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Paul D. Virkler

Senior Extension Associate

Department of Population Medicine and Diagnostic Sciences

Quality Milk Production Services

Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine
Ithaca, NY 14853

Office: 607-255-8202
Fax: 607-253-4000
Email: pdv3@cornell.edu

Profile

Research/Clinical Interests

Dr. Paul Virkler is a 1998 graduate of the College of Veterinary Medicine at Cornell and a 1995 graduate of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Cornell. After graduation he began work at Attica Veterinary Associates in Western NY as a cattle veterinarian doing routine preventative and sick animal veterinary work. He took a six month sabbatical leave to Ragusa, Italy on the island of Sicily where he worked on a milk quality and mastitis project with the goal of improving the quality of a local cheese produced on individual farms. Upon returning to Attica Veterinary Associates he joined the partnership and spent the next six years helping individual farms improve the health of their herds. In 2005, he took a technical service veterinarian position with DeLaval covering the United States, Mexico, and Canada. In this role, he was focused on exploring the ways to improve the interaction between milking equipment and cows through research, training, and product development. From 2008 to 2013, he was a faculty member in the Veterinary Support Services unit at the Animal Health Diagnostic Center in the College of Veterinary Medicine at Cornell University. In this position, he assists federal, state, and private veterinarians across the United States in disease investigations involving all species, and teaches veterinary students in the field of diagnostic sciences. 

Currently Dr. Virkler is working as an extension veterinarian for Quality Milk Production Services where he provides science based advice to dairy producers and their veterinarians as an integral part of their udder health and milk quality teams. He also teaches milk quality related courses and is involved in ongoing applied research in the area of udder health, milking equipment, mastitis, and milk quality.

Education

  • B.S. - 1995: Animal Science, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Cornell University
  • DVM - 1998: College of Veterinary Medicine, Cornell University

Biography/Professional Experience

  • 2014-present: Senior Extension Associate – Quality Milk Production Services -- Director of Northern Laboratory – Animal Health Diagnostic Center, College of Veterinary Medicine, Cornell University, Ithaca/Canton, New York
  • 2008-2013: Senior Extension Associate – Veterinary Support Services – Animal Health Diagnostic Center, College of Veterinary Medicine, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York (January 2008)
  • 2005–2007: Solution Manager – Rubber and Systems Analysis - DeLaval Inc., Kansas City, Missouri
  • 1998-2005: Dairy Veterinarian and Partner - Attica Veterinary Associates, Attica, New York
  • 1998-1999: Extension Veterinarian - Consorzio-Ricerca Filiera Latteriero-Casearia, Ragusa, Italy
  • 1995 and 1996: Summer Dairy Consultant Assistant – Dairy Production Ideas: John Ferry, Adams, New York
  • Summer 1994: Farm Employee – Porterdale Farms, Watertown, New York
  • 1978-1994: Farm Employee – Floyd C. Graves Farm, Croghan, New York

Awards and Honors

  • 1998: Anne Besse Prize
  • 1998: Merck Manual Award
  • 1997: Francis H. Fox Scholarship
  • 1997: Phi Zeta, Honor Society of Veterinary Medicine
  • 1996: Jane Miller Award for Physiology
  • 1994: Gamma Sigma Delta, Honor Society of Agriculture
  • 1993-1995: Dairy Fellows Program
  • 1993: American Society of Animal Science Award for Scholastics
  • 1993: Frank Morrison Scholarship Award for Animal Science

Professional/Academic Affiliations

  • American Association of Bovine Practitioners
  • American Association of Veterinary Laboratory Diagnosticians
  • American Veterinary Medical Association
  • New York State Veterinary Medical Society
  • NMC
  • United States Animal Health Association

Publications

Selected Publications

Refereed manuscripts       
  1. Gioia, G., Addis, M.F., Santisteban, C., Gross, B., Nydam, D.V., Sipka, A.S., Virkler, P.D., Watters, R.D., Wieland, M., Zurakowski, M.J., and Moroni, P.: 2021. Mycoplasma species isolated from bovine milk collected from US dairy herds between 2016 and 2019. J Dairy Sci. DOI: 10.3168/jds.2020-19171.
  2. Wieland, M., Virkler, P.D., Weld, A., Melvin, J.M., Wettstein, M.R., Oswald, M.F., Geary, C.M., Watters, R.D., Lynch, R. and Nydam, D.V.: 2020. The effect of 2 different premilking stimulation regimens, with and without manual forestripping, on teat tissue condition and milking performance in Holstein dairy cows milked 3 times daily. J Dairy Sci. 103(10):9548-9560. DOI: 10.3168/jds.2020-18551.
  3. Wieland, M., Shirky, S., Gioia, G., Sipka, A., Virkler, P.D., Nydam, D.V., Alveby, N., and Porter, R.: 2020. Blood perfusion of teat tissue in dairy cows: Changes associated with pre-milking stimulation and machine milking. J Dairy Sci. 103(7):6588-6599. DOI: 10.3168/jds.2020-18219.
  4. Wieland, M., Nydam, D.V., Heuwieser, W., Morrill, K.M., Ferlito, L., Watters, R.D., and Virkler, P.D.: 2020. A randomized trial to study the effect of automatic cluster remover settings on milking performance, teat condition, and udder health. J Dairy Sci. 103(4):3668-3682. DOI: 10.3168/jds.2019-17342. Also an abstract and oral presentation by Paul Virkler at AABP in St. Louis, MO in Sept 2019 and as an abstract and oral presentation by Matthias Wieland at NMC annual meeting in Orlando, FL in Jan 2020.
  5. Wieland, M., Scholbach, T.M., Shirky, S., Virkler, P.D., Nydam, D.V., Cheong, S.H., and Porter, I.R.: 2019. Technical note: Development and evaluation of a standardized technique to assess blood perfusion in teats of dairy cows using power Doppler ultrasonography. J Dairy Sci. 102(10):9488-9494. DOI: 10.3168/jds.2019-16670.
  6. Wieland, M., Melvin, J.M., Nydam, D.V., and Virkler, P.D.: 2019. A longitudinal prospective cohort study investigating the association of premilking stimulation and teat-end shape on milking characteristics and teat tissue condition in dairy cows. BMC Vet Res 15(1):58. DOI: 10.1186/s12917-019-1803-2.
  7. Melvin, J.M., Heuwieser, W., Virkler, P.D., Nydam, D.V., and Wieland, M.:2019. Machine milking-induced changes in teat canal dimensions as assessed by ultrasonography. J Dairy Sci 102(3):2657-2669. DOI: 10.3168/jds.2018-14968.
  8. Miles, A., McArt, J.A.A, Leal Yepes, F.A., Stambuk, C.R., Virkler, P.D., Huson, H.J.:2019. Udder and teat conformational risk factors for elevated somatic cell count and clinical mastitis in New York Holsteins. Prev Vet Med 163:7-13. DOI: 10.1016/j.prevetmed.2018.12.010.
  9. Vasquez, A.K., Ganda, E.K., Capel, M.B., Eicker, S., Virkler, P.D., Bicalho, R.C. and Nydam, D.V.:2019. The microbiome of Escherichia coli and culture-negative nonsevere clinical mastitis: characterization and associations with linear score and milk production. J Dairy Sci 102(1):578-594. DOI: 10.3168/jds.2018-15062. Also as an abstract and oral presentation by Amy Vasquez at AABP in Phoenix, AZ in Sept 2018.
  10. Wieland, M., Virkler, P.D., Borkowski, A.H., Älveby, N., Wood, P, Nydam, D.V.: 2019. An observational study investigating the association of ultrasonographically assessed machine milking induced changes in teat condition and teat-end shape in dairy cows. Animal 13(2):341-348. DOI: 10.1017/S1751731118001246.
  11. Wieland, M., Nydam, D.V., Alveby, N., Wood, P., and Virkler, P.D.:2018. Short communication: Teat-end shape and udder-level milking characteristics and their associations with machine milking-induced changes in teat tissue condition. J Dairy Sci 101:11447-11454. DOI: 10.3168/jds.2018-15057.
  12. Cummings, K.J., Virkler, P.D., Wagner, B., Lussier, E.A., Thompson, B.S.: 2018. Herd-level prevalence of Salmonella Dublin among New York dairy farms based on antibody testing of bulk tank milk. Zoonoses and Public Health. 65(8):1003-1007. DOI: 10.1111/zph.12523.
  13. Vasquez, A.K., Nydam, D.V., Foditsch, C., Wieland, M., Lynch, R., Eicker, S., and Virkler, P.: 2018. Use of culture-independent on-farm algorithm to guide the use of selective dry cow antibiotic therapy. J Dairy Sci 101(6): 5345-5361. DOI: 10.3168/jds.2017-13807.
  14. Wieland, M., Melvin, J.M., Virkler, P.D., Nydam, D.V., Heuwieser, W.: 2018. Technical note: Development and evaluation of a standard operating procedure for ultrasound-based measurements of teat canal dimensions in dairy cows. J Dairy Sci 101:1518-1523. DOI: 10.3168/jds.2017-13326.
  15. Wieland, M., Nydam, D.V., Virkler, P.D.: 2017. A longitudinal field study investigating the association between teat-end shape and two minute milk yield, milking unit-on time, and time in low flow rate. Livestock Sci. 205: 88-97. DOI: 10.1016/j.livsci.2017.09.011.
  16. Vasquez, A.K., Nydam, D.V., Capel, M.B., Eicker, S., Virkler, P.D.:2016. Clinical outcome comparison of immediate blanket treatment versus a delayed pathogen-based treatment protocol for clinical mastitis in a New York dairy herd. J Dairy Sci 100:2992-3003. DOI: 10.3168/jds.2016-11614. 
Book Chapters
  1. Diseases of the Teats and Udder, Moroni, P, Nydam DV, Ospina, PA, Scillieri  Smith, JC, Virkler, PD, Watters, RD, Welcome, FL, Zurakowski, MJ, Ducharme, NG, Yeager, YE. In Rebhun’s Diseases of Dairy Cattle Third Edition, SF Peek and TJ Divers, eds. Elsevier, 2018.
  2. Liner and Claw Training Manual. DeLaval Inc. Kansas City, MO
Invited Extension Publications
  1. Know your mycoplasmas, Co-authored article for Hoard’s Dairyman, February 2021
  2. Dry-off routine should not introduce mastitis, Co-authored article for Hoard’s Dairyman, January 2021
  3. Let the teats do the talking, Co-authored article for Hoard’s Dairyman, November 2020
  4. Remedying teat lesions will take more work, Co-authored article for Hoard’s Dairyman, October 2020
  5. Online worker training has its hurdles, Co-authored article for Hoard’s Dairyman, September 2020
  6. Don’t skip the strip, Co-authored article for Hoard’s Dairyman, July 2020
  7. Robots: teat health and settings matter, Co-authored article for Hoard’s Dairyman, March 2020
  8. These milking system issues trip up many of us, Co-authored article for Hoard’s Dairyman, January 2020
  9. Teat disinfectants are bacteria busters, Co-authored article for Hoard’s Dairyman, December 2019
  10. Keep your cows happy at milking time, Co-authored article for Progressive Dairyman, October 2019 and in Canadian Progressive, June 2020
  11. E. coli mastitis really impacts postcalving cows, Co-authored article for Hoard’s Dairyman, September 2019
  12. It’s back to the basics to prevent high bacteria counts, Co-authored article for Hoard’s Dairyman, February 2019
  13. Make sure to define milking’s finish line, Co-authored article for Hoard’s Dairyman, January 2019
  14. Monitoring your milking center with electronic records, Co-authored article for Progressive Dairyman, November 2018
  15. Milking 4x brings advantages and pitfalls, Co-authored article for Hoard’s Dairyman, October 2018
  16. Monitoring the parlor without electronic records, Co-authored article for Progressive Dairyman, September 2018
  17. Make daily milking center maintenance checks part of milk quality routine, Co-authored article for Progressive Dairyman, April 2018
  18. Take Mycoplasma infections very seriously, Co-authored article for Hoard’s Dairyman, April 2018
  19. Jake discovered the true value of milk quality, Co-authored article for Hoard’s Dairyman, March 2018
  20. Manage teat dip products to prevent dry teat skin, Co-authored article for Progressive Dairyman, January 2018
  21. Teat skin condition matters, Co-authored article for Progressive Dairyman, September 2017
  22. Guard the teat-end gate when treating cows, Article for Hoard’s Dairyman, September 2017
  23. Prevent mastitis through proper management and monitoring of the milking system, Article for Progressive Dairyman, May 2017
  24. Monitoring Your Milking System Quarterly, Article by Jim Dickrell for Dairy Herd Management on my NMC talk, March 2017
  25. These steps can reduce mastitis, Co-authored article for Hoard’s Dairyman, March 2017
  26. Tie stall milking requires precise timing, Co-authored article for Hoard’s Dairyman, December 2016
  27. Influence of Cow Characteristics and Premilking Udder Preparation on Milk Flow and Teat Condition, Co-authored article for DairyBusiness and Holstein World Manager, October 2016
  28. Dry-off protocols: Why taking the time to do it right matters. Co-authored article for Progressive Dairyman, October 2016
  29. This trifecta led to better milkout, Co-authored article for Hoard’s Dairyman, September 2016
  30. Salmonella Dublin on dairy operations, Co-authored article for USDA-APHIS-VS Accredited Veterinarian Newsletter, March 2016
  31. Teat dips are just one step to improved milk quality, Co-authored article for Hoard’s Dairyman, February 2016
  32. You produce food so keep your milking center clean, Co-authored article for Hoard’s Dairyman, January 2016
  33. Do your cows like being milked?, Article for Hoard’s Dairyman, July 2015
  34. Milking time evaluations are more than just numbers, Co-authored article for Dairy Business East, July 2015
  35. Prototheca thrive on moisture, Co-authored article for Hoard’s Dairyman, May 2015
  36. Let milk cultures guide treatment, Co-authored article for Hoard’s Dairyman, February 2015
  37. Where is your parlor falling behind, Co-authored article for Hoard’s Dairyman, December 2014
  38. Teams can troubleshoot cleaning problems, Co-authored article for Hoard’s Dairyman, September 2014
  39. Are you missing Salmonella Dublin, Co-authored article for Hoard’s Dairyman, July 2014