BROOKINGS, S.D. - The South Dakota State University Dairy Science Department welcomes three new professionals; David Casper, Assistant Professor in Dairy Science, Tracey Renelt, SDSU Extension Field Specialist in Dairy and Melissa Schmitt, Assistant Manager for the Dairy Research and Training Facility.

"These are the best people for these three jobs. They come with solid backgrounds and excellent experiences that will be valuable for students, research and industry," said Vikram Mistry, professor and head of the SDSU Dairy Science Department.

David Casper

David Casper will focus on production in his new position as Assistant Professor in Dairy Science.

Casper received his B.S. degree in Animal Science from the University of Wisconsin-Platteville, and M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Dairy Production from South Dakota State University.  After completing his Ph.D. at SDSU, Casper was a Research Dairy Scientist with the Agriculture Research Service of USDA at Beltsville, MD where he researched the energy metabolism of dairy cows fed diets containing high fat feed ingredients, nonstructural carbohydrates, or different forage sources using the respiration chambers at the Energy Metabolism Unit.

He later joined Cargill, Inc., as Dairy Innovation Development Manager researching and designing new feeding programs and products. He moved to Agri-King, Inc. in 1997 as Consulting Dairy Nutritionist and was eventually promoted to Vice President of Nutrition. His responsibilities in that position included managing the Nutrition department, product development and formulation, sales force training, field research and development through field trials, implementation of new nutritional technologies and concepts for formulating rations, and direct nutrition consulting with dairy producers.Casper has published widely in the area of dairy cattle nutrition.  He received the ADSA National Milk Producers Federation "Richard M. Hoyt" award in 1989 in recognition of his graduate research at SDSU and recently was the Overall Program Chair for the 2011 American Dairy Science Association/American Society of Animal Science Joint Annual Meeting.  As a faculty member at SDSU Casper will teach undergraduate and graduate classes in Dairy Production and will initiate a research program focusing on the efficiency and profitability of nutrient digestion and utilization by Dairy Cattle when rations are formulated using different qualities and amounts of energy, protein, and forages.

Tracey Renelt

Tracey Renelt joined the SDSU Extension team as an Extension Field Specialist in Dairy.

She received her B.S. in Dairy Manufacturing and Production from SDSU in 1989. Renelt brings significant Extension experience to the position. Immediately after graduation, she worked for SDSU Extension as the Extension Educator in Grant County from 1989 to 1993, and again from 1995 to 2000.

Renelt worked as a Livestock Production Specialist for Land O'Lakes from 1993-1995.  From 2000 until accepting her current position as a Field Specialist, Renelt served as Extension Educator/Livestock in Kingsbury County.

Throughout her career Renelt has served the dairy industry in South Dakota in many capacities:  Advisor to the SD DHIA Board, Coach for the SD Holstein Association Quiz Bowl Team, Advisor to the S.D. Dairy Fieldmen's Association, Co-Coordinator/Organizer of the first Central Plains Dairy Expo, Chairman of the State 4H Dairy Cattle Show and Judging Contest for nine years, 4H Dairy Cattle Judging Team Coach for Grant & Kingsbury County, and presently she is serving as the secretary/treasurer for the S.D. Dairy Fieldmen's Association, on the Central Plains Dairy Expo Advisory Board, and has an integral role in the I-29 Dairy Expo.

In her position as Field Specialist, Renelt will be based in the Watertown Regional Extension Center and will work with SDSU Extension Dairy Specialist Alvaro Garcia, to serve dairy producers throughout the state.

Some areas of expertise and interest for Renelt include employee management, nutrition, quality assurance and various other aspects of dairy production.

Melissa Schmitt

Melissa Schmitt is a 2011 Dairy and Animal Science graduate of Iowa State University. Schmitt joined the Dairy Science Department as Assistant Manager for the Dairy Research and Training Facility. In this position, Schmitt will assist the farm manager, Steve Crego, in all aspects of the dairy farm operations.

Schmitt comes with prior experience at the Iowa State University Dairy Farm, Full Circle Jerseys in Dalhart, TX and study abroad in South Korea.