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Dr. Mark A Varner
Professor & Extension Dairy Scientist, Undergraduate Coordinator & Coordinator for eXtension and Online Learning
Animal & Avian Sciences (ANSC)
Professor & Assistant Director
International Programs in Agriculture & Natural Resources (IPAN)
Mark Varner was born and raised on a dairy farm in Minnesota. He received his B.S. degree with Distinction in Animal Sciences from the University of Minnesota, his M.S. degree in Animal Sciences from Washington State University and his Ph.D. degree in physiology from North Carolina State University. He joined the faculty at the University of Maryland in 1981 as an Assistant Professor and Extension Dairy Scientist, and has remained at Maryland since that time. Dr. Varner was promoted to Associate Professor in 1988 and to Full Professor of Animal & Avian Sciences in 1997. From 1992 to 1993, Mark was a Visiting Professor in the Veterinary Faculty at Utrecht University, The Netherlands. From 1999-2002, Dr. Varner served as Director of the Graduate Program in Animal Sciences and the Coordinator of the Undergraduate Program in Animal Sciences.
Dr. Varner teaches all, or part, of six classes on campus and conducts research in dairy cattle reproductive management and lameness of dairy cattle. He maintains an active Extension program providing dairy-related information via the Internet. He is co-creator of Dairy-L, the first and most successful Internet network of experts in agriculture. Drs. Varner and Roger Cady developed Dairy-L, and were awarded the Alfa-Laval Agri Dairy Extension Award by the American Dairy Science Association. He is the author or co-author of over 100 journal articles, book chapters, abstracts for professional meetings, proceedings chapters and newsletter/popular press articles. He is also a popular invited speaker at international, national and regional conferences.
Mark is the College's Coordinator for eXtension and Online Learning and is actively involved in the eXtension national effort through DAIReXNET. He also works half-time in the College's International Programs in Agriculture and Natural Resources Office. He also blogs as DairyScienceMark for public and private-sector dairy farm advisers.
Mark has been married to Eileen Jewison for 33 years, and they have two daughters. The family resides in a Maryland suburb of Washington, DC.
Area of Expertise:
Dairy Integrated Repro Mgt., Dairy Science & Repro Physiology, ALERT
Learn more about Dr. Varner at http://www.ansc.umd.edu/faculty/mvmain.htm