Classroom
Cattle Call
Dairy students learn the secrets of judging cows.
On a crisp day in March, some two dozen students encircle a brown cow in a field near Janesville, Wisconsin. Then they begin to ogle. “She’s got great legs,” says one.
“That’s a really nice rump,” says another, as the group mills around the stoic creature to get a good look from all sides.
But Daniel Walker x’09 isn’t so sure. “What would you give her for a final score?” he asks. “She’s got bad feet.”
“And she’s not very deep in front,” adds a classmate.
“She’s really dairy, and she’s got a big rump,” concludes Walker. “I think I’m going to give her an eighty-six.”
While under most circumstances this dialogue would be unseemly, these phrases are part of a precise vocabulary for students of Dairy Science 205: Dairy Cattle Selection. On this field trip to Gil-Bar Jerseys, Walker and his classmates are practicing “final score,” a process by which cows are assigned a score between fifty and one hundred based on their physical features.
The scoring reflects a lot more than just good looks. Dairy Science 205 gives them a handson introduction to the major breeds, evaluation methods, and competitive judging of dairy cattle. “Evaluation and judging are designed to award traits that increase a cow’s profitability,” explains Ted Halbach, the professor. “My students learn about the traits that help cows survive longer, increase milk production and quality, and reproduce in a trouble-free manner.”
On a crisp day in March, some two dozen students encircle a brown cow in a field near Janesville, Wisconsin. Then they begin to ogle. “She’s got great legs,” says one.
“That’s a really nice rump,” says another, as the group mills around the stoic creature to get a good look from all sides.
But Daniel Walker x’09 isn’t so sure. “What would you give her for a final score?” he asks. “She’s got bad feet.”
“And she’s not very deep in front,” adds a classmate.
“She’s really dairy, and she’s got a big rump,” concludes Walker. “I think I’m going to give her an eighty-six.”
While under most circumstances this dialogue would be unseemly, these phrases are part of a precise vocabulary for students of Dairy Science 205: Dairy Cattle Selection. On this field trip to Gil-Bar Jerseys, Walker and his classmates are practicing “final score,” a process by which cows are assigned a score between fifty and one hundred based on their physical features.
The scoring reflects a lot more than just good looks. Dairy Science 205 gives them a handson introduction to the major breeds, evaluation methods, and competitive judging of dairy cattle. “Evaluation and judging are designed to award traits that increase a cow’s profitability,” explains Ted Halbach, the professor. “My students learn about the traits that help cows survive longer, increase milk production and quality, and reproduce in a trouble-free manner.”
The class, which also discusses the dairy industry and herd breeding programs, draws students from a variety of backgrounds, from those who have never touched a cow to those who have already participated in competitive dairy cattle judging through their local FFA (formerly known as Future Farmers of America) or 4-H group. Many will go on to work with dairy cattle after graduation as farmers, veterinarians, or elsewhere in the dairy industry.
Renee Frank x’08, a returning student working toward an agricultural education certificate, has little experience with cows. She signed up for the class because, as a future agriculture teacher, she wants to be able to teach her students “what the ideal cow for each breed looks like and why she is considered the ideal cow,” says Frank.
The dairy science department has been teaching Dairy Cattle Selection since 1939. And even before then — dating back to 1920 — the department’s students began competing in national intercollegiate dairy judging competitions.
When it comes to evaluation, the most important feature of a dairy cow is her udder, which should be large but tight to the body; the teats should be appropriately sized and well-positioned. If they point outward too much, for instance, a cow may step on them and injure herself.
The other four major traits are body volume, bone structure, feet and legs, and something called dairy character, which refers to all the physical attributes, excluding the udder, that bear on a cow’s ability to produce milk. These five traits vary from cow to cow. And their expression — whether a given cow is short or tall, or has a deep or shallow udder — is determined by the cow’s genes.
Renee Frank x’08, a returning student working toward an agricultural education certificate, has little experience with cows. She signed up for the class because, as a future agriculture teacher, she wants to be able to teach her students “what the ideal cow for each breed looks like and why she is considered the ideal cow,” says Frank.
The dairy science department has been teaching Dairy Cattle Selection since 1939. And even before then — dating back to 1920 — the department’s students began competing in national intercollegiate dairy judging competitions.
When it comes to evaluation, the most important feature of a dairy cow is her udder, which should be large but tight to the body; the teats should be appropriately sized and well-positioned. If they point outward too much, for instance, a cow may step on them and injure herself.
The other four major traits are body volume, bone structure, feet and legs, and something called dairy character, which refers to all the physical attributes, excluding the udder, that bear on a cow’s ability to produce milk. These five traits vary from cow to cow. And their expression — whether a given cow is short or tall, or has a deep or shallow udder — is determined by the cow’s genes.
Because genetics plays such an important role in dairy evaluation and breeding, Halbach teamed up with geneticist Kent Weigel MS’92, PhD’92 in spring 2006 to add a genetics component to the class, a change prompted in part by student demand. “In the past, we treated dairy cattle evaluation and genetics as two independent subjects,” says Weigel, whose lectures are often based on his own research. “Now, we look at the bigger picture.”
Weigel’s best-known research in this area assesses the likelihood that a cow will be culled — removed due to inferior production or health — based on her physical attributes. For example, when considering the rear legs, these studies show that a straight-legged cow is more likely to have a long, productive life than one with curved or “sickled” legs.
Sometimes his findings go against conventional wisdom. “Many students think body size is really important,” he explains. “But, here’s what the science says: size doesn’t matter. We continually have to beat people with the idea that you don’t need a big cow” to get a lot of milk.
Weigel’s best-known research in this area assesses the likelihood that a cow will be culled — removed due to inferior production or health — based on her physical attributes. For example, when considering the rear legs, these studies show that a straight-legged cow is more likely to have a long, productive life than one with curved or “sickled” legs.
Sometimes his findings go against conventional wisdom. “Many students think body size is really important,” he explains. “But, here’s what the science says: size doesn’t matter. We continually have to beat people with the idea that you don’t need a big cow” to get a lot of milk.
Nearly all of Halbach’s students, including those like Christina Wendorf x’08, who grew up on a dairy farm and participated in 4-H, are unfamiliar with this type of quantitative research. “I haven’t been exposed to the numbers that much,” says Wendorf. After
graduation, she plans to specialize in international public relations within the dairy industry.
After learning about the traits and genetics in a traditional lecture setting, students usually spend their lab time at the campus’s Dairy Cattle Center, where they get hands-on experience working with the university’s herd. Near the end of the semester, Halbach asks them to try dairy judging, an activity for which he has been branded an international expert. In 1980, as a UW-Madison dairy judging team member, Halbach tied for first place at the prestigious National Collegiate Judging Contest, which is held each year at the World Dairy Expo. Now he coaches the university’s dairy judging team, which has been a standout at competitions in recent years. In 2005 alone, the team took first place at three national-level competitions. Halbach’s enthusiasm for the activity is palpable.
During judging, Halbach’s students rank four Holsteins from best to worst based on the five major traits. Then they must defend the logic of their ranking order — a process called “oral reasons” in dairy judging lingo — to Halbach or one of the teaching assistants scattered around the haystrewn room.
Some students speak with confidence, delivering the kind of oral reasons heard at competitive events. Others are timid, looking at their notes and kicking the dirt floor. “Someone who has never been around cows will have a hard time [with judging],” says teaching assistant Jerome Meyer x’06. “It’d be like me trying to evaluate a horse.”
graduation, she plans to specialize in international public relations within the dairy industry.
After learning about the traits and genetics in a traditional lecture setting, students usually spend their lab time at the campus’s Dairy Cattle Center, where they get hands-on experience working with the university’s herd. Near the end of the semester, Halbach asks them to try dairy judging, an activity for which he has been branded an international expert. In 1980, as a UW-Madison dairy judging team member, Halbach tied for first place at the prestigious National Collegiate Judging Contest, which is held each year at the World Dairy Expo. Now he coaches the university’s dairy judging team, which has been a standout at competitions in recent years. In 2005 alone, the team took first place at three national-level competitions. Halbach’s enthusiasm for the activity is palpable.
During judging, Halbach’s students rank four Holsteins from best to worst based on the five major traits. Then they must defend the logic of their ranking order — a process called “oral reasons” in dairy judging lingo — to Halbach or one of the teaching assistants scattered around the haystrewn room.
Some students speak with confidence, delivering the kind of oral reasons heard at competitive events. Others are timid, looking at their notes and kicking the dirt floor. “Someone who has never been around cows will have a hard time [with judging],” says teaching assistant Jerome Meyer x’06. “It’d be like me trying to evaluate a horse.”
Halbach encourages both experienced and inexperienced students to join the team, which benefits them in many ways. “Judging teaches students to think quickly, independently, and rationally and then to explain themselves,” he says. “It instills in students the willingness to compete to be the best they can be.”
But Halbach makes a distinction between competition and winning. “Our culture emphasizes winning. I do my best to emphasize the journey,” he says. The lesson he tries to get across — that dedicated effort over time yields benefits — applies to every aspect of their lives.
— Nicole Miller MA’06
But Halbach makes a distinction between competition and winning. “Our culture emphasizes winning. I do my best to emphasize the journey,” he says. The lesson he tries to get across — that dedicated effort over time yields benefits — applies to every aspect of their lives.
— Nicole Miller MA’06
EXTRA CREDIT
The Financial Times listed the UW School of Business’s executive education program among the best in the world for the fifth year in a row. In May, the London-based publication ranked the UW twenty-eighth in the world and fourteenth in the United States.
The CSI effect is reaching into the classroom. In June, the UW offered a new online course called Forensic Science to primary and secondary school teachers. The class offered teachers a chance to learn the techniques and tools to bring scientific investigation to their own classrooms. It will be offered again in summer 2007.
POLICE now means something new on campus. In July, the Law School offered the Wisconsin Problem-Oriented Leadership Institute for Chief Executives, a course for police chiefs and sheriffs from around the state. Problem-oriented policing, a concept developed in the 1970s by emeritus law professor Herman Goldstein, attempts to tackle specific law-enforcement problems — such as public drunkenness, gang violence, or traffic problems — through intensive examination.
With a focus on improving the art of science, the national conference of the Guild of Natural Science Illustrators met on campus in July and August. The guild is a professional organization for those whose drawings and paintings illustrate scientific articles — from maps to mammals and atomic structure to stars. In conjunction, the Health Sciences Learning Center is hosting an exhibit of scientific illustrations made between 1600 and 1930. Science Made Clear: The Art of Illustration will run until September 29, 2006.
The CSI effect is reaching into the classroom. In June, the UW offered a new online course called Forensic Science to primary and secondary school teachers. The class offered teachers a chance to learn the techniques and tools to bring scientific investigation to their own classrooms. It will be offered again in summer 2007.
POLICE now means something new on campus. In July, the Law School offered the Wisconsin Problem-Oriented Leadership Institute for Chief Executives, a course for police chiefs and sheriffs from around the state. Problem-oriented policing, a concept developed in the 1970s by emeritus law professor Herman Goldstein, attempts to tackle specific law-enforcement problems — such as public drunkenness, gang violence, or traffic problems — through intensive examination.
With a focus on improving the art of science, the national conference of the Guild of Natural Science Illustrators met on campus in July and August. The guild is a professional organization for those whose drawings and paintings illustrate scientific articles — from maps to mammals and atomic structure to stars. In conjunction, the Health Sciences Learning Center is hosting an exhibit of scientific illustrations made between 1600 and 1930. Science Made Clear: The Art of Illustration will run until September 29, 2006.
