In this episode of The Dairy Health Blackbelt Podcast, Dr. Stephen Wadsworth, dairy veterinarian and lecturer at the University of Vermont, explains how experiential learning through student-managed herds builds practical skills in dairy health and management. He highlights hands-on training, accountability for decision-making, and workforce development for future veterinarians. Discover how real farm experience strengthens technical expertise and industry readiness. Listen now on all major platforms!

"Managing a small dairy herd allows a detailed understanding of individual animal biology, which can later be scaled to larger operations with stronger confidence and technical accuracy."

Meet the guest: Dr. Stephen Wadsworth is a dairy veterinarian and lecturer at the University of Vermont, specializing in dairy health management, reproduction, and animal welfare. With over four decades of field experience, his work focuses on experiential learning through student-managed herds and workforce development in dairy veterinary medicine.

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What you will learn:

• (00:00) Highlight
• (01:05) Introduction
• (02:07) Student herd
• (03:30) Small herd value
• (05:14) Hands-on learning
• (06:17) Student transformation
• (08:07) Work ethic
• (12:27) Closing thoughts

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* inBarn

𝗟𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗻 𝗼𝗻 𝗔𝗽𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗣𝗼𝗱𝗰𝗮𝘀𝘁𝘀, 𝗦𝗽𝗼𝘁𝗶𝗳𝘆 𝗼𝗿 𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝗺𝗮𝗷𝗼𝗿 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺.

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In this episode of The Dairy Health Blackbelt Podcast, Gaurav Dutta, Graduate Research Assistant at the University of Connecticut, explains how genomics is improving female fertility traits in dairy cattle. He discusses low-heritability challenges, new measurable traits, and how heat stress affects reproduction and production. Get practical insights on genetic evaluation systems and future opportunities. Listen now on all major platforms!

"Female fertility traits present low heritability and are heavily influenced by management and environmental conditions, making genetic improvement challenging within modern dairy production systems."

Meet the guest: Gaurav Dutta is a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Connecticut specializing in dairy cattle genomics, quantitative genetics, and transcriptomics. With a veterinary background and research experience in fertility traits and heat stress, his work focuses on improving genetic evaluations for dairy production systems.

Read the full research articles here:

Foundational Review of U.S. Female Fertility Trait Evaluations

Genetic parameters and genomic predictions for milk yield by season in US Holsteins: Assessing genotype by environment interactions under heat stress in Texas and Wisconsin

PSXIV-6 Comparison of Changes in Snp Effects and Gebv Using Different Training Populations in Simulated Data

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What you will learn:

• (00:00) Highlight
• (00:49) Introduction
• (01:47) Fertility traits
• (02:09) Low heritability
• (03:02) Phenotypic trends
• (03:59) Trait evaluation
• (05:42) New trait
• (07:58) Closing thoughts

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𝗟𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗻 𝗼𝗻 𝗔𝗽𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗣𝗼𝗱𝗰𝗮𝘀𝘁𝘀, 𝗦𝗽𝗼𝘁𝗶𝗳𝘆 𝗼𝗿 𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝗺𝗮𝗷𝗼𝗿 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺.

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In this episode of The Dairy Health Blackbelt Podcast, Bridger Sparks, PhD candidate at Texas Tech University, explains how adipose tissue innervation influences lipid mobilization and metabolic health in dairy cows. He discusses parity effects, catecholamine regulation, and links to ketosis and transition disorders. Bridger highlights future strategies for breeding and biomarker development. Listen now on all major platforms!

"Excessive lipid mobilization creates significant metabolic stress, increasing the likelihood of disorders that impact productivity, reproduction, and overall efficiency within modern dairy systems."

Meet the guest: Bridger Sparks is a PhD candidate in Animal Science at Texas Tech University, focusing on how adipose tissue innervation affects metabolic health in dairy cows. His work integrates neurobiology and physiology to study transition period challenges, with publications in the Journal of Dairy Science and recognition from ADSA.

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What you will learn:

• (00:00) Highlight
• (00:56) Introduction
• (01:51) Research motivation
• (02:31) Lipolysis control
• (03:59) Why it matters
• (05:00) Parity effects
• (06:01) Enzyme pathways
• (10:45) Closing thoughts

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𝗟𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗻 𝗼𝗻 𝗔𝗽𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗣𝗼𝗱𝗰𝗮𝘀𝘁𝘀, 𝗦𝗽𝗼𝘁𝗶𝗳𝘆 𝗼𝗿 𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝗺𝗮𝗷𝗼𝗿 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺.

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