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Growing up on a small livestock farm, working with animals is not a new activity for Allison Billard, a senior at Penn State University. Her love for working with animals, including beef and goats, has guided Allison to where she is now. As a Veterinarian Biomedical Science student with plans to go to veterinary school after graduation, she prefers to work with large animals and small ruminants. However, she noticed a gap in her experience. While she spent time growing up on her grandfather’s 50-60 cow dairy farm, Allison wanted to experience a larger farm to prepare her for a career visiting farms and working with large-scale operations. She decided to apply for the On-Farm Internship program.
“With large animals, you’re also doing dairy, so I wanted to get more experience with [this industry]. I found the On-Farm Internship through the Dairy Excellence Foundation and some of my friends did it last year, so I talked to them and they said it was a great experience. So, I wanted to try it out,” Allison shared.
Allison is gaining hands-on experience at Scipio Springs Dairy in Union Springs, New York. Working on an operation milking 1,000 cows, Allison is experiencing a variety of day-to-day responsibilities. She starts each day checking on both fresh cow and sick cow groups. With her interest in veterinary science, this is a great way to gain experience monitoring the health of these animals and take temperatures, check for ketosis, and more. Allison also has the opportunity to do IVs almost daily. Mondays are one of her favorite days, though. Vet checks happen every Monday on the farm, giving Allison the chance to work directly with the veterinarian.
“I love every Monday. Mondays are my busiest day, but they’re my favorite day because in the afternoon we have vet checks. The vet comes out and we do vet checks on all the cows. So, I get to help with that,” she explained. “She’s been showing me how to read the ultrasound machine and then I give the hormone shots that the cows need.”
Another responsibility that Allison has taken on is tissue sampling for genomic testing. On-farm interns are encouraged to complete a research project throughout the summer. Scipio Springs Dairy is beginning their journey into genomics, allowing Allison to be at the forefront of this project. Not only is she gaining experience with tissue sampling and sending away samples, but she’s also experiencing the purpose and foundation of this project.
“Being at the starting point has been really interesting to see why the farm is choosing to do this and what they’re doing it for,” Allison said. “It helps them decide what markers are hereditary, what they want to continue using, what they don’t want to continue using, and what bulls match that specific cow the best and what’s going to give you the best cow.”
Allison believes this on-farm internship experience will equip her to be a better veterinarian and person down the road. Although education is important, Allison believes real-life experience is crucial to success in such a hands-on career path.
“You can have the best grades and you can have a 4.0, but if you can’t apply it to real life, then it’s not going to help you much at all. Getting the experience definitely helps you,” Allison added. “I live by the quote, get comfortable being uncomfortable.”
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The Dairy Excellence Foundation, the Professional Dairy Managers of Pennsylvania, and the Pennsylvania Dairymen’s Association provide $3,000 grants to support these on-farm internships each summer.