(Please note that the speaker biographies were current at the time the proceedings were published in which their presentation appears.)
Steven Berry
Steven Berry graduated from the University of California Davis, School of Veterinary Medicine in 1981. He worked as a private dairy practitioner in Chino Valley until returning to University of California–Davis as a reproductive management specialist in 1984. In 1992, the position changed to dairy management and health. Berry started working with UC Footwart Taskforce in 1995 and conducted clinical treatment research using antibiotics.
Roger Cady
Roger Cady was born and raised in upstate New York near Albany. He received all three of his degrees from Cornell University. He earned his BS in Biology and Genetics, an MS in Animal Science, and a Ph.D. in Animal Breeding. Following graduate school, Cady spent two years working as a post-Doctoral research assistant at the University of Guelph, where he developed the prototype sire-evaluation program for the Ontario Calving Ease Report. Cady began his faculty career as an extension dairy specialist at the University of New Hampshire in 1982. While in that position, he focused on developing decision aid tools that integrated financial and production management analyses to assist producers in identifying weak areas in their reproductive and heifer management programs, thus capitalizing on opportunities for financial savings.
In 1989, Cady moved to Washington State University to continue his career as an extension dairy specialist. While at WSU, Cady continued his research and extension program to discover effects of heifer rearing programs on herd productivity and financial performance. Cady has been part of the WSU DairyPro development and delivery team. Their focus is to help dairy industry members improve business management skills and leadership development. Cady’s most recent activities have been as Chair of the National Professional Dairy Heifer Growers Conference series and as Facilitator and now Advisor for the Professional Dairy Heifer Growers Association.
At the end of 1999, Cady moved to St. Louis, Missouri to begin working as a technical service specialist for Monsanto.
Bennet Cassell
Bennet Cassell is Extension Dairy Scientist for Genetics and Management and Professor in the Department of Dairy Science at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg. He has been a member of the faculty since 1982. Originally from a general farm with a small dairy, Bennet obtained a BS from Virginia Tech in Dairy Science, later received an MS from that institution, and worked three years in the AI industry as a sire analyst. He worked four years with the Animal Improvement Programs Laboratory, helping conduct the genetic evaluation procedures and assisting in related research. He left AIPL to pursue a Doctorate in Animal Breeding under Ben McDaniel at North Carolina State University, and completed his dissertation in December of 1981.
While at Virginia Tech, Cassell has developed one of the very few extension dairy genetics programs in the country. He has been a regular contributor to the AI column of Hoard’s Dairyman magazine for over 11 years. His research interests are genetic evaluations, response to selection as practiced by producers and in lifetime economic performance of the dairy cow. He has trained four masters and one Ph.D. student and continues a focused graduate training and research program. Cassell participates in performances of the Blacksburg Master Chorale, enjoys motorcycling and is very active as a soccer referee at youth, high school, and college levels.
Marguerita (Meg) B. Cattell
Meg Cattell operates a solo dairy production consulting practice and a research business involved in the design and implementation of dairy clinical trials, both based in Colorado. She is also a partner in synapps rd consulting group based in New York with clients in New York, Texas, Minnesota, Florida, Kansas, and Nebraska. She was previously employed as a youngstock manager, herdsman, and farm manager on several large dairies in the US and abroad. Cattell is board certified in dairy specialty practice by the American Board of Veterinary Practitioners. She holds a DVM and MS in Epidemiology and Environmental Health from Colorado State University and was a Fullbright Scholar. Cattell is active in professional organizations including the American Association of Bovine Practitioners and National Mastitis Council. As an international speaker, she has recently presented information to veterinarians and dairy farmers across the United States, and in Canada, Mexico, Japan, and Argentina. Personal interests include outdoor sports and adventure travel.
Virginia Fajt
Virginia Fajt was raised in northwestern Massachusetts. She received her BA from Kalamazoo College in Kalamazoo, Michigan. She spent two years taking animal science course work at Colorado State University. Fajt received her DVM from Auburn University, Auburn, Alabama. She served as instructor in Ambulatory Service of the Food Animal Section at Kansas State University. She is currently working on her Ph.D. in Clinical Pharmacology at Iowa State University. Fajt is involved in the development of a web-based antimicrobial use database for veterinary practitioners.
Don Gardner
Don Gardner has been a practicing veterinarian for 29 years, the last 19 of which have been limited to dairy production medicine. He also manages a 600-acre family farm that custom raises Holstein heifers, corn, hay, and pasture.
Gardner got involved with PDHGA at the Atlanta meeting, subsequently serving on the growers task force. In 1998 he was elected as the PDHGA Southeast Regional Director.
Dave Horn
Dr. Horn graduated from the VMRCVM in 1989. He has been in dairy practice for 10 years in upstate New York. He recently left his practice to become a consultant for Agway Agricultural Products Inc. and Brakke Consulting Inc. Dr. Horn custom raises Holstein heifers on his 200 acre farm. He has been published in Vet Economics, Bovine Veterinarian, and Cornell Extension News. He has also given presentations at the AABP meetings in Montreal and Spokane. Dr. Horn is a member of LEADNY Class VII. LEAD is a two-year certification program to promote and train leaders in agriculture.
Dennis Hovelson
Dr. Dennis Hovelson is a shareholder-employee in the Lewiston Veterinary Clinic Ltd., a six doctor veterinary clinic in southeastern Minnesota. The clinics business is 95% dairy related veterinary work. He works primarily as a dairy veterinary consultant and clinician for herds from 40 cows to 1200 cows in size as well as several heifer growers in Winona County, Minnesota. He has presented at other producer meetings in southeastern Minnesota in other years as well as at the Minnesota State Veterinary Convention. He is a past President of the Minnesota State Veterinary Medical Association (MNMA). He is a member of the American Association of Bovine Practitioners (AABP), the American Association of Swine Practitioners (AASP), and the American Veterinary Medical Association. He is a 1976 graduate of the University of Minnesota College of Veterinary Medicine. He is an equal shareholder with four other doctors in the clinic. He likes participating in family outdoor activities with his wife, Judy, and teenage children, Dan, Andrew, and Kelsa.
Robert E. James
Bob was born in Southeastern Pennsylvania and worked on a neighbor’s dairy for several years. He received his BS degree in Animal and Poultry Science from the University of Delaware and his MS and Ph.D. in Dairy Science from Virginia Tech. After serving as state dairy extension Dairy Specialist in Southern Virginia for two years, he returned to teaching and a research position at Virginia Tech. He teachers courses in dairy management and dairy nutrition and serves as one of three academic advisors of undergraduates in the Dairy Science Department. His research deals with nutrition and management of the growing dairy heifer and the prepartum dairy cow. He also has a nutrition and management consulting business and raises registered Jersey heifers as a hobby.
Robert J. Milne
Born and raised on a dairy farm in Eastern Ontario, Robert Milne received his BSA in 1955 at the Ontario Agricultural College. He spent 34 years with the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food as an Extension Agricultural Engineer. He is presently consulting with Argue & Associates on Farmstead Planning, Layout, Ventilation, and Manure Management.
Jim L. Morrill
Jim L. Morrill is Professor Emeritus of Animal Science at Kansas State University. He was born and reared on a dairy farm in Kentucky. He attended Murray State University, Murray, Kentucky, until leaving to enter military service during the Korean War. After serving as a pilot in the US Air Force, he returned to Murray State, completed his BS degree in 1958. He received his MS degree in 1959 from the University of Kentucky and his Ph.D. degree in Dairy Cattle Nutrition in 1963 from Iowa State University.
Morrill was a faculty member at Kansas State University for 33 years, where he had a teaching and research appointment. His research was in the area of dairy cattle nutrition with emphasis on calf and heifer nutrition and management. He has presented seminars or invited presentations in several locations in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Central and South America, Europe, Japan, and Russia. Since retirement in 1995, he has been involved in part time consulting in various countries.
Morrill and his wife, Nelda, have been married since 1952 and have 5 children and 10 grandchildren. He is active in church and community programs.
Jim Quigley
Dr. Jim Quigley is the Director of Research and Product Development for the Ruminant Products Division of American Protein Corporation in Ames, Iowa.
Jim Quigley is a native of New Hampshire and was raised on a small livestock and vegetable farm in rural New Hampshire. He received his BS from the University of New Hampshire in 1979 and MS in 1983. Jim moved to Blacksburg, Virginia in 1983 and attended Virginia Tech, where he received his Ph.D. in 1985. Following graduation, Jim took a position with Cargill, Inc. in Elk River, Minnesota, where he served as dairy research manager. Jim was responsible for all dairy research and product development for Cargill, as well as providing training and technical support to the marketing and sales staff. In 1988, Jim left Cargill to take a faculty position at the University of Tennessee. In 1993 he was promoted to Associate Professor, and in 1994, Jim won the T. J. Whatley Distinguished Young Scientist Award at Tennessee. During his tenure at the University of Tennessee, Jim’s research focused on the nutrition and management of young dairy calves. He worked with 18 graduate students and employed numerous undergraduate students and technicians.
In February 1998, Jim joined American Protein Corporation in Ames as a dairy nutritionist where he is responsible for conducting dairy calf research and product development. He became the Director of Research in Product Development, a position he currently holds.
To date, Jim has published over 150 publications related to calf nutrition, management, and immunity. His current research efforts are directed to increasing health and survival of calves during the colostrum and milk feeding periods, and to improve our understanding of rumen development and weaning practices. Jim has presented invited presentations at conferences and symposia all over the world. His “APC Calf Notes” pages on the Internet have been hugely successful, and have been visited by people in over 50 countries and translated into several languages.
Jim lives with his wife, Cynda, and two children in Ames, Iowa.
David R. Smith
Dr. David R. Smith practiced large and small animal medicine in Ashland County, Ohio for almost 10 years after earning his DVM degree at The Ohio State University. While in practice he observed that husbandry practices often explained the livestock health problems he was called to treat. His practice experiences helped to foster an interest in population medicine that took him back to The Ohio State University to receive a Ph.D. in the Department of Veterinary Preventive Medicine. He now conducts applied field-based research and serves as Extension Dairy and Beef Veterinarian at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. Dr. Smith is a board-certified specialist in food animal practice and epidemiology. He is interested in solving animal disease and public health problems related to livestock production systems.
Dave and his wife, Fay, live near Davey, Nebraska with their daughters, Emily and Sarah.
Terry R. Smith
Terry Smith is President and CEO of Dairy Strategies, LLC, a dairy systems management and business consulting firm based in Madison, Wisconsin.
Smith has over 19 years of experience in the development of analytical and decision-making strategies for improving dairy herd and farm management systems. Smith has served as a Professor in the Department of Dairy Science and Director of the University of Wisconsin–Madison Center for Dairy Profitability since 1988 and is currently a Visiting Professor. Smith spent a six-month sabbatical leave working with AgriBank, FCB, St. Paul, Minnesota working with the Marketplace Strategies and Services Department. Smith previously served as the Chief Editor of the National Dairy Database and Director of the Agricultural Databases for Decision Support Laboratory affiliated with the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Smith has conducted consulting projects domestically and internationally, focusing on dairy development in such countries as Japan, Peoples Republic of China, Tunisia, Bolivia, Mexico, and Egypt. He is highly sought after as a speaker and consultant on dairy management and related issues. He has held faculty positions at The Ohio State University and Cornell University.
Smith is a Certified Agricultural Consultant and member of the American Society of Agricultural Consultants. He is also a member of the American Dairy Science Association, Sigma Xi scientific research society, and a member of Alpha Zeta agricultural honorary society.
Smith hold a BS in Animal Science from Cornell University, an MS in Animal Science from the University of Maine, and a Ph.D. in Dairy Science/Agricultural Economics from Michigan State University.
Michael Tomaszewski
Dr. Tomaszewski has researched the area of information technology applied to dairy herd management. Much of his work has included the development of valued added programs to enhance the management capability of producers by using existing databases. He has developed software programs that have been used nationally as well as internationally to enhance on farm decision making. The first microcomputer program that could be used in place of mainframe DHI processing was developed by his research group. They also developed the first expert system to access an existing database. His current research interest lies in developing chain production systems to enhance profitable decision making.
Denis Turner
A native of Missouri, Denis Turner owns and operates Turner’s Heifer Haven in the heart of the Ozarks. Graduated from Southwest Missouri State University in 1979 with his Bachelor’s degree in Animal Science, Denis is the nutritionist and president of Turner’s Special Supply, a custom vitamin-mineral pre-mix manufacturing company founded by his father, William C. Turner, in 1974.
Denis is the South Central Regional Director for PDHGA and is on the Board of Directors for the SHO-MO Dairy Heifer Growers Association. Denis is a deacon at Mt. Zion Baptist Church and the chairman of the Wright County University of Missouri Extension Council.
Denis and his wife, Lynn, have three children, Tamara, Jessie, and Justin Turner.
H. H. (Jack) Van Horn
Dr. Van Horn is a Professor, Department of Dairy and Poultry Sciences, at the University of Florida, Gainesville. He received his BS in Dairy Husbandry from Kansas State College in 1958, his MS in Dairy Nutrition from Kansas State University in 1959 and his Ph.D. in Animal Nutrition from Iowa State University in 1961. His specialty areas include protein nutrition of lactating dairy cows, dairy manure management, quantification of nutrient excretion from the cow and flow of nutrients subsequently through various farm management systems. He currently serves as leader of an Extension State Major Program Team focusing on animal manure and mortality management. Van Horn chaired the 1976 and 1992 National Symposia on Large Dairy Herd Management and served as lead editor of books published as proceedings.
Alan Waybright
Alan Waybright attended The Pennsylvania State University from 1981 to 1984. He and his three brothers and cousin are the eighth generation to farm. His areas of responsibility include heifer raising along with managing the labor of the entire herd. He is a member of the Pennsylvania Beef Council.