Non Technical Summary
Sublette Veterinary Services' goals correlate with the Veterinary Service Grant Program on an exceptional level. Our first and most important purchase is different restraint equipment to increase animal and human safety during examinations and care. Secondly, we want to provide local readily available veterinary services for food animal producers by offering services which are unique to this area. Examples being: equipment to test for economically important heart conditions caused by the high elevation, ultrasound reproductive examinations and equipment to make regulatory disease testing more efficient and as accurate as humanly possible. Because local producers so heavily rely on their support animals, horses, cattle dogs and livestock guard dogs, we want to broaden our services available to these patients. Purchasing equipment for specialty use in different species like obstetrical instruments for pigs or goats would equip the clinic to more readily accommodate these scarce, yet important, production animals. Ultimately, we want to expand our veterinary services to food animal producers to increase their profitability and production, such as breeding soundness exams, advanced reproduction techniques and diagnostic tools. Because teaching and mentorship are important to us as a practice, we want to provide educational opportunities/mentorship to students interested in pursuing a career in food animal medicine and provide educational opportunities to local producers.

Classification

Knowledge Area (KA)	Subject of Investigation (SOI)	Field of Science (FOS)	Percent
311	3310	1060	100%

Knowledge Area
311 - Animal Diseases;

Subject Of Investigation
3310 - Beef cattle, live animal;

Field Of Science
1060 - Biology (whole systems);

Goals / Objectives
The VSGP has multiple objectives which align with the practice goals of SVS, enhance the practice so producers in and around Sublette County, Wyoming have local access to many different veterinary medical services. These objectives meet the problems outlined in the shortage area nomination, a veterinary practice located in the county providing medical care, surgical procedures, obstetrics, diagnostics, consultation, production management, reproductive services and collaboration and mentorship. Healthy animals are more profitable for producers. This specifically meets the VSGP and the United State Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Strategic Goal 2: "Ensure America's agriculture system is equitable, resilient, and prosperous."SVS will use this grant to build capacity by expanding diagnostics, services, job safety, clinic mobility and support to agriculture animal producers. These expanded services will lead to hiring veterinarians and technicians as the need arises, therefore boosting the local economy.All of these objectives align with the VSGP and USDA's Strategic Goal 5: "expand opportunities for economic development and improve quality of life in rural and tribal communities" as well as Goal 4: "provide all Americans with safe and nutritious food".

Project Methods
The first step to reach the objective of practice enhancement is to purchase equipment and supplies. Some specific smaller equipment the clinic plans to purchase are: a centrifuge, upgraded microscope, incubator, obstetrical tools, a headlamp, emasculators, and as slide warmer. The larger equipment needed are: an ultrasound, hydraulic chute, hoof trimming table, blood pressure monitor and a used but reliable truck. These supplies and equipment will enable the clinic to provide services such as: embryo transfer for cattle and horses, breeding soundness examinations and semen handling, Pulomonary Arterial Pressuretesting, artificial insemination, hoof trimming, reproductive ultrasound evaluations, point of care diagnostics and advanced obstetrical procedures. Continuing education courses will help further knowledge and technical skills. The remainder of funds will be used for operating/overhead costs, mentorship, and education for students and producers.A reliable truck is essential for a mobile practice. Any restraint devices purchased will have mobile capabilities. Although some clients will retrieve and set up the portable chute themselves, the clinic must be able to transport it.Educating producers about the USDA's Animal Disease Tractability (ADT) system and their role in protecting the animal agriculture industry across the United States is one way this clinic will help the USDA reach rural America. Helping producers establish a state-approved herd plan for Brucellosis mitigation will help ensure their animals' health and profitability. The brucellosis regulatory testing requires extreme accuracy and attention to detail to ensure that every sample and cow are correctly identified and matched, labeled and the corresponding paperwork is completed properly. This is why the clinic is budgeting for a weatherproof electronic recording device, such as a laptop or a PDA.As soon as the equipment is purchased and the SVS team becomes familiar with it, a profound advertisement campaign will be deployed to announce these services are now locally available. Radio advertisements have proven very effective means of publicity. A website will be developed and launched to announce these services and will include an educational page for producer resources. This educational page will also communicate the results of this grant to stakeholders and the public. Social media and informational meetings can also be substantial avenues for reaching producers.As relationships are built with clientele and more interactions occur with local producers, SVS plans to conduct formal and informal trainings to discuss things such as: diagnosing hoof problems as not all lame cows have hoof rot, how to perform necropsies and what tissues to save, appropriate antibiotic use and more advanced herd management plans. These connections will be a place to learn how SVS can better serve the producers of this community and shortage area.Advancing knowledge and technical skills will be the priority during the second year of this grant period. Being a solo practitioner, continuing education is even more important because there are no other veterinarians readily available for collaboration. Embryo transfer techniques and semen handling, artificial insemination and reproductive ultrasound training are some of the advanced educational opportunities for which these grant funds will be delegated. This grant will provide the ability to utilize the resources available through organizations like American Association of Bovine Practitioners, American Association of Small Ruminant Producers, American Veterinary Medical Association and Wyoming Veterinary Medical Association among others, but the cumulative annual dues exceed $2000.The final year of this grant period will focus on assessing where the clinic has gone and where the community needs remain. The clinic will analyze how the newly added services have enhanced the practice and how they meet the needs of the producers as well as what new challenges have arisen for the producers and how SVS can once again expand the practice to meet their need.It is understandable why veterinary schools can't provide substantial practical experiences and why students are graduating without technical skills. There is abundant opportunity for private practitioners to provide these real-life experiences. A retired veterinarian once said, "learning is hard, you only acquire experience after you have already needed it". SVS wants to offer students experience while they aren't the responsible party. As a practice, SVS is committed to helping any student of any age get into this profession, from exposure as a middle schooler to reviewing vet school applications.