Animal Sciences Newsletter 2009

The Animal Sciences Ambassadors have geared up for another successful year promoting and serving the Animal Sciences Department. The fall semester began with the annual Welcome Back Picnic. Ambassadors and the department faculty and staff provided food and welcomed new and returning Animal Sciences students to campus. A couple of weeks into school, Ambassadors gathered for a weekend retreat at Historic Prophestown near Battle Ground, Indiana. The retreat focused on team building, event planning and generating new ideas for ambassador lead programs. We were grateful that Kevin Eikenberry, President of Kevin Eikenberry Group, could come speak with us and share with us ideas to more effectively serve the department.

Ambassadors worked hard to make preparations for various events during the fall. A career seminar was held prior to the College of Agriculture career fair in order to aid students in sharpening their resumes and interviewing skills. Ambassadors helped the department staff in preparations for the Animal Sciences Reunion prior to the Homecoming Football Game. The Chili Dinner was held later in the fall as a time for those in the department to relax and enjoy fellowship before jumping into the busiest time of the semester for students. Other events the ambassadors were involved in included the Family Day-Omelet Brunch, Book-Harmon Leadership Seminar, Distinguished Animal Sciences Alumni recognition and Holiday Donut Farewell. The semester wrapped up with the annual ambassador Christmas party.

Spring brings several exciting events and activities. Boiler Barnyard planning is under way. Each year hundreds of people of all ages pass through our department's tent. This is a great opportunity for community outreach. Ambassadors hosted three Preview Days to recruit and inform prospective students. Other events for the spring semester include the ANSC 181 Industry Tour, Ag Alumni Fish Fry, Young Alumni Reunion and Animal Sciences Ice Cream social.

The Ambassadors are looking forward to the rest of this year and working hard to ensure we do our best to promote and serve the department. We continue to strive to recruit quality students, engage and retain those students, and recognize and appreciate our excellent faculty and alumni. We look forward to seeing you all at future events!

From May 13 to May 17, 2008, Purdue University students participated in an educational immersion in the horse industry of central Kentucky. Students learned about career opportunities and needs of the racehorse industry from top business, veterinary, and farm management professionals while visiting leading farms, veterinary facilities, training centers, race tracks, feed manufacturers and other support businesses in Lexington.

The group visited farms owned by companies from Ireland, Saudi Arabia, Emirates Arab Republic, and Germany as well as traditional Kentucky-owned historic farms including Claiborne, Overbrook, Calumet and the breeding home of Big Brown, Three Chimneys. In addition to farms, the group visited Keeneland, Fasig-Tipton, University of Kentucky, Kentucky Equine Sports Medicine and Rehabilitation Center (KESMARC), and Kentucky Equine Research (KER) where Lynn Pezzanite (current senior) interned last summer. Students also attended a Kentucky Equine Managers Internship (KEMI) workshop on biomechanics of hoof movement with current KEMI intern Sara Kaniewski, who is at Trackside Farm.

They visited with Purdue alumni including Warren Giegold, Kristen Brodt, Nikki Holbrook, Sara Weed, Jennie Rhodes, Russell Wiggins, and Drs. Mike Hardy and Will Farmer. On the way home the group even visited a great American Saddlebred Farm, Willowbank Farm, in Simpsonville, Kentucky and attended the afternoon meet at Churchill Downs where some stayed and watched the Preakness. Overall, the students came away with a better understanding of the available careers and internships opportunities. Students increased their appreciation for the major challenges facing the future of the race horse industry in the U.S. and globally, including breeding selection, training, reproduction, feeding, and marketing. The group was accompanied by Barry Delks and Dr. Mark Russell.

From left to right: Dewey Hutchins, Kaitlin Condron, Kristin Jones and Sarah Ellington. While interning at Smithfield Packing Company, Condron planned for the Safe, Quality Food Level 3 Certification.

During her internship, Purdue undergraduate Kaitlin Condron was one of four quality assurance interns in the Smithfield, Virginia facility. The main project for the interns was to help plan for the Safe, Quality Food Level 3 Certification.

Smithfield Packing Company is the largest subsidiary of Smithfield Foods. It has 10 meat processing facilities involved in fresh pork, smoked meats, bacon, cooked hams and hotdogs for retail, food service and deli channels. It was founded in 1936 by Joseph W. Luter and Joseph W. Luter, Jr. Joseph W. Luter, IV is Executive Vice President of Smithfield Foods.

Safe, Quality Food is a certification program for suppliers stating that their product meets food safety and that the quality management system complies with international and domestic food safety regulations.

"We made a process flow of each processing area and denoted our CQPs or Critical Quality Points. We had to review existing monitoring measures and if it was necessary, create new ones," said Condron on some of her duties as an intern at Smithfield Packing Company.

The interns focus was to look for potential errors in processing that could effect the quality of the final product and also to find ways to prevent or limit them.

Kendra Lancaster, a junior in Animal Sciences, was a member of the U.S. Sitting Women's Volleyball Team, which won the silver medal at the 2008 Paralympic Games in September. The team lost to defending champion China in the gold medal match in front of 5,500 spectators at the China Agricultural University Gymnasium in Beijing.

In sitting volleyball, players are required to keep some part of their upper body in contact with the ground when hitting the ball. It is much quicker than the traditional game. The U.S. Sitting Women finished the Paralympics with a record of 3-2, with their only other loss coming to China in pool play. Gold medalist China, which did not lose a set in the competition, was 5-0. Netherlands defeated Slovenia in the bronze medal match.

Kendra joined the national team as a 17-year-old high school student, after playing standing volleyball for Westfield High School for four years. She has now played in two Paralympic games. She won a bronze medal in the 2004 Paralympic Games in Athens. Kendra is also on the Purdue Western Equestrian Team.

Dairy Challenge Team: Seated from left to right: Steven Hein and Brandon Miller. Standing left to right: Mike Schutz (Coach), Rob LaFollette and Craig Blough.

Purdue University's Dairy Challenge Team received a First Place Platinum Award at the North American Intercollegiate Dairy Challenge (NAIDC) held in April 2008 in Madison, Wisconsin. The team consisted of Brandon Miller (Animal Sciences, Brazil), Rob LaFollette (Animal Sciences, Rising Sun), Steven Hein (Agricultural Systems Management, Crown Point), and Craig Blough (Agricultural and Biological Engineering, Middlebury). Team members were students in Animal Sciences 495e Dairy Farm Evaluation. They were coached by Dr. Mike Schutz. Dr. Tamilee Nennich and graduate student Jeffrey Bewley, before completion of his degree requirements, assisted with preparing the team.

The 7th annual NAIDC had participants from 32 Universities around the U.S. and Canada. Teams competed with 7 other teams at 1 of 4 host farms, thoroughly evaluated the farm, studied the farm's production and financial records, prepared a presentation of recommendations, and presented those recommendations to a panel of judges and the dairy farm owners over a two-day period. They were judged for the thoroughness and practicality of their observations and recommendations and their presentation style and effectiveness. Additionally, participants had the opportunity to interact with industry sponsors and tour other dairy farms and businesses. This year, the Big Ten swept the first place Platinum Awards with Michigan State University, University of Illinois, and University of Minnesota winning at the other farms.

In February 2008, Purdue University hosted the Midwest Dairy Challenge in Merrillville, Indiana. The success of the Midwest program in preparing students was attested to by the fact that all eight First and Second Place Award Winners were from the Midwest region. North Dakota State University, Iowa State University, The Ohio State University, and Kansas State University received Second Place Platinum recognition at the NAIDC.

Purdue's Animal Welfare Judging Team placed first at the Intercollegiate Judging Contest held the first weekend in November at Michigan State University.

This year was the largest competition ever, with six universities including Missouri, Iowa, MSU, Guelph, Wisconsin and Purdue sending teams.

Purdue's Animal Welfare Judging Team members included undergraduates Melissa Elischer, Christine Erlandson, Ashley Kelly, Laurie Mason, and Faith Shields. The coaches for the team were graduate students Monica Pittman and Stacey Enneking. Dr. Ed Pajor was the teams's faculty advisor.

The plaque picturing four animal faces was awarded to the Animal Welfare Judging Team. The artist wanted to represent how we see the animals through a window, they pause for a moment to look at us, and in that moment of wordless communication we share a respect for them and all animals. The artist felt that this is the core of the concept of animal husbandry. Colorado State animal ethicist, Bernie Rollin, who recently visited Purdue to lecture on eithcs, found this interesting because the department used to be called Animal Husbandry.

Dairy Judging Team members from left to right: Liz Woodruff (Assistant Coach), Megan Kron, Ashley Biller, Andrew Kuehnert, Jordan Eby, and Steve Hendress (Coach).

The 2008 Purdue Dairy Judging Team competed in three national level contests this year. Team members were Megan Kron (Evansville), Ashley Biller (Napanee), Jordan Eby (Goshen) and Andrew Kuehnert (Fort Wayne). With workouts every weekend to prepare for the contests, the team made a strong commitment and worked extremely hard.

The first contest was at the Pennsylvania All-American Dairy Show in Harrisburg. Jordan Eby was sixth individual and averaged 48.2 on ten placing classes. The team was fourth in Brown Swiss, fifth in Guernsey and seventh overall with 24 teams participating.

The second contest, The National, was held in Madison, Wisconsin during the World Dairy Expo. The team struggled with some placing classes and placed twelfth out of 25 teams. They were also eighth in oral reasons, which was impressive after giving reasons on some missed placings.

The NAILE contest in Louisville, Kentucky concluded their season with a disappointing sixteenth placing. The team lacked consistency in some breeds and gave up too many placing points or maybe the officials did not agree with the team's placings.

Valuable lessons are always learned through success as well as struggles and that will help groom these young men and women for future endeavors. Decision making, oral presentation skills and teamwork are important tasks that they will continue to develop after graduation in a career or graduate school. Congratulations to the Dairy Judging Team for all their hard work.

Livestock Judging Team: Standing from left to right Kyle Culp, Erik Mrozinski, Levi Deckard, Michael Bonnell, and Matt Claeys (Coach). Seated from left to right: Jeremy Barbour, Aimee Shaffer, and Spencer Morris.

The 2008 Livestock Judging Team had a competitive Fall semester of livestock judging and continued to make progress. Team members were: Jeremy Barbour, Stoneboro, Pennsylvania; Michael Bonnell, Columbus; Levi Deckard, Freedom; Spencer Morris, Monrovia; Erik Mronzinski, Rolling Prairie; and Aimee Shaffer, Albany.

The team finished eighth at the National Barrow Show in Austin, Minnesota. A couple of weeks later they traveled to the AK-SAR-BEN Contest in Omaha, Nebraska and the team finished fifth.

Many teams from across the country participated in the Boilermaker Classic hosted by Purdue University. This event is not for awards, but serves as a mock contest for the students. The next day the team traveled to the Stockman Contest held in Clinton County. The College division does not have team awards in this event; however, the event was an excellent training contest for the team.

Kansas City was an educational event for the team. They did not fare very well overall, largely due to inconsistency. They continued to stay focused and prepared for the National Contest in Louisville, Kentucky.

Louisville was a much better performance for the Purdue team. The contest was more challenging than in recent years. The team tied for fifth in Swine, was seventh in Sheep and eleventh Overall.

The 2009 team is planning on competing at the All-East Contest this spring. Team members include: Ian Brooke, Albany; Rob Defreese, West Point; Nicole Fitzsimmons, Columbus; Bradley Fry; Chris Grimm, Wawaka; Katherine Kuykendall, Richland Center, Wisconsin; Kyle Lehman, Nappanee; Katie Linhart, Louisville, Kentucky; Ryan Linn, Camden; and Jordan Schmitt, Haubstadt.

Many thanks to everyone for the support and time provided with workouts and classes for the team to prepare for the educational events while building the valuable skills for their careers. The "out of the classroom" experiences are valuable and irreplaceable to the educational process and developmental process of the student.

The Block and Bridle Club was in full swing during the fall semester. We are excited to have a big and active pledge class, bringing our club participation up to about 150 members.

The Block and Bridle Royal was the main event for the fall semester. With over 100 participants and 300 people in the audience, the Royal Showmanship contest was held on the Friday evening prior to Homecoming.

New this year, the First Annual Alumni and Faculty Swine Showmanship Contest was held, with our 2008-2009 Honorary Member, Mr. Jack Rodibaugh, serving as judge.

Members of the club have also been busy with Tot's Day, a program to introduce young children to animal agriculture; intramural sports; fundraisers prior to home football games; and parking cars at the Farm World Expo.

Although the fall semester was filled to the brim with activities, the club does not plan to slow down in the Spring. Thirty-eight members attended the National Block and Bridle convention in San Antonio, Texas in February.

Leaders are also working hard to prepare for the Livestock Judging Contest, Spring Fest, the Classic Hog Show, and new this year the Block and Bridle/Animal Sciences Beef Production Sale.

Dairy Club members after the closing banquet at ADSA-SAD in Minnesota during February 2008

A trip to Minnesota, the Boilermaker Heifer Sale, and a tour of Fair Oaks Dairy: all of these and more include activities the Purdue Dairy Club participated in throughout the past year. The club also attended the American Dairy Science Association-Student Affiliate Division conference held at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities.

Other spring semester activities included achieving great results at its fundraiser, the Boilermaker Heifer Sale, hosting the "I Milked a Cow" booth at Spring Fest, and holding a judging invitational for 4-H and FFA members. For its efforts and success, the Purdue Dairy Club was named "Top Option Club" in the College of Agriculture.

Throughout the fall semester, it participated in the Boiler Gold Rush Opportunity Fair and the College of Agriculture Ice Cream Social, and some of its members went to the World Dairy Expo in Madison, Wisconsin.

The Purdue Dairy Club is preparing for spring semester activities and is implementing new ideas for the club in hopes of retaining its title as Top Option Club.

Heifer International Purdue Chapter has had a very active inaugural semester. We had our first fundraiser, "Halloween to End Hunger," where we sold and carved pumpkins, caramel apples, and hot chocolate.

Members also attended a colligate workshop held at the Little Rock, Arkansas headquarters to learn more about the organization and the role the Purdue chapter can have. We also participated in "Christmas Around the World" held in the union during winter break.

This spring we will be participating in Spring Fest and are in the process of planning a spring break trip to a domestic Heifer Project. Also, we will be having informational sessions during the spring semester for those interested in joining. Please visit http://purdueheifer.com for more information.

From left to right: Jennifer Cota, Jessie (assistance dog), and Sally Irvin.

The Purdue ICAN Club is a new organization as of the Spring of 2008 to support the Indiana Canine Assistant Network through fundraising and publicity. As a club, some of the members have participated in furlough training allowing them to be a volunteer canine trainer for ICAN. The organization hopes to impact Purdue this year through many fundraising events, social events and volunteer opportunities.

ICAN is a non-profit organization located in downtown Indianapolis that focuses on training dogs for those with disabilities through the use of trained offenders in Indiana Correctional Facilities. The organization creates many opportunities to change people's lives through the training and placement of assistance dogs. ICAN places three different types of dogs: assistance dogs, facility dogs, and therapy dogs. Assistance dogs are provided to people with mobility challenges or adults who use wheelchairs. Facility dogs are incorporated into work with professional caregivers and their clients. Therapy dogs work in the home of the recipient.

The Purdue ICAN Club is the first campus club to support ICAN. The club is advised by Barry Delks, the Coordinator of Career and Alumni Services. One of the ICAN program's fundraisers is called "ICAN Dine" where anyone can donate part of a dinner purchased at specific restaurants in Indianapolis. Watch ICAN's website http://www.icandog.org for ICAN Dine and other opportunities to contribute to this amazing program.

The Helping Paws club participated in training dogs at Crystal Creek Kennels this past semester

Helping Paws is a Purdue University student organization dedicated to bettering the lives of animals in need. The club raises animal awareness in the community. This is done by volunteering for many animal related causes and coordinating fundraisers for animals and organizations.

This year we have traveled to Black Pine Animal Park, where we helped build and decorate the tortoise and iguana exhibit. We also made enrichment for the animals at Columbian Park Zoo to enjoy. Throughout the year we volunteer at the local humane societies and help with puppy classes at Purdue's Veterinary School.

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