Barbara Wadsworth, a recent recipient of the Advanced Comfort Technology, Inc. Dairy Systems Management Fellowship, began work this fall  in the University of Kentucky College of Agriculture.

This unique program combines leading university research with practical experience in the field. Wadsworth will develop extensive on-farm research projects to study Dual Chamber Cow Waterbeds in collaboration with the UK Department of Animal and Food Sciences under Jeffrey Bewley, assistant extension professor.

She is a 2007 graduate of Purdue University with a major in agricultural economics and a minor in animal sciences. She previously worked as a co-herdsman for Arethusa Farm in Litchfield, Conn. This fall, she relocated to Kentucky to continue furthering her experiences as an animal scientist as she pursues a master’s degree in animal and food sciences.

Bewley said Wadsworth has an extensive background in the dairy industry and grew up working on her family’s hobby beef farm while raising replacement heifers in Hiram, Maine. She gained insight and knowledge into the dairy industry from summer internships. During her undergraduate studies, Wadsworth was involved in student organizations such as the Dairy Club and Farm Management Club. She also worked at Purdue's Animal Science Research Dairy Farm. She was a member of the Purdue University Dairy Challenge Team and Purdue University Dairy Judging Team where she was an All-American and won the Guernsey division at World Dairy Expo.

Headquartered in Wisconsin, ACT, Inc. is a family-owned company that distributes DCC Waterbeds worldwide. ACT, Inc. has been working to improve dairy cow comfort by providing waterbeds for cows since 1999. For more information about the waterbeds, visit http://www.advancedcomforttechnology.com .