What is the Right Number of Heifers?

Evaluating records is essential in finding opportunities and efficiencies for our producers. This session will cover benchmarks (KPIs) to evaluate a dairy’s performance.

Dairy Records

Continuation of Session I.   Evaluate heifer inventories, longevity, cull rates, and money corrected milk.   A herd will be evaluated using PC Dart.  

Bill graduated from Penn State University in 1988 with a BS in Animal Bioscience. He received his DVM. in 1992 from the University of Tennessee, College of Veterinary Medicine.  He was a Dairy Tech Specialist in the Mid -Atlantic region for Cargill for 7 years.  Bill is currently a Dairy Tech Specialist for 4ward Ag. He has worked since graduation at Quarryville Herd Health Associates in Southern Lancaster County, PA as an owner and currently as an associate. His special interests include PC Dart evaluations, fresh cow health, nutrition, reproduction, and dairy cow longevity. Bill resides in Lancaster, PA with his wife Sarah, a dairy vet, and their 4 children. 

This session will define and describe the benefits of precision dairy technologies and their limitations for transition cow health and reproductive management.  Cantor will introduce the concept of precision livestock farming, how the veterinarian can play an integral role, and discuss in detail how these alerts are designed to identify cattle with metabolic diseases.

Dr. Melissa Cantor is an Assistant Professor in Precision Dairy Science at Pennsylvania State University. Her research lab investigates methods to improve dairy animal welfare, particularly for dairy heifer success. This can include validating and developing tools to improve disease diagnosis capabilities for dairy cattle, using artificial intelligence for better decision making on farm, and exploring methods to improve the health, performance, and welfare of purebred, and dairy x beef cattle. The MSc. focused on calf development using robotic technology at UW-Madison (2015). The Ph.D. (2021) focused on using precision technologies to understand dairy calf behavior surrounding respiratory disease at the University of Kentucky. Cantor’s current extension program focuses on producer adoption of positive calf welfare practices on farm and improving producer’s use of precision technology data to improve transition cattle health for the dairy. Dr. Cantor has co-authored 25 peer-reviewed scientific articles, 60 scientific abstracts, and has co-mentored over 34 students during their academic career.

Bovine Leukemia Virus (BLV) in Beef Herds

This session will cover prevalence, testing options and interpretation and clinical importance.

Theileri and Anaplasma Testing: Who to Test, When to Test, Test Interpretation and Impacts on Production, Rreproduction, and Survival

This session will focus on diagnosis of these diseases, clinical manifestations, treatments and prevention strategies.

Dr. Currin grew up on a small beef cattle farm in Southwest Virginia.  He graduated from Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine in 1993.  Following graduation he became an associate veterinarian in a mixed animal practice for 1 year, then became a partner in a large animal practice for 3 years.  Dr. Currin then became a clinician at VA-MD Regional College of Veterinary Medicine for 24 years.  He is currently the Associate Clinical Professor in Production Management Medicine and Extension Veterinarian and has been for the past 15 years.  His interests include dairy production medicine, dairy records, dairy and reproduction, bovine respiratory disease complex, dairy nutrition, dairy management and bovine pharmacology, beef cattle production medicine, beef cattle reproduction, beef cattle nutrition, and beef cattle economics.

Randall attended the University of Georgia graduating with a B.S. in Agriculture in 1977 and a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine in 1982. Upon graduation, he joined Ashby Herd Health Services which is a cattle practice in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. His embryo transfer career began in 1983 with the collection of his first donor. The embryo transfer business continued to grow, and in 1995 he made the decision to focus full time on embryo transfer and reproductive ultrasound by creating Ashby Embryos; now Ashby Genetics. He has serviced clients in 16 states and Puerto Rico.  Randall has been involved with training veterinarians nationally in embryo transfer as the coordinator of the Edwin Robertson Beginning Embryo Transfer through the American Association of Bovine Practitioners. He has given presentations to producers, veterinary schools and educational meetings across the country. He has served as president of the Virginia Academy of Food Animal Practitioners, on the board of the American Embryo Transfer Association and the board of the American Association of Bovine Practitioners, and as president of the American Embryo Transfer Association.  Randall received the American Embryo Transfer Association President’s Award in 2005, the American Association of Bovine Practitioners Practitioner of the Year Award in 2006, and the Paul F. Landis Virginia Veterinarian of the Year Award in 2011 from the Virginia Veterinary Medical Association.
Randall married Linda in 1982, and they have 3 married daughters and 9 grandchildren. He enjoys spending time with his children, their spouses, and his grandchildren. When he has free time, he likes to fish and the outdoors.

All cows appear to experience some degree of inflammation during the transition to lactation. However, the magnitude and persistence of the inflammation is what leads to impaired health and performance. In this session we will highlight some of the recent research in this space along with management strategies to help mitigate inflammation.  

Maris McCarthy, PhD, is a Technical Consultant for Elanco Animal Health’s U.S. Dairy Business Unit. Her primary area of expertise is in transition cow nutrition, inflammation, and energy metabolism, focused on the fresh cow. Prior to joining Elanco she spent her career in technical service on both the east and west coasts working in amino acid and trace mineral nutrition. Maris received her B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. degrees from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, University of Delaware, and Cornell University, respectively, all in Dairy Nutrition. She currently resides with her family in State College, PA. 

Small Ruminant Field Surgeries

This presentation will focus on surgical treatment of urogenital emergencies first. Treatment of common orthopedic conditions will also be presented and discussed.

Teat Surgeries in Cattle, Laceration and Milk Flow Disturbances

This presentation targets the key steps of teat surgeries to restore the function of the teat after a trauma. Lacerations involving the teat lumen will be discussed. Blunt trauma leading to difficult milking will be presented.

Dealing with Infection: Deep Pedal Infection and Umbilical Remnants

Deep pedal infection is a major concern, and the different surgical approaches will be discussed. Umbilical surgeries beyond herniorrhaphy can be challenging and key steps of all surgeries including marsupialization of the umbilical vein will be discussed.

Dr. Pierre-Yves Mulon is a diplomate of the ACVS and currently holds a position of associate professor in Farm Animal Medicine and Surgery in the College of Veterinary Medicine of the University of Tennessee. Dr. Mulon obtained his veterinary degree from the Ecole Nationale Vétérinaire d'Alfort in France and completed both his internship and residency program at the Université de Montréal. He has been a clinical instructor position at the Université de Montréal and an assistant professor in Large Animal Surgery at Texas A&M after his residency program. Dr. Mulon also worked in private practice in Québec for 6 years. Since 2016, Dr. Mulon joined the University of Tennessee. His areas of interest are all farm animal surgeries, both soft tissue and orthopedics, with a specific interest in advanced/complex orthopedic surgeries as well as in minimally invasive surgeries.

Young Calf Pneumonia: Symptom of Management Failure

On-farm lung ultrasonography has demonstrated the insidious nature of respiratory disease in young dairy calves. Subclinical pneumonia, whether it manifests at the onset of disease, or is the result of treatment failure following clinical disease, negatively impacts calf performance, welfare, employee satisfaction, and cost of treatment. We will review which questions producers and veterinarians should be asking and how to implement lung ultrasound to get the answers you need regarding risk factors for disease, timeliness of diagnosis, efficacy of treatment protocols, and monitoring prevalence.

Calf Lung Ultrasound: Technique and Economics

This lecture will review the technique and economics associated with implementing routine lung scanning on farm. We will review the landmarks used for systematic lung ultrasound and scoring, differentiate between lobular and lobar pneumonia, and show examples of poor prognostic indicators such as lung necrosis and abscessation.

Dr. Ollivett is a currently a veterinary epidemiologist and board-certified large animal internist. After graduating from the College of Veterinary Medicine at Cornell University in 2004, Dr. Ollivett practiced in a predominantly mixed large animal clinic in northern NY. She returned to Cornell University in 2007 and completed a residency in Large Animal Medicine between 2008-2011. In 2014, she completed her doctoral studies at the University of Guelph by validating thoracic ultrasonography as a means of diagnosing respiratory disease in dairy calves. As an associate professor in the Food Animal Production Medicine section at the School of Veterinary Medicine at UW-Madison, Dr. Ollivett continues to advance the academic, veterinary and professional dairy industry’s awareness and understanding of lung  ultrasonography as a means of diagnosing and monitoring cattle health and the varied impacts of interventions on dairy farms. 

Small Ruminant Blood Transfusions

Describe indications for when a blood transfusion should be considered in small ruminant patients (sheep, goats, camelids). Choosing an appropriate donor will be discussed, as well as how much blood can be safely collected and transfused.

Sperm Morphology: What is it Really Telling Us?

Review of the most recent changes made to bull BSEs regarding sperm morphological analyses. Changes to how we classify the sperm cells and how the individual classifications can influence our prognosis and recommendations to the client will be emphasized.

Dr. Jamie Stewart is an Assistant Professor in the Production Management Medicine (PMM) section at the Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine. Dr. Stewart has been in her position at Virginia Tech since 2018, after completing a joint Theriogenology residency and PhD at the University of Illinois. Dr. Stewart currently teaches large animal Theriogenology to 2nd year veterinary students in the core curriculum, as well as leading three separate food animal Theriogenology electives offered in the 3rd year veterinary curriculum. Her clinical duties include primary sick animal work, pot-bellied pig wellness examinations and castrations/spays, ruminant breeding soundness examinations, reproductive management of cow-calf herds, and secondary/tertiary Theriogenology consultations and referrals. Dr. Stewart’s research focuses on the management of reproduction in ruminants. Her projects cover a wide range of clinically-relevant topics, including the use of advanced technologies (portable semen analyzers, flow cytometry, and ultrasonography) to improve breeding soundness examinations, pre-breeding vaccination and synchronization protocols, and management of late gestation females. Dr. Stewart has published several reviews and case reports in journals such as JAVMA, VCNA, Theriogenology, and Clinical Theriogenology that detail her experiences in working up ruminant infertility and reproductive disorders. 

Trace element nutriture is commonly ignored unless the practitioner is faced with classic clinical lesions or poor performance without an obvious cause.  The goal of this presentation is to review practical supplementation and assessment strategies for herds. 

Speaker bio coming!

With the increased interest in group housing of calves it has become evident that the facilities that house those calves play a crucial role in their health and well-being.  Topics will include facility requirements, ventilation system design, and spatial recommendations when adopting group housing of calves.

John Tyson is a Regional Extension Agricultural Engineer with Penn State Extension.  In this position he has conducted educational programming in dairy housing, cow comfort, farmstead layout, feed storage design, manure handling, and agricultural ventilation.  Programs have been conducted with producers, builders, agricultural suppliers, veterinarians, and finical lenders dealing with these agricultural engineering issues.  His primary focus has been on individual assistance directly with the producer.  During this time he has also been involved in the production of varies Extension Publications involving dairy housing facilities.  John has been a Licensed Professional Engineer in Pennsylvania since January of 2003.

Understanding Transition Cow Metabolism and Targeted Nutrition

Transition cow metabolism is nuanced and when imbalanced can lead to metabolic challenges. We will break down unique features of metabolism during this key period to better understand nutrient use, ways to shift nutrient fates, and the mechanism of targeted nutritional interventions to improve metabolism while supporting health, production, and efficiency.

Using All Our Options: Employing Management and Detection Tools in Transition Dairy Cows

Not all farms are the same and not all can employ the same strategies for detecting and treating metabolic challenges. We will overview some of the tools available to us and how to integrate them for overall farm success.

Dr. Heather White is a Professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in the area of dairy cattle nutritional physiology. Dr. White’s research strives to determine the mechanism of nutrient partitioning, feed efficiency, and metabolic health in order to provide science-based solutions and interventions to improve dairy cow health and productivity. Within the transition to lactation period, Dr. White's research program focuses on the individual animal variation and nutritional interventions that support successful transition with hepatic and whole-animal nutrient partitioning and metabolism. Heather teaches and mentors at the undergraduate, graduate, and post-graduate levels. Additionally, Dr. White is serving as the Faculty Director of the Dairy Innovation Hub that spans University of Wisconsin-Madison, Platteville, and River Falls and focuses on dairy related research that can improve animal health and welfare, enhance human nutrition, steward land and water resources, and grow farm businesses and communities.