Services

Milk Quality

The value of milk quality testing is becoming clear to Iowa dairy producers and milk quality specialists at ISU VDPAM are available to help troubleshoot milking equipment and cleaning problems.  The ISU VDL Bacteriology Section focuses on rapid testing turnaround and processed over 5,000 samples during the first 6 months of 2008 including following milk culture testing options:

• Basic Milk Culture designed to isolate & identify aerobic contagious pathogens (Staph aureus & Strep ag.) and genus identification of environmental organisms.  Testing may also include Mycoplasma spp. culture.
• Aerobic culture results available in 48 hours
• Bulk tank cultures with or without Mycoplasma spp. culture
• Standard plate count, preliminary incubation, lab pasteurized count, and coliform count testing
• Bedding & environmental culturing

Clients utilizing Dairy Comp 305 can create electronic submission files resulting in increased accuracy and efficiency.  When test results are complete, they can be downloaded to a computer to assist with herd management in addition to currently available reports.

Dairy Veterinary Extension

The Veterinary Extension Program for Dairy Cattle at Iowa State University provides educational leadership and support to Iowa’s dairy industry, focusing on cattle health and management. Target audiences include dairy producers, veterinarians, agri-business professionals, and allied industry members.

Key focus areas include:

• Lameness prevention and hoof care
• Multicultural workforce training
• Enhancing animal welfare in dairy production

Dr. Jan Shearer, Dairy Extension Veterinarian, leads these efforts. He collaborates with faculty across the university and statewide extension networks to deliver impactful programs. Dr. Shearer is internationally recognized for his work in cattle lameness and welfare. He co-developed the Master Hoof Care Program, a widely adopted training initiative for on-farm foot care.

He is actively involved in animal welfare education and serves in leadership roles with the AVMA, AABP, and the Professional Animal Auditors Association.