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Dairy Practice Study & Reading Guide

Becoming credentialed in the Dairy Practice category of ABVP requires the demonstration of quality practice developed over a period of time, through the completion of a qualified residency program, or six years in private practice. Through this training, the qualified practitioner should be competent in certain skills that are the sign of quality dairy practice.

The practice of dairy medicine is geographically diverse, yet a minimum level of knowledge and skill should be attained in order to become credentialed.

1. The practitioner should have developed a sound understanding of the parameters involved in the economics of the dairy industry and how these economic parameters interact with the production parameters of the dairy industry.
2. The practitioner should have a sound knowledge of the various diseases that affect the dairy animal and how these varied disorders can impact the economics of the dairy unit as a whole. To accomplish this, the practitioner should know how to do a complete physical examination, correlate the physical findings with the history given, formulate a diagnosis, understand the pathophysiology, pathology and epidemiology of the disease, deliver the proper treatment and make the proper recommendations for prevention and control. All of this needs to be tempered with a knowledge of the economic impact of a particular disease.
3. The practitioner should be able to collect pertinent production data for analysis of the production unit in terms of herd performance and economic health. Utilization of this analysis to trouble shoot herd based disorders, deliver solutions and measure response to recommendations should also be developed through a qualified practice.
4. The practitioner should be familiar with the various aspects and components of herd health, reproduction and economic health programs that are the mark of quality dairy practice. The various components would include:
   1. Calf raising and replacement management
   2. Nutrition, feed inventory control and feedbunk management
   3. Infectious disease control
   4. Dairy economic health parameters and analysis
   5. Environmental impacts on the dairy production unit
   6. Milk and dairy beef quality control
   7. Epidemiology
   8. Federal regulations pertaining to the dairy industry
   9. Risk management and hazard analysis and control
5. The qualified dairy practitioner should be familiar with the differences in dairy production units due to geographic and climatic differences across the country and how these differences affect the productivity and profitability of the dairy production unit.

Be sure to review the general study recommendations for all ABVP Practice Categories.

The Specialty and Practical Examinations cover a wide range of topics. Disciplines covered on the Specialty include anatomy, physiology, pathophysiology, disease processes, etiological agents, diagnostics, therapeutics and pharmacology, medicine, surgery, public health/preventative medicine, animal production, toxicology, immunology, and others. The Practical Examination covers production analysis, economic analysis, epidemiology, mastitis control, theriogenology, nutrition, replacement management and disease control.

Preparation will be unique to each individual, because of individual differences in experience and orientation.

A list of recommended preparation materials includes (not exclusive):

Texts:

Herd Health: Food Animal Production Medicine - Radostits, Leslie & Fetrow

Current Therapy (1-4): Food Animal Practice - Howard

Current Therapy in Theriogenology - Morrow

Currnet Therapy in Large Animal Theriogenology - Youngquist

Lameness in Cattle - Greenough

Large Animal Internal Medicine - Smith

Large Dairy Herd Management - Van Horne, et. al.

Large Animal Clinical Nutrition - Ralston and Naylor

Food Animal Surgery - Noordsy

The Merck Veterinary Manual, Ninth Edition

Veterinary Medicine by Rhadostits, et al.

Journals:

Bovine Practitioner

Veterinary Clinics of North America: Food Animal Practice

Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association

American Journal of Veterinary Research

Journal of Dairy Science

Journal of Animal Science

Theriogenology

Miscellaneous:

Proceedings: National Mastitis Council

Proceedings: AABP, especially 1985 to current

Proceedings: Society for Theriogenology

Proceedings: Dairy Production Medicine Meeting

Continuing Education:

AABP (especially the pre-convention seminars on nutrition, quality milk production, dairy economic health, calf rearing, records analysis, etc.)

Society for Theriogenology

AVMA Meetings

ADSA Meetings

ASAS Meetings

Dairy Production Medicine Meetings

National Mastitis Council

Certification Programs (currently programs are being offered at Penn, Guelph and Wisconsin that, upon completion, certify the practitioner as having completed extensive course work in dairy production medicine.)

ABVP Bovine Sessions