CDCB Connection June 2017

 

 

 

Welcome Summer Interns

 

For the second summer, the CDCB has offered an internship program to benefit CDCB, support the Animal Genomics and Improvement Laboratory (AGIL) and expose students to the opportunity to work with national genetic and management programs. Ten students applied, and two were selected - Isaac Haagen and Maci Lienemann-Mueller. Isaac started at CDCB in mid-May, and Maci will begin later in June.

 

Isaac Haagen is a Ph. D. candidate in Animal Science at the Pennsylvania State University (PSU) under the guidance of Dr. Chad Dechow. This summer, Isaac will assist CDCB and AGIL to determine the accuracy and effectiveness of genetic evaluations for crossbred dairy cattle, research that has been under development at AGIL. Today, there are five times more crossbred milking cows in the U.S. compared to a decade ago, and these owners want genetic predictions to continue improving the genetic merit of their herds.

 

Isaac received a B.S. degree in Animal Science at PSU with minors in Agribusiness Management and Poultry and Avian Sciences. He worked as an Undergraduate Research Assistant, developed genomic predictions of feed efficiency, and then validated in a field trial. As a Graduate Research Assistant, he is conducting research that focuses on the genetic merit of cow and calf health. Isaac has served as a Teaching Assistant for several Agricultural Business Management and Animals Science courses.

 

Isaac was active in 4-H activities and represented Pennsylvania at the National 4-H Dairy Judging Contest in Madison, Wis. He was on the first-place team at the National 4-H Poultry Judging Contest in Louisville, Ken. In college, he was high individual and a member of the first-place team in the National Intercollegiate Dairy Cattle Judging Contest. The honors Isaac has received are numerous: American Dairy Science Association's Outstanding College Senior, National Dairy Shrine's Klussendorf Scholarship and Kildee Graduate Scholarship, and National Junior Holstein Association Distinguished Junior Member.