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UW School of Veterinary Medicine student Brian Schnell assists with the biosecurity check-in for the 2015 World Dairy Expo at the Alliant Energy Center in Madison, Wis. Each year, Professor Sheila McGuirk and dozens of students volunteer to oversee the check-in process, which helps ensure that disease does not spread among the more than 2,500 cows that are brought to the event. (Photo: Courtesy World Dairy Expo)
The World Dairy Expo is well underway at the Alliant Energy Center in Madison, Wis., where dairy farmers and industry representatives, along with about 2,500 cows, have gathered for the massive annual event. Thanks to the efforts of Sheila McGuirk, professor of large animal internal medicine at the UW School of Veterinary Medicine (SVM), along with dozens of student volunteers, each cow has passed through an extensive biosecurity check-in process to prevent the potential spread of disease.
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Sheila McGuirk
As cattle arrived over the course of three days leading up to the expo, McGuirk and her team examined health papers, submitted by veterinarians who have inspected the cattle at their points of origin, and matched those papers with identification tags. Many cows travel extremely long distances from various locales in the United States and Canada, so a speedy check-in process is critical to getting them milked, bedded in straw, and rested as soon as possible.
But even with a flawless biosecurity check-in, when 2,500 cows are in one place, some are bound to get sick. This is why faculty and residents from the SVM are on hand to care for them, along with veterinarians from Whitewater Veterinary Hospital, including the expo’s official veterinarian, Rick Halvorson, and SVM alumnus Michael Miesen, Class of 2007.
“We help take care of everything from G.I. issues to pneumonia—it runs the gamut,” says Keith Poulsen, SVM clinical assistant professor. Poulsen is working at the Expo along with residents Sarah Raabis and Chelsea Holschbach.
Keith Poulsen
The team of veterinarians, which sees about 30 to 40 cows per day, has an on-site diagnostic lab and several ultrasound units so they can determine whether a cow needs to be transported to another facility for more extensive care.
“We’ve been able to handle most things here,” says Poulsen. “But we’ve sent about five cows to UW Veterinary Care so far, and they’ve all done very well.”
According to Poulsen, a Brown Swiss from California was sent to the UWVC Large Animal Hospital for supportive care and evaluation with more advanced diagnostics but returned healthy and in time to be properly prepped for showing.
“When he got back to the expo, one of the farm hands said ‘I just got back from the miracle place,’” says Poulsen.
The SVM’s role in the expo goes beyond biosecurity and veterinary medical care. McGuirk also serves on the event’s exhibitor committee and as an assistant superintendent for the Holstein show.
Nik Hawkins
