Check out the news from the most current newsletter!
I want to be a Vet Camp, ND State FFA, NCI Summer Ag Academy
Left - Future Vets in Action - Three campers learn how to safely approach a dog and perform the basics of a physical exam during the Pre-vet Club’s “I Want to Be a Vet” Camp in April. Annie, a 3-year-old Labrador retriever, is happy to help.
Bottom left - The North Dakota State FFA Horse Evaluation Contest was held at the NDSU Equine Center in May. FFA participants judged classes of Hunter Under Saddle, Western Pleasure, Reining, Horsemanship, and Conformation in Halter. It was a great day to wear corduroy!
Bottom right - At the end of June, the Department of Animal Sciences welcomed 16 high school students for the third annual Northern Crops Institute Summer Ag Academy. Through hands-on activities, group discussions and tours of the animal units, students explored how livestock are fed in our region. They learned about the types of feedstuffs available, how they are processed, and how they are combined to formulate a balanced ration.
Students calculate and create their own “feed” (aka snack) rations using the Pearson Square method.
ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT: Ashley Hoffmann
What was your field of study at NDSU? Veterinary Technology
When did you graduate? 2015
What are you doing nowadays? I am a field support representative for IDEXX Laboratories and also the past-president of the North Dakota Veterinary Technician Association.
What is one of your favorite classroom/campus memories? Of course I loved working with all of the animals in classes. We had large and small animals, and exotic pets too (think gerbils and birds). Some of these species I had never gotten to interact with before.
What did you learn at NDSU that has helped you the most in your career/life? Having hands-on experience of these unique skills was invaluable. The educators were passionate and kind -- they helped build us up well to have confidence going into practice. That is no small feat!
ASAS-CSAS Annual Meeting
The department was well represented at the ASAS-CSAS Annual Meeting in Hollywood, Fla., this July. Giving presentations were graduate student Omowumi Olatinwo, postdoc fellow Pauliane Pucetti and visiting scholar Antonio Braga.
Dr. Christopher Byrd chaired two symposia, and Dr. Carrie Hammer received the Equine Science Award. In conjunction with the award, she gave a presentation titled “The role of immunoglobulin G in horses: past, present and future.” Dr. Hammer (right) was a longtime equine science professor before becoming associate dean of the college.
Recent grad Kelsey Hooker presented in the undergraduate student poster competition, while grad student Jennifer Hurlbert and research specialist Roberta B. Dahlen (below) also presented posters.
Animal Science graduate student wins Gunkelman Award
Graduate student Chutikun Kanjanaruch received the Gunkelman Recognition Award from President David Cook at a ceremony in May. The award is given to the person at NDSU who has done the most to make campus a more enjoyable and happier place. Chuti is a doctoral student working under Dr. Larry Reynolds. She makes the department a back-to-back winner, as last year’s recipient was longtime staffer Jim Kirsch.
Department comings and goings since April
Warm welcome to
Danielle Jensen – BCRC assistant manager
Justin “Jake” Galbreath – Extension veterinarian and livestock stewardship specialist
Jacob Klaudt – Lecturer and livestock judging team coach
Matthew Erceg – Ag maintenance mechanic and livestock caretaker
Fond farewell to
Stephanie Sculthorp-Skrei – administrative assistant
Summer 2025 graduates
Graduate students:
Jaime Chambers, M.S.
Yssi Entzie, M.S.
Garrett Havelka, M.S.
Brooklyn Kuzel, M.S.
John Stables, M.S.
Joshua Wianecki, M.S. (completed in April)
Undergraduate students:
Animal Science:
Nickolas Cooper
Samantha Ellison
Vet Tech:
Rachel Bosserman
Emma Gilles
Katie Hazel
Morgan Jarandson
Halle Johnson
Rainah Laughlin
Hailey Leingang-Markham
Carli Merkel
Gabrielle Paulson
Birdie Stevenson
Angelica Warren
BRIEFS
NDSU’s shepherd, Steven “Skip” Anderson, was spotlighted in the Fargo Forum’s sports section in July. The article, titled “Sharing his passion for horse racing,” discussed Skip’s role as director of hospitality at the North Dakota Horse Park.
(picture right)
Two faculty members earned promotions effective July 1. Dr. Lisa Christenson (above) was promoted to professor of practice, while Dr. Christopher Byrd (below) was promoted to associate professor.
Lecturer Lydia Trandem and graduate student Josi Solsaa attended the North American Colleges and Teachers of Agriculture (NACTA) Conference in Edmonton, Alberta, in June. Josi presented a portion of her graduate research, and they both learned new strategies to implement in the classroom this fall.
In June, Bison Strides was reaccredited as a Premier Accredited Center by the Professional Association of Therapeutic Horsemanship International. This designation shows that Bison Strides has met a rigorous set of quality and safety standards.
Two undergraduates were featured in the Minnesota Turkey Growers Association's recent publication of Gobbles. Cora Huhn, a junior minoring in animal science, and sophomore Adrian Behl, who is majoring in animal science, received recognition as recipients of 2025 Ranelius Scholarships.
Correction:
The article about Little ‘I’ in the April newsletter should have said Catie Erickson was the sweepstakes champion. We regret the error.
An article by Dr. Larry Reynolds titled “Importance of Livestock to Humans” appeared recently in Dakota Digital Review, which is published by the North Dakota University System.
Undergraduate students Ella Syring, Kelsey Hooker and Amy Volk presented at the 2025 NDSU Student Research Days in April. Ella gave an oral presentation, while Kelsey and Amy did poster presentations. Their abstracts can be found at
https://www.ndsu.edu/fileadmin/research/_Documents/EXPLORE/SRD_2025_Abstract_Book.pdf
Ph.D. student Kazi Sarjana Safain published her first-authored paper in the journal Metabolites. It is titled “Early Gestational Hepatic Lipidomic Profiles Are Modulated by One-Carbon Metabolite Supplementation and Nutrient Restriction in Beef Heifers and Fetuses” https://doi.org/10.3390/metabo15050302
Ph.D. student Imtiaz Ali was selected for the USDA-funded NRSP8 Summer Workshop Travel Award. It included a $500 travel stipend and free registration and meals at the National Animal Genome Research Program summer workshop in Lincoln, Neb., in June.
Ron Johnson, ag research technician, received the Spirit, Pep and Motivation Award in May. He was given the award by Yssi Entzie, nutrition lab manager, who cited his positivity and willingness to help with events.
Associate Professor Erika Berg has been given a Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program award. She will travel to Iceland during spring 2026 and work with faculty and students at Holar University to develop a global curriculum in equine-assisted services.
Amy Volk, a senior from Rugby, N.D., majoring in animal science, was one of six recipients of the American Meat Science Association’s 2025 C. Boyd Ramsey Mentor Recognition Award. She received support to attend the association’s Reciprocal Meat Conference in June.
Research specialist Roberta B. Dahlen participated in the ASAS CSAS Annual Meeting in Hollywood, Fla., propagating knowledge on “Effects of managing mature beef bulls on divergent planes of nutrition on eating and activity behavior characteristics.”