Lillian Feider

Agriculture is my family’s legacy. Both of my parents grew up on dairy farms, and I am now the fourth generation of Feider Farms, LLC in New Holstein, Wisconsin. From early on, I envisioned being a part of the agriculture industry and honestly never considered anything else. My passion for dairy medicine is evident, and I hope to use to my production background for the benefit of the industry. I am currently a second-year veterinary student at the University of Wisconsin ? Madison School of Veterinary Medicine. My path to graduate school was a little different as I was accepted through an accelerated, elite program called Food Animal Veterinary Medical Scholars (FAVeMedS). This solidified my goal of obtaining my Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM) Degree when I was just beginning my sophomore year of college. I graduated summa cum laude from the University of Wisconsin ? Platteville (May 2020) with a major in Animal Science and a minor in Spanish in just three years. My career goal is to be a food animal general practitioner, focusing primarily on dairy cattle in Northeast Wisconsin. Further along in my career, I dream to be the staff veterinarian of a large dairy farm in the area or a practice owner! Within dairy veterinary medicine, I am particularly interested in overall herd management and consulting, calf and heifer care, and bilingual employee training. I have a strong desire to use my dairy production background as a future veterinarian by consulting with farmers to help them provide the highest quality of animal husbandry and welfare. I want to use the communication and language skills I have developed to effectively interact with Spanish-speaking employees through day-to-day conversations, training sessions, and informational materials. Another one of my goals is to provide financial assistance to animal science and veterinary students because I have been extremely fortunate to have received several scholarships from generous donors. In October 2021, I attended a Calf Care Workshop hosted by the Professional Dairy Producers of Wisconsin and the American Association of Bovine Practitioners Annual Conference where I listened to numerous presentations by veterinarians and producers. From these experiences I realized that one of my career goals is to be an educational speaker for events such as these where I can give back to the dairy community and inform others on the topics I am passionate about including calf care, pain management, biosecurity, and mental health in the agriculture industry. I am excited to be pursuing a career in food animal veterinary medicine which will allow me to give back to the agriculture industry that has given so much to me.