About Dr. Nigel Cook
Dr. Cook qualified as
a veterinarian in 1992. He worked in a large food animal clinic in Southern
England for four years before moving to the Royal Veterinary College,
Hertfordshire, where he spent three years as a lecturer and head of the Large
Animal Ambulatory Clinic.
Since 1999, he has taught veterinary
students in Wisconsin and developed research related to the influence of the
environment on hoof and udder health. In his position, he also provides a milk
quality, lameness and facility troubleshooting service to farmers. He is the
current section head of the Food Animal Production Medicine Group and
chair of the AABP Bovine Lameness Committee.
About Zinpro
Corporation Dairy Lameness Experts
Dr.
Mike Socha, Dairy Research – Team Leader, Zinpro Corporation
Dr. Socha received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in dairy science at the
University of Wisconsin and his doctoral degree in animal and dairy sciences
from the University of New Hampshire. His doctoral research focused on
determining methionine requirements of lactating dairy cows, while his master’s
thesis analyzed the effect of feeding heated soybeans to early lactation cows
on milk production, composition and fatty acid composition.
Prior
to joining Zinpro, Dr. Socha was manager of dairy research and development for
a major Midwest-based feed cooperative. His duties at Zinpro include overseeing
the entire dairy research program and providing technical communications and
support.
Dr.
Dana Tomlinson, Research Nutritionist, Zinpro Corporation
Dr. Tomlinson earned his bachelor’s
degree in dairy science at Ohio State University, Columbus, and both his
master’s degree in dairy science, nutrition and management, and doctoral degree
in animal science, ruminant nutrition and management at Virginia Polytechnic
Institute and State University, Blacksburg, Virginia.
Before joining Zinpro, Dr. Tomlinson
was a dairy nutrition and management consultant with a major national feed
manufacturer, specializing in technical sales support, feed product and program
development, dairy business development and technical training. His duties at Zinpro include overseeing dairy
research projects and providing technical services and support.
Dr.
Jeff DeFrain, Research Nutritionist, Zinpro Corporation
Dr.
DeFrain earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in animal science from Kansas
State University and his doctoral degree in animal science from South Dakota
State University. His master’s thesis focused on the development and evaluation
of a pelleted feedstuff containing raw soybean hulls and corn steep liquor for
lactating dairy cattle diets. During his doctoral research, he conducted a
series of experiments to evaluate the effects of diets formulated to increase
the supply of ketones or ketone precursors on the carbohydrate status of
transition dairy cows.
Prior
to joining Zinpro, Dr. DeFrain was serving as an on-farm nutritionist for a
multi-site dairy operation in the Midwest. His duties at Zinpro include
providing technical support for dairy to the North American and International
sales teams.
Dr.
Christof Rapp, Research Nutritionist, Zinpro Animal Nutrition (Europe)
Dr. Rapp earned his Dr. Sc. Agr. (equivalent to a
doctorate) from Hohenheim University, Germany. He joined Zinpro as a research
nutritionist in 1999 and works from the European office in Boxmeer.
His primary responsibilities include conducting research
on animal performance, providing technical support to Zinpro customers and
troubleshooting trace mineral nutrition related problems.