Summer News
NPPC names Sheila Warrick World Pork Expo general manager
The National Pork Producers Council (NPPC) has hired Sheila Warrick as the general manager of World Pork Expo, the world’s largest pork-specific trade show. In her new position, Warrick will be responsible for the oversight and execution of the annual World Pork Expo, being held this year June 8-10, at the Iowa State Fairgrounds in Des Moines, Iowa. Additionally, she will serve as NPPC’s director of projects and events throughout the year. Warrick brings almost 20 years of experience in sales, customer service, marketing and event management to NPPC. She most recently worked for DuPont Pioneer as a stakeholder outreach coordinator for North America, where she developed and facilitated grower and visitor programs at the company’s Johnston, Iowa, campus. Before that, Warrick worked with a third-party event planner, where she coordinated a variety of events for Farm Journal Media. Warrick grew up on a swine farm near Britt, Iowa, and graduated from Buena Vista University, earning a bachelor’s degree in corporate communications.
BIVI adds Christa Goodell to its swine division
According to National Hog Farmer, Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica, Inc. (BIVI) welcomed Christa Goodell, DVM, Ph.D., MS, as a technical manager in the BIVI Swine Division. Prior to joining BIVI, Goodell was the worldwide swine marketing manager for IDEXX Laboratories. She has also worked on Pig Improvement Company’s (PIC’s) Health Improvement/Veterinary Service Team and with Murphy-Brown (Western Operations of Smithfield Foods).
Dairy Calf and Heifer Association Conference breaks attendance record
The Dairy Calf and Heifer Association’s annual conference broke its attendance records this year, according to a release. More than 500 dairy calf and heifer growers, representing more than 1 million cattle, attended the 2016 Dairy Calf and Heifer Association (DCHA) Conference, April 11-13 in Madison, Wis. Attendees traveled from 27 states and 10 countries. “We had a record-breaking attendance and it’s because of our passionate members,” said Lane Sollenberger, DCHA president and general manager of Dream Farms in Newburg, Pa. Conference highlights included: Attendees visited Nehls Bros. Farms and Rosy-Lane Holsteins; Members learned about new discoveries in calf health and nutrition, heifer reproduction and monitoring, group housing and feeding, TMR audits for improved feed management, real-world experiences from a panel of dairy-beef growers, employee management and more; More than 60 innovative calf- and heifer-focused companies highlighted the latest products, technology and information at their booths; Keynote speaker Paul Vitale, of Vital Communications, Inc., emphasized the importance of building employee enthusiasm and creating a more unified team.
Julie Schwalbe joins Ceva’s swine business unit as strategic account manager
Julie Schwalbe has joined Ceva Animal Health’s swine business unit as strategic account manager, according to a release. Schwalbe has more than 25 years of sales management experience in the swine industry and agriculture. Prior to joining Ceva, she worked in several sales and product management positions for Zoetis, Meredith Corporation and Pioneer Hi-Bred. She has a Bachelor of Science degree in agricultural business from Iowa State University.
Avian flu detected in Missouri turkey flock
According to a USDA AgNet report, a commercial flock of about 39,000 turkeys in Jasper County, Missouri, was destroyed after some of the birds tested positive for avian flu, a spokeswoman for the Missouri Department of Agriculture said. The H5N1 virus that was found is low pathogenic, or less able to produce disease, unlike the strains of avian flu that sickened turkey flocks in Missouri and other states last year, Sarah Alsager, with the Missouri Department of Agriculture, wrote in an email to the Globe. About 48 million turkeys and chickens died in that outbreak, the worst in U.S. history. It affected 15 states, including Missouri.
Outlook positive for food animal veterinarians
According to Drover’s CattleNetwork, today’s veterinary students face increasing competition, substantial debt and changing role in the industry, but for those pursuing large-animal practice, the employment outlook remains positive. During a recent symposium at Ohio State University, Zoetis Group Director of US Cattle Veterinary Operations Roger Saltman, DVM, MBA, outlined trends. Salaries for beginning veterinarians have increased from around $45,000 in 2001 to about $70,000 today, but starting salaries have remained relatively flat since 2008. For most food-animal veterinarians though, annual earnings increase significantly over the first five, 10 and 20 years of practice. Saltman says that for food-animal veterinarians in their first year of practice, the mean and medial income levels are similar, suggesting a fairly narrow range of income. For those in practice five years or longer, the gap between the mean and median widen, with a median salary of around $75,000 and a mean around $103,000, suggesting that some veterinarians are earning considerably more than the majority.
Merck Animal Health to acquire rights to Whisper® Veterinary Stethoscope System
Merck Animal Health announced plans to acquire worldwide rights for the Whisper® Veterinary Stethoscope System from Minnesota-based Geissler Companies. The Whisper Veterinary Stethoscope System is a Bovine Respiratory Disease (BRD) detection system which is used to determine the severity of an animal’s lung condition so that the appropriate treatment regimen can be started to protect the health of the animal. “We are pleased to add the Whisper Veterinary Stethoscope System to our comprehensive portfolio of vaccines and pharmaceutical products for the cattle industry,” said Rick DeLuca, President, Merck Animal Health. “It is important to provide our customers with the most innovative solutions available today that will meet their needs to maintain healthy stock and advance animal well-being.”
Fred Gingrich named AABP executive VP
For the first time in 11 years, the American Association of Bovine Practitioners (AABP) will have a new Executive Vice President, K. Fred Gingrich, II, when M. Gatz Riddell, Jr., retires at the end of December 2016, according to a Hoard’s Dairyman report. Riddell stepped into his current role with AABP in 2005 during a transitional time after former Executive Vice President James A. Jarrett passed away. Gingrich, who is the current AABP president, has had a long association with the organization since he graduated from The Ohio State University College of Veterinary Medicine in 1995. Gingrich currently is a mixed-animal practitioner and owns Country Roads Veterinary Services, Inc., in Ashland, Ohio. Gingrich will leave private practice to become the full time AABP executive vice president on January 1, 2017.
National FFA Organization awards more than $2.6 million in scholarships
The National FFA Organization and Foundation has awarded more than $2.6 million in scholarships to 1,791 recipients, according to a release and reported by AgriMarketing. This was made possible thanks to the generosity of 116 sponsors. This year marks the 32nd year for the scholarship program, which began in 1984 with 16 scholarships offered. Since then, more than $44 million has been awarded in scholarship funds through the National FFA Organization. The selection process takes into account the whole student, including FFA involvement, work experience, supervised agricultural experience, community service, leadership skills and academics. A list of recipients is available on the scholarship results page on FFA.org. Recipients are listed first by the state in which their high school is located then alphabetically by student last name.
