Lachlan Strohfeldt

2016 Early Career Recipient, College of Public Health, Medical and Veterinary Sciences

Dr Lachlan Strohfeldt practices as a veterinarian at Bell Veterinary Services in the town of Bell, north of Dalby on the Darling Downs.

He has always loved cattle, and graduating as a vet has been his dream from a young age.

He is passionate about all aspects of beef production from conception to consumption. His areas of interest within feedlot medicine are stockmanship, lameness and pathology.

Dr Strohfeldt works alongside Dr Kev Sullivan as a feedlot veterinarian.

Together they consult to some of Australia’s biggest beef producers, developing and maintaining production systems that focus on animal wellbeing.

Bell Veterinary Services has a professional partnership with the Production Animal Consultation group in the USA and he travels to the United States each year to visit with PAC feedlot veterinarians and attend conferences.

Dr Strohfeldt has been closely involved in the Australian introduction of the Whisper veterinary stethoscope technology, a computer-based diagnostic system that collects recordings of lung sounds of cattle, analyses, and then categorises the severity of lung sounds.

This system has improved treatment outcomes for animals affected by Bovine Respiratory Disease Complex.

In 2011, he was awarded a scholarship to participate in the Meat and Livestock Australia and LiveCorp export stockmen’s accreditation program in Western Australia.

In 2012 he was awarded a scholarship to represent Australia at the International Livestock Congress in Canada. This event focused on beef industry sustainability and was supported by the International Stockmen’s Education Foundation.

In 2013, Dr Strohfeldt was awarded the Australian Cattle Veterinarians Bovine Health and Disease Prize, and that same year received the Beef Cattle Medicine and Production Medal.

In 2014, he won the Australian Veterinary Association Don Kerr Veterinary Student Award for excellence in cattle medicine.

In the past year Dr Strohfeldt has partnered with Herefords Australia to develop an innovative yard weaning and acclimation program, which has involved organising producer field days around the country.

The series was developed to show producers different methods of animal handling and how they apply to yard weaning cattle.

By using acclimation techniques, they have been able to improve the confidence of cattle, reduce levels of stress and improve animal performance to contribute to productivity.

Workshops have run throughout South Australia, New South Wales and Queensland, with more planned for next year.

Reducing stress on animals and preventative medicine is something that Dr Strohfeldt is passionate about.

Dr Strohfeldt received a Bachelor of Veterinary Science at James Cook University in 2013.