AABP Executive Director Dr. Fred Gingrich is joined by Dr. Michelle Schack, the keynote presenter for the 8th AABP Recent Graduate Conference. Schack grew up in the San Francisco Bay area, with no access to cattle farms or 4-H and FFA programs. She decided to become a veterinarian early in life, but then realized companion animal practice did not suit her needs and she became interested in large animal medicine as an undergraduate and cattle production medicine at University of California-Davis College of Veterinary Medicine. We discuss that only 18% of the U.S. population is from rural communities, and our recruitment efforts should focus on exposing all interested students to cattle practice and welcome them to join us!

Schack delivered the keynote presentation “Enhancing Sustainability through Animal and Human Well-Being”, and this presentation will be available to AABP members to view on our CE portal which is accessible under the Continuing Education menu of the AABP website. 

Schack discusses the impact of everyone on the team providing care that affects animal well-being on every farm. She provides some tips for how to approach team members, managers and owners for addressing animal handling and promoting well-being. Approaching the conversation as a helper for the caregiver and the animal can be a good way to be non-confrontational. Providing training programs not only impacts the care for the cows and calves, but also improves employee satisfaction and retention. Schack is a co-founder of DairyKind, an online resource for caregiver training that can then be followed up with in-person training sessions. This creates an environment where cattle are cared for in an appropriate manner, caregivers are properly trained, and veterinarians are involved in the program to create billable hours.

Veterinarians are an important part of promoting well-being on farms for both employees and cattle. Start having conversations today with your clients to provide these resources and training sessions for well-being just as you do for other production medicine consultations.

For more information, visit the DairyKind website at this link.