Starting in:
DMV
William graduated as a veterinarian (specialization ruminants) at the faculty of veterinary medicine in Ghent, Belgium in 2020. Right after graduation he started working on the ClawCare research project where his focus lies on the effect of preventive hoof trimming on the biomechanics under the hooves of dairy cows. At the ambulatory clinic William is predominantly active in hoof trimming, mobility scoring and lameness consulting. He trims between 3000-4000 cows and combines this with on farm training of last year veterinary students
DMV, PhD, DACVCP
Dr. Sarah Wagner was in mixed animal practice in rural Virginia for 5 years after completing her DVM at Michigan State University. She earned her PhD in Physiology (Pharmacology) from Iowa State University and served on the faculty in the Department of Animal Sciences at North Dakota State University. She is a diplomate and president-elect of the American College of Veterinary Clinical Pharmacology. She has also served on the Animal Agriculture Liaison Committee of the American Veterinary Medical Association and as the Chair of the Lameness Committee for the American Association of Bovine Practitioners. She is an experienced teacher of veterinary pharmacology and topics related to livestock. Her research is focused on drug therapy in livestock species, especially in the prevention and treatment lameness in cattle, and on other issues that affect the welfare of livestock.
NACFT Chairman
Proud chairman of the National Association of Cattle Foot Trimmers, an organization dedicated to raising and normalizing standards of hoof care throughout the farming community. Neil is a Category one trimmer, recognized by milk buyers, vets, and other industry individuals. His business model has never been to trim 100 cows a day but to provide a quality service, based on quality, not quantity. He is passionate about training, making sure all staff and farmers know how to treat lameness at the first instance.
PhD, Research Microbiologist
Dr. Jenny Wilson-Welder is a Research Microbiologist at the USDA National Animal Disease Center in Ames, Iowa, studying spirochete diseases in cattle. Her current research at the USDA focuses on all things dealing with “smelly hooves” including treponeme pathogenesis, model and vaccine development, immune response to chronic infections, and alternatives to antibiotic treatment. She received her PhD in Veterinary Microbiology and Preventive Medicine from Iowa State University in 2009 and has spent over 10 years with the USDA at NADC.
DMV, MS, Diplomate of the American College of Animal Welfare
Dr. Shearer received his Bachelor’s degree from Ashland University in 1971, and his veterinary degree from The Ohio State University in 1975. He served a little over 4 years in a mixed animal veterinary practice in Orrville, Ohio before returning to The Ohio State University to pursue graduate studies in nutrition. He received a Master of Science degree and became an Assistant Professor in the Department of Veterinary Preventive Medicine at Ohio State University before moving on to the University of Florida in 1982, a position he held until 2009 before accepting his current position at Iowa State University.
Dr. Shearer is Professor Emeritus from the University of Florida where he served as Extension Veterinarian for the majority of his career. During his time in Florida, he established the Master Hoof Care Program, a training program designed to teach on-farm employees how to properly care for foot problems in cattle. This program acquired national and international attention for its impact on foot health in dairy cattle and was fittingly recognized by the USDA Secretary of Agriculture in 2003 with the Honor Award for outstanding innovation in animal health. Dr. Shearer is currently Professor and Extension Veterinarian at the Iowa State University College of Veterinary Medicine where his primary areas of research interest are lameness and welfare issues of beef and dairy cattle. He is a Diplomate of the American College of Animal Welfare and serves as a board member and scientific advisor to multiple organizations and dairy operations. He is a previous Chair of the American Association of Bovine Practitioners (AABP) Bovine Lameness Committee (2001-2004) and AABP Animal Welfare Committee from 2004 to 2010 and was appointed the AABPs Alternate Liaison to AVMA Animal Welfare Committee in 2012. He currently Chairs the Food Animal Working Groups (FAWG) of the American Veterinary Medical Association’s (AVMA) Panel on Euthanasia and the AVMA’s Panel on Humane Slaughter, and serves as a member of the AVMA’s Panel on Mass Depopulation. Dr. Shearer has been honored by the University of Florida with the Superior Accomplishment Award (2001), by The Ohio State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine with the Distinguished Alumnus Award (2006), by the American Association of Bovine Practitioners with the Award of Excellence (2006), by the AVMA in 2011 as recipient of the AVMA Animal Welfare Award, and in 2015 with the Delaval Dairy Extension Award.
The Hoof GP
Graeme Parker is a full time, professional cattle hoof trimmer, living and working in South West Scotland. He chronicles his life working on farms where he lives, showcasing how to treat and deal with cows who have problems with their feet."The Hoof GP" is a YouTube channel reaching over 11 million people from around the globe. With 1 million loyal Subscribers, he is the biggest YouTube Influencer on planet earth in the Agriculure space. His fans watch over 100 million minutes of his shows each month. Graeme authored On the Hoof, co-written by International #1 Bestselling Author Steve Eggleston, and acclaimed author Michael Powell. Graeme is happily married to his wife Ashley and has 3 children who he adores. (bio written by Steve Eggleston)
DVM
Doctor of Veterinary Medicine and Master in Business Administration and Communication . With a family tradition of hoof trimmers, my first contact with the dairy cattle industry started 20 years ago as an assistant of a hoof trimmer.
After finishing my veterinary studies I was for 6 years working in the north-east of Spain as an advisor to dairy farms, cooperatives, industries and feed companies in the areas of Milk Quality, Nutrition and General Management.
I joined HIPRA, an animal health company in 2012. I worked as Brand Manager, coordinating HIPRA’s Mastitis Unit, providing mastitis vaccines and services to more than 50 countries. This has allowed me to understand the different markets, to deliver lectures and to create collaborative links in the field of disease prevention all around the globe.
I joined the ANKA team in July 2019 as Sales and Veterinary Director. I want to contribute with my international experience and marketing expertise to make ANKA a global reference in hoof health. We maintain the innovation spirit in all our actions and we consider ourselves as a family company with global vocation. ANKA group trims 70,000 cows/year. It provides an opportunity to test our crushes and facilitates feedback in order to improve.
In addition to my interest in dairy cattle, I have several hobbies including running in the forests and mountains behind my home and reading children’s books to my sons.
Director of Animal Care
Beverly Hampton Phifer currently manages the day-to-day operations of the National Dairy FARM Animal Care program. She joined NMPF in 2016. Her responsibilities include overseeing the Animal Care evaluator certification process, program participant relations, farmer resource development and outreach with the internal dairy industry.
Her experience in livestock production and risk management is life-long. Prior to joining National Milk, her professional resume includes providing technical support and project management for animal care, environmental and worker safety matters for a variety of animal agriculture trade associations. These include the Animal Agriculture Alliance, U.S. Poultry & Egg Association and the Wild Alaska Pollock Association among others.
The Hoof Health Conference focuses on discussions concerning recent developments taking place in the field of bovine hoof health and a selection of topics designed to support the development and continuation of hoof trimmers’ business.
A general business meeting of the membership, hands-on demonstrations, lecture/Q&A sessions, plenty of social time and other educational sessions will be included in conference opportunities.
The chance to exchange ideas with fellow trimmers from different places.
It's been far too long. Now is the perfect time to see those friends again.
No matter how long you've been trimming, there is always something new you can learn - even if it is how to help a younger trimmer.
Learn new techniques - the whys and hows.
The conference is more than just listening to some people talk and visiting vendor booths. One of the most important aspects of the Hoof Health Conference is the connections made between hoof trimmer peers – connections that last a lifetime.