Introduction to Teaching Herd

School of Veterinary Medicine - Food Animal Production Medicine Food Animal Production Medicine

Introduction

Dr. Leland Allenstein Teaching Herd - Introduction and History

In August 2000, the University of Wisconsin, School of Veterinary Medicine, purchased a herd of Holstein cows from Dennis and Mary Kay RuKamp. Their farm is located near DePere Wisconsin and has been in the RuKamp family for over 129 years. Dennis and Mary Kay bought the farm from Dennis' father in 1976. Their goal was to have a herd of cows that milked well. When they started the RHA was about 14,000 lbs, when the herd was sold the RHA was about 23,000 lbs.

Dennis and Mary Kay have 5 children, all of whom participated in 4-H. All but one showed cows at the Brown County Fair. Faye (Swoosh's Dam) was selected as Reserve Grand Champion at the 1996 fair. Serena was named Reserve Champion in 1999. Ace, Merry, Sweet Lu, and Griffey were also shown at fairs. For 25 years, the RuKamps hosted school tours on their farm.

Mary Kay says "Selling our cows to the Veterinary School has made us very proud of our Dairy Herd. Knowing that all the hard work that went into getting them to this point has paid off. We wanted the herd kept together and we wanted to know they'd be taken care of, like we did or better. We hope the herd works out well for you and we pray that by the students working with them, they'll decide to become large animal vets. We need more Dr. Edie Brandt's (SVM Class of 1988) in the dairy business."

(provided by Dennis and Mary Kay RuKamp in Sept. 2000)

Key Benefits

	Create a CAN DO attitude towards population medicine and animal production
	Give students additional experience in animal production
	Give students additional experience in handling large animals
	Enhance the structure of the current curriculum

Last modified: 08/28/07

Key Benefits

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