Progress 02/01/19 to 01/31/23
Outputs
Target Audience:North Carolina State University provided educational opportunities for Veterinary Students (20 domestic, USA; and 5 international,Canada and Denmark), and 4 Undergraduate Students. North Carolina Agricultural and Technological University provided educational opportunities for 14 UndergraduateStudents (African-American). Changes/Problems:One of our Co-I's required medical leave. He was responsible for the assessment of the program and student success. Unfortunately, they were not able to return for the ability to address this component of the program. However, based on student feedback and veterinarians' feedback the students' knowledge advanced exponentially and increased confidence was observed. Due to COVID-19, the Co-PI could not participate in sabbatical leave and funds intended for this study leave were used to supplement the student internships and externships. International travel, conferences, and in-person presentations were not completed due to COVID-19 restrictions. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?-General Shelton Leadership Center: Leadership training for students. -Professional Development: Nationwide externiships in various food animal production facilities supported by food animal Veterinarians. Participants were also provided hands-on opportunites in food animal veterinary practices. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?
Nothing Reported
What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?
Nothing Reported
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
The following summaries represent some of the accomplishments for the last year of the project. The students have summarized their experiences. Maya Keefer Over the course of the summer, I completed an internship at Willamette Valley Lamb (WVL), in Junction City, Oregon. WVL is a 1300-ewe farm which supplies lamb to a large part of the Pacific Northwest, as well as supplying wool to companies such as Filson. WVL runs sheep in flocks of 200-400 on a completely pasture-based system, so I had the opportunity to gain a great deal of knowledge about the nutritional needs of sheep, and how each type of forage met them. WVL also has a small number of cattle that are raised on a grass-fed diet and sold as whole- or half-cows. As an intern, I was tasked with the daily movement and maintenance of various irrigation systems (such as wheel line and K Line), movement of sheep as necessary throughout the paddocks of each location, and care of both the livestock guardian dogs and the border collies. Myself, the owner and one other intern also worked the sheep once monthly to complete a variety of tasks including deworming, footbathing, tagging, shearing, and vaccinating. Though I had some experience with sheep before arriving, by the time my two months at WVL were over, my abilities had increased tenfold. I had never worked with collies before, but in the last weeks of my time at WVL, I was able to confidently move groups of 400 sheep with only the help of one or two border collies. My ability to notice sick lambs and provide them with the care needed to get them back out to pasture also increased dramatically. Finally, I was able to gain a basic understanding of the butchery process, as customers often came out to watch the butchering lamb that they would buy, and the interns were often called on to lend a hand. Overall, my time at WVL was the most action-packed two months of my life, and I could not be more grateful that I was able to experience it. Maddie Kuwada This summer I split my internship into two experiences in the Midwest. My first internship was at Sunflower Veterinary Service, a rural mixed practice in Salina, Kansas. My second internship was with Larsen Veterinary Embryo Transfer in Valentine, Nebraska. During my internship in Kansas, I gained a tremendous amount of experience with cattle medicine in a mixed practice setting. I interned during the breeding season for cattle, and therefore was able to assist with 50+ Breeding Soundness Exams (BSEs). I was able to complete every step of BSEs on my own including: measuring scrotal circumferences, palpating seminal vesicles, probing bulls, and stimulating bulls for collection. In the lab, I gained experience with making stained semen slides and grading semen under the microscope. I also gained experience and confidence in pregnancy checking cows by rectal palpation without an ultrasound. I palpated over 200 cows/heifers during my internship and was successfully able to call open or pregnant cows (ranging from 2-8 months along in their gestation). I also felt fetal calf formations such as skulls, eye sockets, hooves, and teeth while palpating. I rode along for emergency farm calls where I assisted with a fetotomy for a schistosoma reflexus (or "inside out calf"). During another emergency, I was able to place IVs in milk fever cows to treat them with calcium. I observed a cattle necropsy where the veterinarian took the time to explain the anatomy to me in great detail. Other cattle experiences I gained included working calves and cattle through chutes to vaccinate and ear tag, castrated calves and bulls, and assisted with tattooing heifers that were being vaccinated for Brucellosis. I was truly immersed in learning about the Kansas beef industry as the veterinarians took me on tours of feedlots and livestock sale barns. Since this was a mixed practice, I also gained valuable experiences with small animals including assisting in a night emergency bulldog cesarean. I was also exposed to several cases regarding small ruminants, including a case where we worked with the police about an animal welfare issue. On my last day the veterinarians trapped farm cats and let me independently perform neuters and spays. My second internship in Nebraska was located in Cherry County, which is considered to be the #1 Beef County in the USA. At this internship, I was exposed to the intensive reproductive management of the Piedmontese Cattle Industry. Piedmontese is a breed of cattle I knew nothing about prior to this internship, but they are a niche market of highly expensive cattle, which made reproductive services such as embryo transfer (ET), AI, and IVF profitable. The clinic I worked at is a satellite facility for TransOva Genetics, and I assisted TransOva techs with performing Ovum-Pick Up (OPU) procedures. I learned how to grade both oocytes and 7 day old embryos under the microscope. I assisted with conventional flush ETs by preparing straws, goblets, and canes for embryo freezing. We serviced a large Piedmontese bull breeding farm where we would perform hundreds of BSEs a day. Almost every day we would work hundreds of cattle at a time, which was a huge difference to the mixed practices I have worked in before. I learned about breeding protocols as I assisted with pulling CIDRs and giving shots of Estrumate. I was involved in herd health work, as we would walk hundreds of pens of Piedmontese Bulls daily to monitor for any health issues. I assisted in import and export inspections for Certified Semen Services Bulls and jump steers. Almost all the cattle we worked on were a part of the Certified Piedmontese breeding program, which almost reflected the vertical integration you often see in swine and poultry. Carrisa Amoriello I was able to complete a two-week externship with Carolina Livestock Veterinary Services in Stony Point, NC, a two-veterinarian practice with predominantly dairy and beef clients.The dairies were mostly small to mid-sized with one or two 1000+ head herds, and the majority of the beef clients we saw while I was there had small cow calfherds of less than 25 head. I participated in herd health work including pregnancy diagnosis via rectal palpation, assistedwith calf processing and health checks, performed physical exams on the sick cow calls, assisted with dystocias, andhelped with other chute work. It was a very valuable experience and I learned a lot!" Briana Gibbs I am a senior Animal Science and Laboratory Animal Science student at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University. I was a student worker at the swine unit on NC A&T's university farm. Here I was responsible for different tasks throughout the day. In the morning when I came in, we fed in the breeding barn, farrowing rooms, nursery, and our outside organic boars and sows. After that I typically help our assistant coordinator with breeding sows in the breeding barn. The rest of our day is usually chores around the unit or helping our coordinators with projects around the unit. After some weeks when we can tell our sows we previously bred are pregnant we move them into the farrowing room. We wait for them to give birth and once they do, we process the piglets after a couple of weeks. Processing includes tail docking, ear notching, castration, and injections of penicillin and iron shots. During my time at the University's Swine unit, I gained a lot of beneficial knowledge and lifelong relationships. This is an experience that I will forever cherish.
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Progress 02/01/19 to 01/31/20
Outputs
Target Audience:The target audience was seven veterinary students at NC State as well as four undergraduate students. Four undergraduate students from NC A&T Universtiy also participated. The NC A&T students are African- Americans. The students are interested in food animal medicine, wanting to complete a summer experience on a farm or related setting. Changes/Problems:One of our Co-I's required medical leave. He is responsible for the assessment of the program and student success. With his return, we will address this component of the program. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?NC A&T students presented project abstracts for the Showcase of Excellence: Terinesha Davis: During my time at the Dairy unit, I was able to learn basic husbandry skills for cows. With the unit being a pasture-based unit, learning how to mix silage, milking procedures as well as quarantine protocols . This internship allowed me to get hands on experience and put what I learned in class to use. Key Activities: Learned how to use the machinery Assist with a 4H- program Daily Husbandry task Assist with nail trimming Learning about Biosecurity Milking cows Mix silage Assisted Dr.Gentry with milking Saul's for research Most Important Ideas/Concepts Learned During Experience Keeping up with the pastures Taking care of the cows daily Investing into a portable sunshade A misting system in each pasture Learning how to quarantine an animal that's either sick or just purchased How to log and treat a cow with Mastitis Malika Cromartie: I worked as a farm technician at the Swine unit. My time was focused on breeding and farrowing. I learned how to "produce" swine, and how to maintain their health and welling being through biosecurity and animal welfare. Key Activities: Assisting sows during labor Collecting data from each parity of a sow/gilt Diagnosing and treating sick sows, boars, and piglets Breeding using the method of pen mating Power washing Scraping Castration of male pigs around 4-5 days after birth Feeding Maintained the outside swine pens/cleaning and digging out pens Incinerating dead pigs and afterbirth Most Important Ideas/Concepts Learned During Experience Biosecurity is one of the most important aspects of running a farm. If bacteria is contracted it can kill not only one swine, but multiple. Feeding is a science when farming swine! Before giving birth sows should eat less and after they should eat more. Breeding rotation/cycling can cause a increase or a major decrease in production. It is imperative to have groups of sows being bred in the same time frame. Jarred F. Taylor: I worked with a variety of domesticated hogs at the NC A&T Swine Research Farm. My duties were to learn about the daily operations and procedures of a small-modeled indoor and outdoor swine farm. The main purpose of my experience was to analyze swine indoor confinement versus outdoor/free range operations that local farmers could possibly utilize. Key Activities : Assisted with Distributing feed to pigs Observed animals for signs of illness Proper indoor and outdoor facility maintenance Coordinated Proper Waste Removal Proper handling and Restraint of Pigs Assisting sows with Birthing issues Pen mating Breeding Method (Indoor Facility) Proper Removal and Disposal of Deceased Pigs Washing Nursery and Farrowing room Learning Indoor vs Outdoor Pig operations Assisting with Marketing the Pigs for sale Most Important Ideas/Concepts Learned During Experience: Biosecurity is the most important aspect to your Herd Health plan. As it will protect your herd from harmful bacteria from within the confines of your facility and outdoor operation. Having a proper Nutritional Program that best suits you financially and can benefit your herd. Breeding not only prolongs the lineage of your herd, but also can benefit you when it comes to replacing sows/boars and selling pigs at the market Katira Speed: My dairy internship included much more than milking the cows twice a day. I learned about the pasture-based system as well as milking procedure, protocols, and other valuable information about the dairy industry. Overall this internship has allowed me to get hands on, up close and personal training within the dairy unit. Internship Activities: Learning how to work the farm equipment Milking the cows twice daily (4am & 4pm) Working with the outreach kids during the 4H Program Helping assist cows with problems (pink eye, mastitis, Artificial Insemination, and other jobs). Learning how to log the milk weight and disinfect the work areas used. Also assist Dr. Gentry with milking the Saul's on the swine unit for a research project. Most Important Ideas/Concepts Learned During Experience: The most important lessons learned from throughout this intern was making sure the cows are milked daily, fed, and properly taken care of by the staff. maintaining upkeep of pastures animal welfare Treating sick animals NC A&T students also participated in Small Farms Field Day and Small Farms Week. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Matthew Browning presented an oral presentation at the Poutlry Science Assoiciation Conference in Montreal Canada. Hannah Lathom presented preliminary findings at the annual NC Swine Veterinary Meeting. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?Continue to offer DVM students at NC State University and undergraduate students at both NC State and NC A&T externships to improve the hands-on experience and problem solving skills of students with an interens in food-animal veterinary medicine. Leadership training and presentations will continue to be part of the program. In year 2, one CoPD will evaluate the program. The CoPD will use modern program evaluation theory and measurement, and the project will begin with a logic model. The basic model consists of four facets: resources, activities, outputs and outcomes.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Matthew Browning: I interned with DSM as a Research Project Manager. The main objective of this position was to oversee a 7 week research trial looking at broiler growth performance and blood chemistry. Some of my responsibilities included drawing blood, performing necropsies, collecting gut and tissue samples, utilizing I?Stat and VetScan equipment to analyze blood, identifying gut protozoans, and compiling and analyzing the obtained data. Hannah Lathom: This summer I was based at the NC State College of Veterinary Medicine. I assisted on a variety of research projects. I helped to design the protocol and budget for a hemoglobin project. The goal of the project is to analyze the hemoglobin status of gilts to be used as breeding replacements in the early and late nursery and finishing stages. There is a significant lack in the current literature on these values and what they mean for the overall health and performance of the reproducing pig, which is what this study begins to investigate. This project will continue next year or more so that the subsequent reproductive performances of the gilts enrolled in the study can be evaluated. I was invited to present the preliminary findings at the annual North Carolina Swine Veterinary Meeting. I also worked on a research trial looking at the variance over time of Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Disease Virus (PRRSV) on finishing farms in NC. I learned how to take different types of field samples such as tonsil scrapings and nasal swabs which are then used to sequence the PRRS virus in the lab. Finally, I began working on an epidemiology project for foreign animal diseases, specifically to prepare for a potential outbreak of African Swine Fever in NC. I will continue to work on this project into the academic year along with my hemoglobin trial. Overall, I had an outstanding summer and my experiences have further invigorated my passion for food animal veterinary medicine. Lawson Pate Pollard: This summer I traveled to Salina, KS and spent six weeks at Sun Valley Embryo Transfer (SVET). Approximately 400 donor cows and heifers were housed at the SVET facility. I was responsible for feeding cattle, handling cattle, catching cattle in hydraulic chute, prepping cattle for flushes, administering epidurals, palpating flush cattle to identify ovarian response to FSH, administering shot schedules, handling and thawing semen, artificially inseminating cattle, handling and thawing frozen embryos, loading embryos into a direct transfer rod, recording matings for SVET data, and making mating ID tags for recipient cattle. Additionally, I traveled to farms and ranches across Kansas and Nebraska to assist in flushing donor cattle and transferring conventionally flushed direct transfer embryos (fresh and frozen) and IVF fresh embryos into recipient cattle. I also administered vaccines to recipient cattle kept at SVET, synchronized cattle for recipient dates, treated pinkeye cases, treated foot abscesses and issues, pregnancy checked recipient cattle, used ultrasound to pregnancy check cattle and fetal sex, performed biopsies on certain embryos in an embryo biopsy lab, learned about embryo biopsy and fetal sexing, and learned about cryobiology and embryo freezing. I can say this experience definitely cultivated my interest for reproductive physiology and has provided me with countless knowledge that will be useful in my future. The remaining few weeks of my summer I rode along with vets from Foothills Mobile Vet Service. I was able to see many interesting cases and aid in treatment for horses, cattle, sheep, goats, and pigs. S. Taylor Randall: I spent several weeks working with different large food animal veterinarians across NC. I had the opportunity to work with horses, goats, and most importantly, cattle. The tasks over the summer included vaccinating horses, cattle, and goats and providing general physical exams or herd health checks when necessary. I observed several mare ultrasounds and am better able to understand aging a fetus and pregnancy in mares. I gained significant knowledge and experience palpating many beef and dairy cattle over the summer, going from barely identifying parts of the reproductive tract, to determining whether the cow was pregnant or open, and beyond to beginning to age the pregnancy. I gained significant knowledge working with typical vaccination appointments, to emergency colic and displaced abomasum calls. I learned basic terminology, tools, and vaccination schedules that will prepare me for clinics and the rest of my veterinary education and beyond. Alex Fitton: I completed a 2 week externship with River Valley Veterinary Services (RVVS) based out of Fultonville, NY. RVVS is an ambulatory veterinary service that provides mixed large animal veterinary care for rural upstate New York. The area has a bustling dairy industry, and I had an opportunity to improve my palpation and rectal ultrasound skills on a daily basis, ultimately fine-tuning my palpation ability to accurately diagnosing pregnancy to 29 days. Additionally, I was able to witness and assist with sick cow cases, displaced abomasum surgical corrections, and be exposed to a wide range of dairies from small Amish farms to 1,500 head rotary parlors. RVVS also serves equine and small ruminant clients. I performed kid, calf, and colt castrations, dehorn procedures, administered yearly vaccines for all species, assisted with equine dental exams and flotations, and assisted with equine lameness diagnostics. In preparation for show season, I also assisted with documenting regulatory paperwork necessary for animal transport such as Coggins and Brucella testing. Finally, I completed a significant amount of camelid work, including working up a sick Camel, vaccinating and writing health certificates for a herd of 30 llamas, and performing multiple castrations. Other interesting experiences included multiple pot-belly pigs and backyard poultry cases. I absolutely enjoyed the variety of cases, excellent mentorship, kind and willing client base, and geographical location of this externship experience. The veterinarians who owns and run the practice have expressed interest in hiring me upon graduation, and I plan to return to RVVS during my fourth-year rotations with the hope of interviewing for a full-time position.
Publications
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