Veterinary students, many raised in cities and suburbs, are learning the nuts and bolts of dairy and beef cattle operations on farms and ranches throughout nine California counties, as well as in Colorado and Montana.

The program, coordinated by the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine, is designed to point veterinary students in the early stages of their training toward careers in dairy medicine or cattle health, areas for which veterinarians are in short supply.

"We're excited that this program will not only provide our students with more practical knowledge and hands-on training, but will also encourage more students to consider careers caring for dairy and beef cattle," said Bradford Smith, director of the UC Davis Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital. "There is no substitute for this type of on-farm training, and we greatly appreciate the dairy and ranch owners who are mentoring our students, as well as the industry supporters who are helping to provide scholarships for the program."

The program is active this summer in Glenn, Merced, Sacramento, San Joaquin, Santa Barbara, Shasta, Sonoma, Tulare and Yolo counties. Also, one student is training near Greeley, Colo., and one near Wilsall, Mont.

Participating students spend two summer sessions of five weeks each in the program, which is now in its second year. During the first summer, students unfamiliar with dairies or cattle live and work on a modern dairy farm or cattle ranch, performing all the tasks of milking, feeding, medicating sick cows and calves, and maintaining records. During the second session the following summer, each student pairs up with a veterinarian or large-animal veterinary clinic to care for animals on farms or ranches, meet with clients, learn about nutritional management and address herd-health and food-safety issues. Nineteen veterinary students are participating in the program this year.

More information about the program is available online at http://www.vetmed.ucdavis.edu/evsbep/default.htm.

Reporters interested in reaching participating students, veterinarians and dairy or cattle producers in their local area should contact Lynn Narlesky at (530) 752-5257.