Speaker Biography

Jon Townsend

DVM, PhD, DABVP

Dr. Townsend

Dairy Technical Services Veterinarian at Merck Animal Health

Dr. Townsend grew up on a small farm in Maine where his family milked a small herd of Jersey cows and raised Angus beef cattle. After graduating from veterinary school at Auburn in 1995, he practiced in New York State for three years in two mixed-animal practices where he was primarily a dairy practitioner. He and his wife went to Purdue for their specialty residencies in 1998. He concentrated on dairy production medicine (herd management, records, nutrition, etc.) and then stayed on and completed a Ph.D. in the Department of Animal Sciences at Purdue. His focus was on liver function in transition dairy cows. As a side note, he did a lot of liver biopsies!

After completing the research portion of his Ph.D., he went to work for Land O’Lakes-Purina Feed as a Technical Services Dairy Nutritionist. He helped provide technical service to sales representatives, provided training, troubleshot herd performance issues, and was the primary nutritionist for a number of farms in Michigan.

Dr. Townsend went to the Purdue University College of Veterinary Medicine in 2010 to take a faculty position where he served as an Extension veterinarian and taught Dairy Production Medicine. He left that position in December 2020 to join Merck Animal Health.

He lives in Lafayette, Indiana, with his wife, Wendy, who is an Auburn classmate, a veterinary ophthalmologist, and the Associate Dean for Academic Success at the Purdue University College of Veterinary Medicine, and their two daughters, Emma and Rachel.

Lectures

  • Thursday, October 29, 2026 8:00 - 9:50 a.m. Oak

    Colostrum Management in Dairy Calves - New Insights Farm Animal

    This session will cover common recommendations for colostrum management in calves, with a primary focus on dairy calves. Additionally, it will cover recent newer recommendations and suggestions on colostrum management that focus on different benchmarks for monitoring successful colostrum management and avoiding colostrum-associated health issues.

    Learning Objectives:

    1. Past and current guidelines for quantity and timing of colostrum delivery to calves
    2. Guidelines for determining quality of colostrum
    3. Guidelines for determining success of colostrum delivery
    4. Potential calf health issues with large volumes of colostrum
  • Thursday, October 29, 2026 11:00 - 11:50 a.m. Oak

    Young Calf Management: Taking Care of the Class of 2028 Farm Animal

    This session will cover guidelines and recommendations for nutrition, environment, and vaccination usage to get this year’s replacement heifers off to the best start possible so they can be productive two years from now.

    Learning Objectives:

    1. Nutritional recommendations for young calves (with a focus on dairy heifers)
    2. Facility/environmental recommendations for healthy calves
    3. Vaccination recommendations for young dairy calves
  • Thursday, October 29, 2026 2:30 - 3:20 p.m. Oak

    NSAIDs and Pain Management in Cattle Farm Animal

    This session will examine the NSAIDS available for use in cattle, how they work, and how to best use them in cattle. It will also cover pain management recommendations for cattle.

    Learning Objectives:

    1. NSAIDs available for use in cattle
    2. Mechanisms of action of the common NSAIDs
    3. Considerations for pain management in cattle
  • Thursday, October 29, 2026 5:00 - 5:50 p.m. Oak

    Troubleshooting Nutritionally Related Issues on Dairy Farms Farm Animal

    This session will utilize case-based discussions of real-life farm troubleshooting visits to discuss proper nutrition in dairy herds.

    Learning Objectives:

    1. Using trouble-shooting skills and observations to figure out common dairy herd health/performance issues
    2. Transition cow practical nutrition