Animal Science Undergraduate
South Dakota State University
Howard, South Dakota
Hello! My name is Mitchell VanderWal and I am currently an Undergraduate Animal Science Student at South Dakota State University. I grew up in eastern South Dakota on a cow-calf, feedlot, and row crop operation heavily focused on generating beef cattle to fit the seedstock & commercial cattle industry. Growing up I was heavily involved in numerous extra curriculars such as 4-H, FFA, FBLA, performing arts, and athletics. While at SDSU, I have continued that passion for doing something more by diving into numerous student organizations on campus. Dairy Club, Swine Club, Little International, Lamb & Wool Club, Animal Science Ambassadors, Honors Collge, CAFES Ambassadors, CAFES Prexy Council, Wool Judging, Livestock Judging, & the brand new Collegiate Cattlemen's Club have taken up much of my time involved on campus. Student organizations have truly been a passion that has pushed me to keep moving forward through my undergraduate experience. In FFA, I began working on a research project focusing on how various feedstuffs would cause bloat symptoms in an artificial rumen environment. The origin of this project stemmed the development of my undergraduate research project, "Impact of Cover Crop Variety on Ruminal Microbiome Composition of Post-Pasture Grazing Beef Cows". Cover crops could be a tremendously beneficial feed stuff to beef cows coming off of summer grazing pasture. Gaining a deeper understanding of how cover crop varieties can affect the ruminant digestive system can make a huge difference on the cattlemen's bottom line. Striving to improve the cattle producers bottom line has truly shaped my passion for finding the answers through research!
Monday, March 10, 2025
2:45 PM – 3:00 PM CST