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HAPPY HOLIDAYS TO ALL OUR READERS
A New Recruit
Dr. Scott Raymond Randolph Haskell, the new extension veterinarian and
director of the Maine Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory, is a man whose
affability and enthusiasm are immediately evident. Dr. Haskell’s education,
as well as his experience, is extensive, having lent his expertise all
across the United States and internationally, even as far away as Moldova
and Bangladesh. Born in California, Scott began his education with a BS,
with honors, in Animal Science from the University of California, Davis.
Since then, he has continually furthered his schooling over the years,
having accumulated a master’s in Animal Physiology, DVM in Production
Medicine, MPVM in Epidemiology and Preventative Medicine, and a pending PhD
in Comparative Pathology, all from UC, Davis. In much of his work, in the
U.S. as well as internationally, his research has focused on ecosystem
toxicology, anthropogenic, or human-caused impacts on ecosystem health,
environmental microbiology and antibiotic resistance, and the international
emergence of zoonotic disease. Domestically, a vast majority of Dr.
Haskell’s previous projects have been located in the Southwest, specifically
California, Arizona, and Nevada. Here he dealt primarily with dairies, as
well as cow-calf and stocker operations, and some feedlot work for 17 years.
Due to the highly seasonal nature of many of the animal species with which
he has worked, different times of the year would bring different
opportunities. His dairy, as with his aquaculture work, was year-round and
centered on mastitis and reproduction in dairy cows. Aquaculture projects
were involved with disease, diagnostic capabilities, certification for
import, and vaccine and antibiotic development in hybrid striped bass,
trout, and tilapia. Summers meant working with respiratory diseases in
feedlots, with cow-calf projects most often during the fall. His sheep,
goat, and camelid projects were generally in fall and spring, encompassing a
number of aspects such as reproduction in llamas and alpacas, mastitis in
dairy goats, and all manner of work with meat goats and sheep. Dr. Haskell
attributes some of his most trying work to camelid producers, whom he
jokingly describes as "purebred dog people on steroids". Internationally,
Dr. Haskell has traveled to a myriad of different countries for a variety of
projects. In Moldova and the Ukraine, former Soviet satellites, he taught
Capitalistic food-animal management techniques and diseases in milking
sheep, respectively. Beef cattle health issues awaited him in Guatemala, and
in Bangladesh, he dealt with sustainability of meat issues in goats. To fund
all these ventures, Dr. Haskell owned three veterinary clinics supporting 14
employees and three associate veterinarians. In 2007 he will be traveling to
Haiti for two weeks to train vet techs in livestock disease management. Dr.
Haskell has also been involved in prudent drug usage and utilization, having
worked closely with the Animal Medicinal Drug Use Clarification Act, to
enable drugs to be used on an extra-label basis. Anytime a drug’s dosage or
method of administration is altered it is considered as being used
extra-label, a common practice with sheep, goat, and fish, as well as being
relatively popular in the beef and dairy industry. His current projects, at
UMaine, include a number that are analyzing aspects of the Maine organic
beef and dairy industry. Such projects include herbal treatment for
respiratory disease in beef cattle operations and it’s effect on immune
function, and alternative teat dipping and medicines for treatment of
mastitis in dairy cattle. In the realm of aquaculture he is involved in the
creation of a prevalence index of diseases within the oyster, lobster, and
sea urchin industry. One of Dr. Haskell’s most interesting current projects
is his attempt to develop rapid, on-farm diagnostic tests for common
livestock diseases such as Johne’s, Salmonella, and E. Coli.
As is evident, Dr. Scott Haskell brings a fascinating, unique, and
impressive history to the department and makes a wonderful addition to the
UMaine family. Welcome, Dr. Haskell! (Picture Caption: The photograph of Dr.
Haskell was taken in front of a Dairy facility milking Water Buffalo in
Rajasthan, India)
University of Maine Students Compete in Northeast Regional Dairy
Challenge
Recently, ten animal science students from the University of Maine
competed in the Northeast Regional Dairy Challenge held October 20-22, 2005,
in Norwich, NY. SUNY Morrisville hosted the contest, with 110 students from
13 agricultural universities throughout the Northeast competing. The ten
students from the Department of Animal and Veterinary Sciences were Mike
Brown of China, Josh Bergstrom of Orono, Emily Hastings of Bangor, Matt
Rolleston of Sebec, Kara Pietroski of Thomaston, Ken Hoyt of Eliot, Tom Lund
of New Gloucester, Stephanie Beamish of Berwick, Jennianne O’Connor of
Middleboro, MA, and Katelyn Romano of Rowley, MA. Dr. David Marcinkowski,
Associate Professor and Extension Dairy Specialist coached the team. Mike
Brown received the highest award, which is the platinum award. Emily
Hastings and Josh Bergstrom both received gold awards, which are the second
highest awards. Team members are now looking forward to the national
competition to be held in Twin Falls, ID in April of 2006. The Dairy
Challenge is a two-day competition that enables students to apply theory and
learning to a real-world dairy, while working as part of a team. On the
first day, teams of four students receive production and farm management
data from a real working dairy. After an inspection of the farm,
participants interview the farm manager and then develop a farm analysis and
presentation, including recommendations for nutrition, reproduction, milking
procedures, animal health, housing, and financial management. On the second
day, team members present recommendations to a panel of judges and then
answer questions from these judges. Presentations are evaluated, based on
their analysis and recommendations. For more information on the Dairy
Challenge, or those involved, contact David Marcinkowski at 1-800-287-7170
or email at davidm@umext.maine.edu.
AVS Bios
Philip Ferenczy
Phil is a 2004 graduate with a BS in Animal Science and a minor in
Zoology. His graduate study is on Measuring Thyroid Hormone Levels in
Postpartum Cows Through Lactation and what effect they have on milk
production and the overall health of the cows. His advisor for the project
is Dr. James Weber. Along with working on his thesis, Phil assists with
teaching AVS 346, Dairy Cattle Technology, and still finds time to support
his two favorite teams, the Bills and Sabres. After obtaining his masters at
UMaine, Phil hopes to work at the Roswell Park Cancer Institute’s animal
research lab back in his hometown of Buffalo, NY.
Christian Boegel
Chris graduated from UMaine in 2004 with a BS in Animal Science and
minored in Business Administration. His graduate thesis is on testing
effects of alternative medicine against Pasteurella sp. found in
organic beef herds, under the tutelage of Dr. Scott Haskell. The project is
designed to test MOFGA recommended herbal and homeopathic treatments for
effectiveness. Chris’ future goals are the completion of his masters degree and to continue
doing research in the field.
Kristy Palmer
Kristy is in her second year as an AVS department graduate student,
having completed a BS in Animal Science with minors in Equine Studies and
English. Her senior project was with Dr. James Weber on the Morris Water
Maze and hyperthyroid mice. Her graduate thesis is along these same lines,
but concentrating more fully on developmental mouse behavior and reflexes.
Kristy’s hobbies mainly include excursions with her horse, Brewer Bay, who
is a successful example of the Witter Farm Standard-bred Retraining Program.
Kristy collects tropical fish and also enjoys pet sitting, on the side, as
she has not yet settled down long enough to have her own.
Alumni Corner
Benjamin Cole
Ben graduated with a BS in Animal Science in 1999. Since graduating he
has had a wide variety of interesting careers. He has managed several pet
shops over the years and worked in the Special Animal Services division of
Charles River Labs in 2000. In 2001, Ben took a job at the University of
Florida’s Animal Care Services Program as a conventionally housed mice
supervisor while also dabbling in positions involved with infectious
disease, importation/quarantine, and quality assurance. While still
remaining at the University of Florida, he left Animal Care Services in 2003
for his current position as a biological scientist under Dr. Brian Herfe in
the Molecular Genetics and Microbiology Department. He manages almost 40
strains of mice, performs genetic analysis, and trains graduate students in
husbandry/colony maintenance. On the side, Ben helps to maintain a colony of
nearly 1000 venomous reptiles at Medtoxin Labs in Deland, Florida, which
supplies venom to numerous companies and researchers for chemical analysis,
as well as anti-venom and human drug production.
Maggie Berry
Class of 2001 graduate Maggie Berry began working for an antigen company
directly out of college. During her three years there her responsibilities
ranged from assisting with the animals themselves to working in the labs
with thousands of antigens. Maggie has recently changed careers, pursuing
veterinary medicine and assisting with orthopedic surgery as a vet tech for
North Deering Veterinary Hospital.
December Graduates
George Sharrard
George is originally from New York City, New York and will graduate from
UMaine with a dual-major in Animal Science and Marine Biology. After
graduation he hopes to work for Genex as an A.I. Technician. His ideal job,
however, would be to own his own farm with a herd of registered Black Angus
and a second herd of commercial cattle. Outside of school he enjoys SCUBA
diving, hunting, fishing, hiking, four-wheeling and just being outdoors.
George has been actively involved with Witter Farm and the Maine Animal Club
for several years.
Emily Hastings
Born and raised right in Bangor, Emily graduates this month with a BS in
Animal Science. She doesn’t currently know what her future plans are, but
someday hopes to work with small, exotic animals. Emily recently received a
gold award for her performance at the Northeast Regional Dairy Challenge and
currently assists with teaching the lab portion of the UMADCOWS.
Tyler Cote
While still a December graduate, Tyler left UMaine earlier this year to
begin vet school at the University of Tennessee.
Good Luck Graduates!!
A "Yes" on Question 3
On this past November 8th, Maine voters were asked to cast
their ballot decisions upon seven different questions, one of which means a
great deal to the J.F. Witter Teaching and Research Center. Approximately
$800,000 of the bond is earmarked specifically for renovations and
maintenance of Witter Farm that will allow it to meet specific federal
guidelines designed for teaching and research facilities. The main project
for which the money is hopefully destined will be a new livestock facility
built after the demolition of the old livestock barn, provided that all
current safety issues are addressed first. Designed to be completed in three
phases, the foundation and shell of the facility is expected to cost
approximately $640,000, a very large portion of the original bond payment.
Phase I includes the majority of the work such as the demolition of the old
structure, regrading the site, and construction of the new building. Phases
II and III involve a new office and upper-level lounge and lobby addition.
If the existing building could be removed, then the foundation could be
poured for the new structure, while additional funds are raised for it’s
completion, a mere $12 million. Please send your checks to the editor!
Significant improvements to the dairy barn include replacing the milk pipe
system and waste conveyer mechanism, while in the heifer barn there are
plans to redesign and relocate the existing rail chutes to allow easier and
more efficient movement of animals. Other important general improvements
include repairing the main road to the farm, a new open face structure for
sheep housing, and mending numerous safety issues throughout the entire
complex. All projects being discussed have been given a priority rating of 1
to 5, however, estimated cost has not been seriously evaluated for anything
other than the new livestock facility.
UMaine Wins Grant to Study Organic Dairy Cropping Systems
The Organic Grant, as it is most commonly referred to, is a joint venture
between the University of Maine, University of New Hampshire, the
Agricultural Research Service, and the Maine Organic Milk Producers. It is
in response to the new rise in interest and demand for organic dairy
products and therefore organic dairy research. The grant is an $829,000
four-year commitment for researching and developing methods to reduce costs
and increase the quality of feed for organic dairy farms. Feeding trials
will be conducted at both the UMaine and UNH campuses, while the cropping
systems experiment will take place on the UMaine fields only. The purpose is
to hopefully identify and develop the most productive and profitable
rotations of organic feed crops. The new project has been described as the
most comprehensive research on organic dairy rotations that has ever been
designed. As mentioned, consumers have started to show a remarkable interest
in organic products and recently New England farmers in particular have
sought to capitalize on this market opportunity. Unfortunately, dairy farms
in New England come across many barriers to be a successful organic farm.
Due to such short summers, the growing season is too brief to produce enough
feed to support large herds. Therefore, most farmers must rely on stored
feed and grain, which is the single most costly aspect of managing a farm.
With feed cost generally making up 44 percent of annual expense, organic
farmers are desperately looking for ways to reduce expenditure by growing
enough of their own grain and high quality forage. The experiments at Witter
would test four basic cropping scenarios each designed to suit organic
farmers with different needs, taking into account farm size, available
resources, and affordable risk. The results from these experiments will be
invaluable to any of the 65 certified organic farms currently in the state
of Maine, as well as the dozens more who are presently in the three-year
transition period where pesticide, antibiotic, growth hormone, or chemical
fertilizer use is strictly prohibited. This timeframe is required before
organic herds and farms can be deemed certified. As a way to track progress
within their research, annual field days will be arranged at Witter, as well
as at a private organic farm, to allow discussion of results. For more
information about the Organic Grant or the Maine organic dairy farm industry
contact Rich Kersbergen (207) 342-5971, Jon Jemison, (207) 581-3241, and Tim
Griffin, (207) 581-3292.
Hard Work in the Big Easy
Born in Scarborough, Maine, but raised in Sandwich, Massachusetts,
20-year old Stephanie Moriarty has already done more for animal welfare than
most people will throughout their entire lives. Having transferred from the
University of Maine at Farmington for the fall semester, Stephanie
volunteered for a whirlwind, seven-day pilgrimage to New Orleans to rescue
animals still trapped or stranded in the devastating aftermath of Hurricane
Katrina. Brought in as part of a veterinary medical team, she spent her days
breaking into houses, based on reports of pets left abandoned in cages and
kennels, or still leashed, and left to drown during the evacuation. Rescued
animals were then transferred to the Gonzales Lamar Dixon Expo Center, which
had been refitted as an emergency animal shelter housing over 1,000 animals.
With temperatures routinely exceeding 100ºF with 100% humidity, "conditions
were horrible", Stephanie admits, "the experience was probably the most
physically and emotionally trying time of my life." Nights were spent with a
separate team that prepared sick and injured animals for transport to other
facilities in the mornings. "Every time I got up to go to the bathroom I
would be put on a truck headed elsewhere", says Stephanie who prepped
animals for exportation for other shelters in the area as well, at one point
loading refugees for a flight to a shelter in Sacramento,
California, that was supplied and funded by John Travolta.
While quite an amazing story, Stephanie is no stranger to dedication and
excellence. Having worked in animal shelters since she was 7 years old, she
earned the Human Hero of the Year Award at the MSPCA, as well as employee of
the month and the Above and Beyond Award for her work at the Bangor Humane
Society. Stephanie has raised guide dogs for Guiding Eyes for the Blind, as
well as training her own two dogs to work as part of the Companion Animal
Program, which helps to improve quality of life for seniors in nursing
homes. In addition to excelling at work and school, Stephanie helped the UMF
softball team win their 2005 championship and earned MVP in the process. She
was even invited by the International World Sports Tour to continue her
sports career in Australia.
After graduation Stephanie hopes to attend vet school at Michigan State
and eventually practice in animal shelters or "wherever I find the most
need". Her major goal is to work with other vets to elevate spaying and
neutering as a top priority. Covering all her bases, Stephanie is also
currently seeking a degree in Criminal Justice at the University College of
Bangor in case she is unsuccessful in being accepted to vet school. However,
considering her breadth of knowledge, dedication, humanity, and experience,
one can imagine that Stephanie Moriarty would be an invaluable addition not
just to any university, but to the field of veterinary medicine. (Picture
Caption: Stephanie Moriarty in her sophomore year at UMF) |
