Turner Swartz

Biography

Originally from a dairy farm in central Pennsylvania, Turner came to South Dakota State University in February 2023. He attended Penn State for his bachelor's degree in Animal Sciences. At Penn State, he was a member of the dairy judging team which placed 1st place team overall and high reasons at the 2007 National Intercollegiate Dairy Cattle Judging Contest. He was also a member of the ADSA quiz bowl team which placed first at the 2009 ADSA-SAD Quiz Bowl Contest. After graduation, he worked as a herdsman for 5 years where he gained valuable skills and knowledge related to dairy cattle management. After which, he attended Virginia Tech where he pursued his PhD in dairy cattle health under the guidance of Dr. Christina Petersson-Wolfe. Following his time at Virgina Tech, he completed a postdoctoral fellowship under the mentorship of Dr. Barry Bradford at Michigan State University focused on immunometabolism and nutritional physiology. Today, his lab focuses on nutritional and management strategies to improve dairy cattle health. Outside of the office, Turner enjoys spending his time hiking in the Black Hills, watching football, and judging dairy cattle.