Dairy
The objective of the Veterinary Extension Program for Dairy Cattle is to provide educational leadership and assistance to the Iowa Dairy Industry in matters related to health and health management of dairy cattle. The target audience includes Iowa dairy farmers, managers, employees, agri-business, practicing veterinarians, hoof trimmers, and all other allied industry affiliates. Specific areas of emphasis include: the management of lameness and foot care of dairy cattle, the development of training programs for multi-cultural dairy employees, and the continued improvement of animal well-being in livestock production. Dr. Jan Shearer is the faculty coordinator for these programs.
Dairy Veterinary Extension
Dr. Shearer serves the Iowa State University’s, College of Veterinary Medicine as Dairy Extension Veterinarian. In this role he is responsible for the development and delivery of veterinary extension programs designed primarily to meet the needs of Iowa’s dairy farmers, veterinarians and allied agri-business industry. In cooperation with Dairy Extension Faculty from the Department of Animal Sciences and the Iowa State’s statewide network of county faculty, Dr. Shearer is but one of several conduits for the exchange of information between the Iowa State University and the Iowa dairy industry.
Dr. Shearer’s primary areas of interest in recent years have been lameness and welfare of cattle. Along with colleagues, Dr. Sarel van Amstel and Adrian Gonzalez, he established the Master Hoof Care Program, a training program designed to teach on-farm employees how to properly trim and treat foot problems. Since 1996, this program has acquired international prominence for its impact on foot health in dairy operations. In addition to his work on lameness, Dr. Shearer is also actively working on issues related to animal well-being. He has prepared several training documents and informational items on the topic of animal welfare and humane euthanasia (see section on publications and web sites).
He is a member of the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) and the American Association of Bovine Practitioners (AABP) where he is currently Chair of the Animal Welfare Committee. Dr. Shearer is also a member of the Board of Directors of the Professional Animal Auditors Association, an organization dedicated to the certification of animal welfare audits and auditors.
Contact
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Jan K. Shearer, DVM, MS Professor and Dairy Extension Veterinary Specialist College of Veterinary Medicine, VDPAM 2436 Lloyd Vet Med Center Iowa State University Ames, IA 50011 jks@iastate.edu 515-294-3737 |
Dairy Programs
