Meet our 2014 US Alta Interns! - Cowsmo

Meet our 2014 US Alta Interns!

We (Alta) are happy to introduce these five individuals who will be working with Alta throughout the U.S. in various internship roles.

Where is your internship based and what will your internship responsibilities be?

Brooke – Throughout my internship I will be part of the sales team based in Western Washington, traveling throughout the Pacific Northwest. My internship will be focused on creating value, building trust and delivering results to the dairy industry on behalf of Alta Genetics. After completion of my internship, I hope to acquire a working knowledge of how Alta is positioned within the industry.

By working side by side with Alta people, I will learn critical sales techniques to help me be successful in every situation.  I will learn to utilize Dairy Comp to provide customers with superior genetic progress, value added results, and overall higher profitability. Finally, I will make the most of this internship by building Alta Genetics brand awareness throughout the Pacific Northwest.

Emilie – I am based out of Watertown, Wisconsin and will be working with farms in Wisconsin. I am going to be traveling to approximately 50 farms total over the course of my summer. I will be DNA testing calves for the Alta Advantage herds as well as looking at daughters of bulls for the August proofs. Additionally, I will be prepping animals as well as attending the Showcase in Michigan. Finally, I will be completing a project related to analyzing farms through Dairy Comp on 10-15 herds.

I hope to learn more about not only the technical aspects of Dairy Comp but also gain better skills in communication and observational and analytical skills through visiting a variety of farms. I hope to be able to learn from each farm I visit and then be able to apply what I learn to other farms I visit during the summer. Additionally, I want to be able to better adapt and understand each farm’s goals, interests and strengths, so I can better follow their farm plans and protocols. Finally, I want to become more skilled at dealing with conflict or giving advice to those that may be older and more experienced in the field than myself.

Diana – My internship is based out of Watertown, Wisconsin and I will be working in the International lab. My responsibilities include preparation of collection and processing equipment, filling and freezing of semen straws, record keeping and other lab duties. I hope to learn about the processing semen into a quality product that has high fertility and conception for producers around the world. Having the opportunity to work as a business team will be a new experience for me.

Isaac – I will be the Alta Advantage Intern for the Northeast visiting herds and farmers in the region, looking at daughters and hopefully helping producers with their genetic plans. I really hope to gain a better understanding of the type of cow and genetics that large dairyman demand.  I also hope to increase my knowledge of the daily actions and interactions that a genetic company experiences.   One of my main goals is to absorb as much information as possible through all outlets during my internship experience at Alta.

Kevin – My internship is based in Washington and Oregon. My responsibilities are to learn various synchronization programs for herds in the Northwest, understand cow flow on larger dairies and how the environment impacts reproductive protocols, assist with pregnancy diagnosis and giving reproductive shots, understand how to economically determine the impact of various reproductive programs, and become proficient with Dairy Comp 305 and perform reproductive record analysis.

By the end of my internship, I hope to have a more thorough understanding of synchronization protocols and reproductive analysis with Dairy Comp 305. I also hope to improve my AI skills.

 

What previous experiences have you that that will help you to be successful in your Alta internship this summer?

Brooke – Growing up on Sildahl Farms, my family’s 120-registered Holstein cow dairy in Stanwood, WA, has provided me with experiences that have helped set the foundation for my future. Through my involvement in 4-H and Washington State Junior Holstein Association, I have acquired skills in leadership and communication, and have become an active advocate for the dairy industry. By seeing the dairy industry from both a farmer’s point of view and as an Alta intern, I will have the understanding to deliver the best results possible.

Emilie – I have grown up working on my family’s 1,100 cow Holstein farm located in Avon, NY since I was 10, feeding calves after school and working with my show animals. Additionally, I spent my freshman and sophomore summers interning as an assistant herdsman on two different farms, Woody Hill Farm and Lamb Farms. By working at Lamb Farms I gained an increased appreciation for genomics and good genetics as both of these are very well managed at their farms. This gave me more exposure to both sides and increased my interest level in both sides of genetics. Through these experiences along with studying animal science at Cornell I feel I have a diverse and wide spread understanding of the industry as a whole.

Diana – I grew up on a dairy farm and I was highly involved in 4-H and FFA growing up and those experiences have given me priceless experiences with caring, mating and showing dairy cattle.  Through these experiences I also grew my passion for genetics and the direction that I want to go with my career.

Isaac – I grew up and worked on my family’s 40 cow dairy farm in Howard, PA where I was able to gain my interest in dairy cows and dairy genetics.  I have also been active at college.  I was a member of the Penn State Dairy Judging Team in 2012, and I am active in the Penn State Dairy Science Club.  Additionally, I have completed undergraduate genetic research with my advisor Dr. Chad Dechow.

Kevin – Growing up in North Bend, WA I worked on a 400-cow Holstein and Jersey dairy, feeding and caring for calves, vaccinations, giving reproductive shots, treating sick cows, record keeping, and other maintenance tasks. In college, I’ve served as Finance and Reproduction Chair at of the Cooperative University Dairy Students (CUDS) – a 35-cow herd housed at the Washington State University Dairy Center. These experiences gave me a great base of information about cows and the basics of how a dairy operates, and provided me the experience of being an employee on a dairy, an important perspective to be aware of when working with large herds.  I am also working on a research project through Washington State University focusing on improving dairy cattle fertility using genomics. This research has greatly increased my knowledge of DairyComp 305 and has given me the opportunity to work with large, progressive dairies in Washington, both of which are key components for my internship.

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