and, on occasion, Reproducibility. His work on Pasture is typically connected to Quality as part of general Agronomy study, connecting several disciplines of science.

He most often published in these fields:

Animal science (43.84%)
Forage (32.88%)
Food science (30.14%)

What were the highlights of his more recent work (between 2009-2020)?

Animal science (43.84%)
Rumen (21.92%)
Dairy cattle (19.18%)

In recent papers he was focusing on the following fields of study:

David R. Mertens focuses on Animal science, Rumen, Dairy cattle, Food science and Silage. In his articles, David R. Mertens combines various disciplines, including Animal science and Mastication. His Dairy cattle study combines topics in areas such as Monensin, Cottonseed, Biotechnology and Dietary Carbohydrates.

His Food science study frequently draws connections to other fields, such as Synthetic fiber. His Silage research is classified as research in Agronomy. His Dry matter study focuses on Neutral Detergent Fiber in particular.

Between 2009 and 2020, his most popular works were:

Regulation of Forage Intake (569 citations)
pH dynamics and bacterial community composition in the rumen of lactating dairy cows. (87 citations)
Microbial inoculant effects on silage and in vitro ruminal fermentation, and microbial biomass estimation for alfalfa, bmr corn, and corn silages (84 citations)

In his most recent research, the most cited papers focused on:

Biochemistry
Botany
Food science

Animal science, Rumen, Silage, Forage and Nutrient deficiency are his primary areas of study. His work deals with themes such as Biomass and Biochemistry, which intersect with Animal science. His Biomass research incorporates elements of Fermentation and Dry matter, Agronomy, Crop.

His work on Streptococcus bovis and Monensin as part of his general Biochemistry study is frequently connected to Operational taxonomic unit and Total mixed ration, thereby bridging the divide between different branches of science. In his work, he performs multidisciplinary research in Streptococcus bovis and Ribosomal Intergenic Spacer analysis.

Best Publications

Gravimetric Determination of Amylase-Treated Neutral Detergent Fiber in Feeds with Refluxing in Beakers or Crucibles: Collaborative Study

David R Mertens

3172
Citations
Creating a System for Meeting the Fiber Requirements of Dairy Cows

D.R. Mertens

1806
Citations
Forage Quality, Evaluation, and Utilization

G.C. Fahey;NE Utilization eng Apr Lincoln

1035
Citations
Regulation of Forage Intake

D. R. Mertens

977
Citations
Predicting intake and digestibility using mathematical models of ruminal function.

D. R. Mertens

930
Citations
The effect of starch on forage fiber digestion kinetics in vitro.

D.R. Mertens;J.R. Loften

786
Citations
Evaluating Constraints on Fiber Digestion by Rumen Microbes

M. S. Allen;D. R. Mertens

484
Citations
Influence of buffer pH and raw corn starch addition on in vitro fiber digestion kinetics.

R.H. Grant;D.R. Mertens

303
Citations
Correlation of Acid Detergent Lignin and Klason Lignin with Digestibility of Forage Dry Matter and Neutral Detergent Fiber

H.G. Jung;D.R. Mertens;A.J. Payne

300
Citations
Preharvest Factors Influencing Quality of Conserved Forage

P. J. Van Soest;D. R. Mertens;B. Deinum

266
Citations
Effect of diet on populations of three species of ruminal cellulolytic bacteria in lactating dairy cows.

P.J. Weimer;G.C. Waghorn;C.L. Odt;D.R. Mertens

250
Citations
Assessing Minimum Amounts and Form of Roughages in Ruminant Diets: Roughage Value Index System

E. M. Sudweeks;L. O. Ely;D. R. Mertens;L. R. Sisk

241
Citations
Rate and extent of digestion.

D. R. Mertens

238
Citations
A Dynamic Model of Fiber Digestion and Passage in the Ruminant for Evaluating Forage Quality

D. R. Mertens;L. O. Ely

223
Citations
Cell wall accessibility and cell structure limitations to microbial digestion of forage

Unknown

216
Citations
Cell wall fermentation kinetics are impacted more by lignin content and ferulate cross-linking than by lignin composition

John H Grabber;David R Mertens;Hoon Kim;Hoon Kim;Carola Funk

193
Citations
Microbial inoculant effects on silage and in vitro ruminal fermentation, and microbial biomass estimation for alfalfa, bmr corn, and corn silages

Francisco E. Contreras-Govea;Richard E. Muck;David R. Mertens;Paul J. Weimer

191
Citations
Prediction of excretion of manure and nitrogen by Holstein dairy cattle

V.A. Wilkerson;D.R. Mertens;D.P. Casper

188
Citations
Kinetics of Cell Wall Digestion and Passage in Ruminants

D. R. Mertens

178
Citations
The prediction of methane production of Holstein cows by several equations

V.A. Wilkerson;D.P. Casper;D.R. Mertens

169
Citations
Milk fat depression in dairy cows: role of silage particle size.

R.J. Grant;V.F. Colenbrander;D.R. Mertens

160
Citations
Relationship of Rate and Extent of Digestion to Forage Utilization-A Dynamic Model Evaluation

D. R. Mertens;L. O. Ely

153
Citations
Challenges in measuring insoluble dietary fiber.

D. R. Mertens

147
Citations
Milk Fat Depression in Dairy Cows: Role of Particle Size of Alfalfa Hay

R.J. Grant;V.F. Colenbrander;D.R. Mertens

145
Citations
Effect of monensin feeding and withdrawal on populations of individual bacterial species in the rumen of lactating dairy cows fed high-starch rations

Paul J. Weimer;David M. Stevenson;David R. Mertens;Elvin E. Thomas

130
Citations
Assessing minimum amounts and form of roughages in ruminant diets: roughage value index system [Dairy cows].

E M Sudweeks;L O Ely;D R Mertens;L R Sisk

3
Citations

Frequent Co-Authors

Paul J. Weimer University of Wisconsin–Madison

Michael S. Allen Michigan State University

Debbie J. R. Cherney Cornell University

Hoon Kim University of Wisconsin–Madison

John Ralph Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center

P. J. Van Soest Cornell University

George E. Shook University of Wisconsin–Madison

Richard E. Muck University of Wisconsin–Madison

Hans-Joachim G. Jung University of Minnesota

Fachuang Lu South China University of Technology

External Links

Personal website of David R. Mertens

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