New Beef Cattle Specialist Joins MSU Extension

Sep 03, 2025

By Susan Collins-Smith

Genevieve D’Souza joined the Mississippi State University Extension Service May 1 as a beef cattle specialist.

D’Souza, a native of Texas, brings her experience in ruminant nutrition to cattle producers in the central region as well as statewide. She is based at the Brown Loam branch of the Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station in Raymond where she also conducts research.

Her Extension educational programs and research will focus on improving cattle nutrition for pasture-raised cattle and other cattle production systems, including stockering and backgrounding.

“My goal is to help Mississippi cattle producers be more competitive in local and national markets. My plans are to investigate how producers can utilize their locally available resources, like forages and commodity products, to help them continue to grow healthy, safe and nutritious beef cattle,” said D’Souza, who is also an assistant professor in the MSU Department of Animal and Dairy Sciences.

Source : msstate.edu

Video: How Data Predicts Swine Outbreaks - Swaminathan Jayaraman

In this episode of The Swine it Podcast Show Canada, Swaminathan Jayaraman, Research Assistant and PhD Candidate at Iowa State University College of Veterinary Medicine, explains how integrated data systems can improve disease surveillance in swine production. He discusses combining diagnostics, animal movement data, production records, and spatial analytics to identify risks earlier and support proactive decision-making for PRRS, PED, and swine influenza. Listen now on all major platforms!

"Disease surveillance remains largely reactive because outbreaks are often confirmed only after transmission has already occurred across multiple connected production sites."

Meet the guest: Swaminathan Jayaraman / swamjay is a Graduate Research Assistant at Iowa State University College of Veterinary Medicine. With academic training in management information systems and engineering, he focuses on integrating diagnostic, production, and movement data to improve disease surveillance and decision support in swine production systems. Listen to Swaminathan Jayaraman on The Swine it Podcast Show Canada, available on all major platforms.