Dairy Herd
The Allenstein Dairy Teaching Herd
The UW School of Veterinary Medicine (SVM) Leland Allenstein Dairy Teaching Herd merged with the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences (CALS) herd in September 2011. The expanded herd continues to be known as the Allenstein Dairy Teaching Herd and serves the needs of both the SVM and CALS.
The herd is housed in the university’s Integrated Dairy Facilities (IDF). The IDF includes the on-campus Dairy Cattle Center (84 milking cows), Emmons Blaine Dairy Cattle Research Center at Arlington (500 milking cows, 50 young calves and 100 dry cows) and the Marshfield Agricultural Research Station / USDA-ARS Institute for Environmentally Integrated Dairy Management (130 milking cows and 550 growing heifers).
The herd is named in honor of Dr. Leland Allenstein who gifted $100,000 to support the herd’s management, maintenance, and health care costs. Allenstein, was a noted veterinarian and beloved instructor who taught at the SVM from 1987 to 1994. Like Dr. Allenstein, the dairy teaching herd is an advocate for the state’s dairy industry.
The Allenstein herd ensures that dairy science and veterinary medical students have access to quality dairy education and research opportunities. The herd provides students in both programs with hands-on experience with cows in an on-farm milking herd environment. By working with the herd, students gain first-hand knowledge of livestock handling, computerized dairy records, everyday dairy management, and animal production.
With nearly a $1 million endowment, the herd is funded in perpetuity, guaranteeing that future generations of students and researchers will continue to have the opportunity to learn what it’s like to work up-close and personal with a dairy herd.
Facts and Figures
March 2014 Rolling Herd Average on 756 cows
28,071 Lbs. Milk, 3.85%Fat, 1082 Lbs. Fat, 3.16%Protein, 887 Lbs. Protein
Calving Interval 12.9 months