Kendra Waldenberger

After graduating with my bachelor’s degree, I would like to attend graduate school studying dairy cattle genetics to get my dream job as a dairy cattle geneticist. Genetics has always been extremely interesting to me, and I would love to have a career-focused around it. Genetics plays a huge role when choosing which bull to breed to my cows. Also, genetics continues to play a dominant role in the dairy industry, and I would like to be a part of that vital role. Genetic improvement has the potential to create highly productive cows as well as beautiful show cows. I want to help dairy farmers achieve their herd goals to become as profitable as possible. As a dairy geneticist, I also want to help find a way to eliminate haplotypes and genetic recessives in the dairy breeds. Working with the Brown Swiss breed, I have learned about the recessive genes of Weaver’s, BH2, and Spinal Muscular Atrophy and how they affect the breed. By eliminating these and other recessive disorders in cattle, the breeds will be strengthened, and less stress will be placed on breeding management programs of farmers. I would like to have my own dairy herd with registered Brown Swiss in the future. I grew up showing Brown Swiss, and I currently own a small herd of Brown Swiss. I have enjoyed all aspects of raising my cattle, and I want to continue to do so. I plan to keep developing my herd’s genetics and exhibiting cattle at shows.