SNRE profiles: Veterinary prof doubles as Extension vet

Dr. Lisa Lunn has dual roles at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. She teaches large-animal veterinary classes and is the only large-animal Extension veterinarian in the state.

Don’t underestimate a cow.

Especially one that’s been hand-raised and is accustomed to people, said Dr. Lisa Lunn, who is an associate professor of veterinary medicine at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. She said her husband wasn’t a believer in cow smarts until he met her cow, Evelyn, on her parents’ dairy farm.

He saw Evelyn respond to her name. She took walks like a dog. And the first time she saw the couple — then engaged — about to hold hands on a country trek, she squeezed between them and body checked the fiancé, sending him flying into a ditch.

Under Lunn’s gentle direction, he grabbed a handful of alfalfa and tremulously offered it to the Evelyn. She ate it. All was good.

Evelyn, a cow that Lisa Lunn grew up with, helped shape her view
 of  livestock and veterinary medicine.

While the story always gets a laugh, Lunn tells it to illustrate that farm animals like cows, horses, goats, sheep and pigs are all smart in their own way, and it’s important to know how they perceive the world if you want to treat them as a veterinarian.

These pearls of wisdom add levity to her intense technical classes, which cover things like prolapsed uteruses, diseases and the internal workings of large animals. The classes are part of the joint professional veterinary medicine program between UAF’s Department of Veterinary Medicine and Colorado State University.

But that’s only half her job. The other half is being the only large animal extension veterinarian for the state of Alaska through UAF’s School of Natural Resources and Extension. In this role, she provides information and resources to large-animal farm owners throughout Alaska and researches science that is relevant to them.

When Lunn came to UAF more than a year ago, she traveled throughout Alaska to get the feel and vibe for large-animal farming and ranching in the state.

“I found that we have a lot of small farmers that are very new to the game,” she said. “They may not have grown up on a farm or have had previous experience. They’re doing a great job, but they need resources. They need help and information.”

She added that large animal veterinarians are few in Alaska, a state whose size and remoteness can make it challenging for some farms to take advantage of services.

To help, Lunn is developing an online course about animal husbandry and health. She is also working with a research team to collect baseline data on the types of pests found in large animals throughout Alaska, an area of knowledge that is lacking. The results of the research will help large-animal owners make better-informed decisions in managing parasites and other pests in their animals.

Lunn said she welcomes working in such a large state, given that her previous job was on the tiny island country of Grenada, which is about 20 miles long and 12 miles wide — a dot on a map of the Caribbean. For five years she taught large-animal medicine at Grenada’s St. George’s University School of Veterinary Medicine and helped the school earn accreditation with the American Veterinary Medical Association.

“The agriculture on this little island was a complete 180 from what I was used to,” she said. “Farming is very free range. People will tie their goats and sheep along the road. When they came home from work, the people would untie the sheep and goats, which would run and beat their owners home.”

While the contrast between Grenada and Alaska seems great, she said the contrast between Grenada and Michigan — the place where she previously taught veterinary medicine — is also stark. Michigan has more than 1 million cattle, and some farms have as many as 10,000.Photo courtesy of Lisa Lunn
Although the sign says “Caution,” Dr. Lisa Lunn said a large steer, Bubba, became a favorite among veterinary medicine students while she taught at Michigan State University. Bubba was used as a blood donor for anemic cattle or calves that needed plasma transfusions.

Lunn taught veterinary medicine at Michigan State University after earning her doctorate in veterinary medicine from Kansas State University in 1999. She said her experience with large, small and remote farms will only help her in Alaska.

“Michigan had a lot of bigger, well-established farms that were very profit-oriented. Grenada was really taking it back to the basics. Alaska has a mix of everything. You have people who are just getting into farming. You have some bigger, well-established herds. So Alaska has been the perfect mix of every previous job I’ve had,” she said.

Lunn’s new job has also included some unexpected roles. She’s helping coordinate a visit later this month by well-known autism advocate and animal researcher Temple Grandin.

Grandin is a professor of animal science from Colorado State University who is famous for designing facilities and handling procedures that have improved the welfare of farm animals worldwide. She attributes much of her success to the way her autism allows her to see small details that make a big difference.

Lunn first saw Grandin speak in the early 1990s when she came to Lunn’s veterinary class to talk about reforming facilities for cattle. Two decades later, she’ll talk to the first class of veterinary students at UAF.

Lunn said Grandin is a great role model for the students to draw inspiration from, as she herself did. Lunn wanted to be a large animal veterinarian but was concerned that she hadn’t met many women — veterinarians or researchers — working in the cattle industry.

“That’s the thing that amazes me about Temple Grandin — not just her contribution to the livestock industry and improving the welfare and the standards but she did it as a woman in an industry that wasn’t always receptive to that,” Lunn said. “She didn’t let that stand in her way and she let her work speak for itself.”

This profile was written by Meghan Murphy, the public information officer for the UAF College of Natural Science and Mathematics.

Anchorage to host sustainable ag conference

The state’s largest agricultural conference, the Alaska Sustainable Agriculture Conference, will take place in Anchorage for the first time, on Feb. 24-25.

The University of Alaska Fairbanks Cooperative Extension Service will host the 12th annual conference at The Lakefront Anchorage at 4800 Spenard Road.

Conference organizer Steven Seefeldt said the conference has traditionally been held in Fairbanks but is moving to Anchorage this year to reach a different audience. Seefeldt, the state horticulture specialist, said the conference will likely rotate between the communities in the future.

Seefeldt said the conference is aimed at a broad spectrum of growers, from gardeners and backyard farmers to the biggest farms in the state.

“The focus is on improving your farm’s sustainability.” he said. This includes production recommendations, financial considerations and stewardship of the land.

More than 50 presentations will focus on farm management, growing fruits and vegetables, and meat and fiber production. An all-day session Feb. 25 will cover qiviut production and marketing.

As usual, there will be an eclectic mix of sessions, with everything from commercial pork production to farm insurance, birch tapping and Arctic gardening. Speakers will include growers, agricultural agency representatives and researchers. Researchers will provide updates on soil nutrient management and organic amendments, precision agriculture, asparagus variety trials, and ventilation and temperature control in high tunnels.

U.S. Department of Agriculture Undersecretary Lanon Baccam will welcome participants on Feb. 24. The keynote speakers are Carrie Hull of the National Fiber Producers Cooperative and Gina Greenway of the College of Idaho, who specializes in agricultural economics. Hull will talk about developing cooperatives and Greenway will focus on strategies for strengthening and growing Alaska agriculture.

Half and full-day preconference workshops on Feb. 23 will highlight fiber production, farm budgeting, and on-farm food safety and marketing.

See agenda and registration information at http://bit.ly/sareconf. For the first time, participants may register for a webcast. For more information, contact Darcy Etcheverry at ddetcheverry@alaska.edu or 907-474-5107 or Seefeldt at ssseefeldt@alaska.edu or 907-474-1831.

Melissa Clampitt honored for work in Mat-Su

Melissa Clampitt

Melissa Clampitt has been named the SNRE Employee of the Quarter for October to December 2015. She is the administrative assistant for the Mat-Su/Copper River District Extension office at the Matanuska Experiment Farm.

 A nominating letter from a co-worker states, “Melissa Clampitt is a naturally service-oriented person. She illustrates this every time she answers the Mat-Su District office telephone, responds to email inquiries and talks with all who comes to the office.” The letter says that when people stop by at the very end of the afternoon, before the office closes, Melissa is friendly and connects them with the agents they need to speak to or helps them find the publications that help answer their questions. She is always personable and helpful.

In addition to working with Extension clients and volunteers from the 4-H, Master Gardener, Family and Community Education and StrongWomen programs, Clampitt updates the Mat-Su District Facebook page and works to get district information out through various channels.

The nominating letter says, “For example, due to Melissa’s work for the upcoming Cabin Fever Reliever Day, the 15 classes offered are full two weeks before the due date!” The event featured how-to classes from agents and Master Gardeners on subjects like raising chickens, designing greenhouses, and gardening and food preservation.

“I love the Cooperative Extension and what it represents,” Clampitt says. “ A lot of people are unaware of what Cooperative Extension is all about, and I want to change that.”

She  and her husband, Richard, moved to Alaska in 1993, when he was stationed at Eielson Air Force Base. They moved to Anchorage three years later, when her husband transferred with the Air National Guard, and they relocated to Palmer in 2003.

She trained to be an elementary school teacher but ended up staying at home with her two children and homeschooling them. She handled the billing and administrative details for her husband’s counseling practice for four years before starting at Extension during the 2014 fair. The temporary job became permanent and she stayed. Her children are now 19 and 21.

Her hobbies include just about anything outdoors, she says, including boating in Prince William Sound, cross-country skiing and hiking.

Delta Farm Forum hosted Feb. 20 in Delta Junction

Backyard farming is the theme of the annual Delta Farm Forum, Feb. 20, in Delta Junction.

The forum brings growers, producers and the community together to hear about agricultural research, recommendations and farm agency news. Presentations will run from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. in the Delta High School small gymnasium.

Three Delta residents will talk about backyard farming. Colin Barnard will talk about backyard hog production. Vanessa Heath will talk about raising chickens for eggs and Denise Wilhelm will discuss raising goats for milk and meat. Two speakers from the School of Natural Resources and Extension, Bob Van Veldhuizen and Steven Seefeldt, will talk about field peas in Alaska and genetically modified organisms and choices in Alaska. Dr. Lisa Lunn, the Extension veterinarian, will provide an overview of the Alaska Agriculture Pest Project.

The Salcha–Delta Soil and Water Conservation District will give its annual report and announce the 2015 Cooperator of the Year. Local FFA/4-H will give a group presentation and program highlights and a variety of vendors will attend the forum.

A potluck lunch is planned. The forum is co-sponsored by the University of Alaska Fairbanks Cooperative Extension Service and the Salcha-Delta Soil and Water Conservation District. For more information, contact Delta Extension at 907-895-4215 or the conservation district in Delta at 895-6279.