Dr. Leland Allenstein Dairy Teaching Herd Newsletter Spring 2006 Third Issue February 17 th, 2006

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1 Dr. Leland Allenstein Dairy Teaching Herd Newsletter Spring 2006 Third Issue February 17 th, 2006 HAPPY BIRTHDAY RED!!! By: Red (of course) April is my favorite time of the year because it is my birthday on the 23 rd. Many of you readers may not have known this because true ladies (even the bovine variety) are hesitant to advertise their age. But with retirement, one s age becomes more of a badge of honor. Besides, people easily forget your birthday when you re not lactating or returning to the milking barn from the turkey barn. So, soon I will be 8 years old, and I am beginning to prepare for my special day. I have heard through the cow-vine that Dr. Bill has been given a gift for me: a cow-bell for me to wear around my neck so Dave will always know where I am. I m sure this will make Dave s day because if he knows where I am he knows where all the rest of the dry cows are. I wonder if I will get a silage birthday cake with candles this year! I heard that Dave learned how to concoct silage cake after hours in the UW Dairy Science program where he was quite friendly with the famous nutritionist, Randy Shaver. Dave has since perfected the recipe using Grace s feed tub to hold the silage cake, allowing it to rise to the top of the tub, and then solidifying just enough to hold 8 candles for me to make a wish and snort out. I hope Dave will have enough time to set up the party in the cement lot outside the milking barn. He could blow up balloons and tie them to the green feeders. Hats may not be a good idea because they might mess up my hair. The cake could be set up in the middle of the center alley in the barn (we d have to shut off the fans and close the windows, so the candles don t blow out prematurely). There would be room for all the heifers, dry cows and milking cows to gather around me. Then all my cowleagues could MOO (those who think they should get grain) and bellor (those who may be in heat) for me the bovine version of happy birthday. Afterward I ll stay to eat by myself while all the others go out to the yard to eat poor man s TMR, a special mixture Dave has set up for when us cows go to pasture. Then there s the issue of the birthday cards. It would be soooo nice if my readers would consider sending me an birthday greeting (Red@svm.vetmed.wisc.edu). Dave can download my s in the barn office, print them out and then read them to me when I come over with the other dry cows and heifers for grain and refusal hay. Dave is so good at multi-tasking! Well, that s all for now. Remember, in the next issue I will be doing some future forecasting for the herd as I will soon be one of the elder cows. WHOEVER SENDS RED THE BEST WINS A $40 GIFT CERTIFICATE TO THE SCHOOL STORE SO GET CREATIVE!!

2 Student Interview By: Allie Wistrand Mazepa Eli Yoder is a senior at UW Madison who has been with the teaching herd since January Although rather new to the crew, he comes with a lot of experience. His father is owns and practices a mixed animal practice in Wilton, WI, Eli s home town. He plans to continue the tradition and will be applying to veterinary school once completing his prerequisites. Besides hanging out with the ladies in the herd, Eli enjoys watching movies, and his current favorite is Super Troopers. When asked to pick out his favorite his favorite cow, he responded Carmen. She s got a great udder! Sounds like a true large animal vet in the making! Reproduction Corner with Travis Kuhlka By: Christy Sibigtroth The Lee Allenstein Teaching Herd provides many opportunities for veterinary students to gain practical, hands-on experience working with dairy cattle. Travis Kuhlka, a third year veterinary student has a strong background in bovine reproduction. Working with Research and Animal Science, he explored many reproductive techniques. Along the way, he performed over 150 flushes, 75 of which were for implantation. He has also worked closely with the Lee Allenstein herd s reproduction program, helping to refine the breeding synchronization protocol. His Travis and Scarlet experience made him an ideal candidate to perform a flush for embryo transfer this month on our very own Scarlet. So what exactly is a flush? Weeks leading up to the procedure, Scarlet was given a series of hormone injections to prepare multiple eggs for fertilization. With the standard breeding protocol, only one egg is fertilized through artificial insemination. Through this technique, Scarlet had many eggs fertilized when she was inseminated. On April 1, eight days after fertilization, Travis flushed these fertilized eggs from her ovaries for collection. Using a 20X microscope, the embryos were staged to determine their age, and graded to determine their quality. Three embryos of excellent quality were retrieved. The collected embryos are transferred to recipient cows that have been hormonally synchronized to match Scarlet s position in their cycles. Travis performed a recipient test on them, checking to ensure they have a good corpus luteum, an ovarian structure

3 supporting the embryo s implantation and survival through gestation. Both Tara and Merry passed the recipient test and were able to receive the embryos. The third embryo was frozen for later implantation. What are the advantages to flushing and transferring embryos? For this herd, the educational experience tops the list. This is a great opportunity for students to learn techniques and improve practical skills. Secondly, perpetuation of good genetics is achieved. Additionally, the embryos provide a valuable resource for reproductive maintenance. Recipient cows are selected for often because they are having trouble becoming pregnant. If they are implanted with a fertilized embryo, 70% of these cows will settle the embryo and maintain pregnancy. Thanks for all of your hard work Travis!!! Viable embryos Cow Profile- Carmen By: Melissa Maurer-Ford According to sources, both Dave and Eli love Carmen for she is THE cow with the most beautiful udder. She was born on the 3 rd of March in the year 2001 to Cindy. She is currently in her third lactation. Carmen has two lovely daughters named Charlotte and Carley. Both Charlotte and Carley are spending their calf-hood at the Bookhout heifer primer school. Carmen is expecting her third calf in November of this year, around the 10 th. Previous health concerns for Carmen have been fairly minimal. She had a bout of heat stress in June of last year and stepped on her right front teat in August. She does seem to have some reproductive issues, but once she is bred, she seems to carry her calves to term. Her current production output is a whopping 120 lbs. of FCM (fat corrected milk) and her lifetime total milk output is 102,930 lbs. What a cow!

4 Curing the Coughing Calves By Toby Pinn During the month of April Dr. Sheila McGuirk and Dr. Kenneth Nordlund teamed up with Dr. Goodger to identify the cause of several coughing calves in the Leland Allenstein Teaching Herd. While Dr. McGuirk approached these calves from an infectious angle, Dr. Nordlund assessed the living conditions in the calf barn. After analyzing trans-tracheal washes from all of the calves, Dr. McGuirk discovered evidence of acute inflammation in 2 of the calves, Suzy and Kelsie. Of these 2 calves, only Suzy produced a positive bacterial culture for Arcanobacterium pyogenes. Both calves were treated with antibiotics, Suzy with rifampin and Kelsie with trimethoprim sulfa. Meanwhile, Dr. Nordlund accompanied Dr. Goodger on a thorough investigation of airflow and air quality in the calf barn. Word has it that Dr. Goodger was seen on his hands and knees assessing the airflow from a calve seye-view. Red would have been proud! Dr. Nordlund discovered that airflow was stagnant at the calves level above the floor. This assessment resulted in several modifications to improve ventilation. In addition to an already existent thermostatically controlled fan, a second fan was installed to encourage constant air circulation regardless of the thermostat temperature. In addition, windows and monometer settings were adjusted to increase airflow at a height appropriate for the calves. Dr. Nordlund also noticed that calves were not bedded appropriately for the ambient temperature. Dr. Nordlund explained that at air temperatures below 50 degrees calves are not able to maintain adequate body heat and thus require deeper bedding. He suggested that calves be bedded on straw deep enough to cover their legs. Now that these changes have been made, Dr. Goodger and his herd health team anxiously await improvement in the health of Suzy and Kelsie and hope for the health of new additions to the calf barn. Endowing the Herd in Dr. Allenstein s Name In September 2005, the UW-Madison School of Veterinary Medicine s dairy teaching herd was named in Dr. Lee Allenstein s honor. Efforts are currently underway to endow the Dr. Leland Allenstein Dairy Teaching Herd so that the herd can continue to serve as a resource for future veterinarians. Much like Dr. Allenstein, the herd is an advocate for the dairy industry. The herd provides a positive introduction to veterinary medical students about patient care, milking, and an awareness of the dairy farmer s needs. To help endow the Dr. Leland Allenstein Dairy Teaching Herd, please contact the veterinary school s Office for Advancement at 608/ or them at giving@svm.vetmed.wisc.edu.

5 Meet the Allenstein Committee: Dr. Rick Halvorson By: Tania Banak While Dr. Rick Halvorson was still a veterinary medical student at Oklahoma State, one of his professors asked about Rick s career plans. When the response was dairy practice, the professor insisted, You have to go to Wisconsin to work with Dr Allenstein. That s how Dr. Halvorson found himself in Whitewater, Wisconsin for a threeweek externship. Dr. Allenstein took me in as one of the kids, Dr. Halvorson recalls. I stayed at his house. That s the kind of guy he is he ll take you in off the street if you re interested in cows. It turned out to be not only a great experience but a great match. When Dr. Halvorson earned his DVM degree in May 1978, Dr. Allenstein hired him as the sixth practitioner in the Whitewater Veterinary Hospital. In 1997, when Dr. Allenstein retired, Dr. Halvorson was still there, and he remains there to this day. I started helping Dr. Allenstein with World Dairy Expo about 1992, Dr. Halvorson says. People always thought he was my dad. I used to correct them, but I don t even bother any more. People still remember him. They still ask how s your dad doing? Dr. Halvorson knows first-hand that its harder to find students that are interested in dairy practice nowadays. The teaching herd is really important for animal agriculture in Wisconsin, he says. It s also a chance to honor this guy who s given so much to the dairy industry. He notes that Dr. Allenstein still comes in to the office. He always wants to know what s going on, Dr. Halvorson says. Give him a few symptoms and he s right there. He knows his stuff.

6 APRIL S SUPER COWS! CARMEN 1 st in Milk KATRINA 2 nd in Milk Carmen s Profile Milk: 1208 lbs/day DIM: 116 days DCC: 42 Fresh: 11/21/05 Due: 11/10/06 Katrina s Profile Milk: 120 lbs/day DIM: 172 days DCC: 98 Fresh: 9/26/05 Due: 9/15/06 SCARLET 3 rd in Milk KEY: DCC= Days Carrying Calf DIM= Days in Milk Scarlet s Profile Milk: 118 lbs/day DIM: 67 days Fresh 1/9/06 Lactation: 7th

7 April/May Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat Lee Allenstein Photoshoot- noon 21 Dr. McGuirk s GI Diagnostic Lab 4 22 Bovine Club- Herd Bleeding Tour of Dairy barn- Bob Green Bookhout Therio Herd Check 3 11am-1pm LAIM Visit 2 2-4pm May 1 PE Course- Fore and hind limb anatomy 1-5pm 2 RARC inspection- Charmany 8-noon Bookhout Therio Herd Check 3 11am-1pm PE Course- Final Exam 8am-1pm 13 LAIM Visit 2 2-4pm LAIM Visit th year theriogenology rotation with either Dr. Momont or Dr. Bosu 2. Large Animal Internal Medicine visits the herd 3. Also 4 th year theriogenology rotation 4. GI Diagnostic Lab for 3 rd years- normal and abnormal cows 5. Bob Green is a prominent dairy operator near Lake Kegonsa 2006

8 EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES Interested in gaining experience working with dairy cows? Then boy do we have the opportunity for you! You can join the milking crew at the Charmany Teaching Facility and work the AM or PM milking shifts. Weekday shifts are from 5:00 am to 7:00 am and from 4:30 pm to 8:30 pm. Weekend shifts are from 5:00 am to 12:00 pm and from 4:30 pm to 8:30 pm. Interested students should contact Dr. Bill Goodger at (608) One further note on employment is that we can save 50% in student salary expenses (about $20,000 per year) if students apply for work study (about 90% of veterinary students are probably eligible). These added funds would not only allow more students access to the herd, but would also provide support for clinics, projects, and clinical upgrades to our facility which would enhance the experience for all students. Below is information about work study from the campus work study office in financial aid. ** The Work-Study Program does not determine where you work. It is up to you to determine where you d like to work and what type of work you d be interested in. The Federal Work- Study Program (FWSP) employee s will be glad to discuss with you what your interests are and what employment options are available to you but you will need to contact the employers directly to inquire about job availabilities. Having accepted Work-Study will benefit you primarily in two ways: first, since employers only pay 50 cents of every dollar earned by a student, work-study students are highly sought after employees and second, any work-study monies earned are not counted and considered as earned income when you apply for next year s financial aid. Normally a student s earnings are considered as earned income and your next year s financial aid award is reduced by that amount. If you decide to work on campus, ANY job at the UW automatically qualifies as a work-study position. You should always let a UW-employer know that you have accepted a work-study award, because again, it makes you an even more desirable hire to them. Having said this, some UW employers require that you have work-study. These listing can be found under the UWWR section. If you need to contact someone at the UW-SVM Teaching Herd Barn, call (608) Please direct correspondence regarding the Charmany Teaching Herd or the newsletter to: William J. Goodger, DVM, PhD Cell: (608) wgoodger@facstaff.wisc.edu