ENHANCING FOOD ANIMAL VETERINARY SERVICES IN VA-204

• Sponsoring Institution: National Institute of Food and Agriculture
• Project Status: COMPLETE
• Funding Source: OTHER GRANTS
• Reporting Frequency: Annual
• Accession No.: 1023725
• Grant No.: 2020-70024-32338
• Cumulative Award Amt.: $124,598.00
• Proposal No.: 2020-03987
• Project Start Date: Sep 1, 2020
• Project End Date: Aug 31, 2023
• Grant Year: 2020
• Program Code: [VSGPR]- Veterinary Services Grant Program Rural Practice Enhancement Grants

Recipient Organization
AGRARIAN VETERINARY SERVICES, LLC
12881 W JAMES ANDERSON HWY
BUCKINGHAM,VA 23921

Performing Department
(N/A)

Non Technical Summary
In order to meet VA-204's demand for services, I've hired a capable new graduate, Dr. Jamie Horstmann. Training a new graduate will provide an extremely valuable employee in the long term. However, in the short term, a new graduate will require significant capital investments in order to equip, compensate, and mentor them while they develop into a fully productive member of the team. I'm willing to make the investment but need assistance during the first year, so we can successfully integrate the new associate while expanding the client base in VA-204. Expansion into VA-204 involves increasing our service radius. Increasing our service radius can only be done efficiently by investing in mobile equipment that does not need to return to the home office throughout the day. Although the practice currently operates two mobile clinics, employing an additional doctor will require the practice to acquire another. While we can utilize our existing portable corral and tilt chute with the new clinic, it will need portable diagnostic capabilities so more testing can be done on the farm. With portable diagnostic equipment, the mobile clinic serving VA-204 will increase farm call efficiency and keep operating costs low. In turn, a self-sufficient mobile clinic that's able to utilize the practice's full range of portable animal handling and diagnostic equipment will increase proactive herd management, food safety, and animal welfare by decreasing the incidents of dart-delivered drugs, reactive medicine, and dangerous handling practices.

Animal Health Component

(N/A)

Research Effort Categories

Basic

(N/A)

Applied

(N/A)

Developmental

(N/A)

Classification

Knowledge Area (KA)	Subject of Investigation (SOI)	Field of Science (FOS)	Percent
311	3399	1060	100%

Knowledge Area
311 - Animal Diseases;

Subject Of Investigation
3399 - Beef cattle, general/other;

Field Of Science
1060 - Biology (whole systems);

Keywords

veterinary

rural

food

cattle

Goals / Objectives
Employ and train a new associate so they are cost effective within 1 year.Continue to provide timely routine and emergency services within the expanded service area.Increase gross revenue by an average of 10% annually.Improve on-farm diagnostic capabilities with a goal of performing 60 radiographs, 100 blood chemistry analyses, and 110 ultrasound appointments annually by the grant period's end.Provide workshops to educate current and future VA-204 farmers in common livestock health problems and make them aware of the practice's range as well as the value of veterinary services.Utilize the AABP Next Generation Practice Analysis Workshop to evaluate the profitability and sustainability of expansion into VA-204 and adjust the practice's business plan as needed.Employ and train a new associate so they are cost effective within 1 year.Continue to provide timely routine and emergency services within the expanded service area.Increase gross revenue by an average of 10% annually.Improve on-farm diagnostic capabilities with a goal of performing 60 radiographs, 100 blood chemistry analyses, and 110 ultrasound appointments annually by the grant period's end.Provide workshops to educate current and future VA-204 farmers in common livestock health problems and make them aware of the practice's range as well as the value of veterinary services.Utilize the AABP Next Generation Practice Analysis Workshop to evaluate the profitability and sustainability of expansion into VA-204 and adjust the practice's business plan as needed.

Project Methods
As a strictly large animal veterinary practice, Agrarian Veterinary Services is a primary stakeholder in local producers' success; succeed or fail, our livelihoods are interdependent. Therefore, my proposal focuses on providing the affordable, efficient medical and preventive care my clients have always needed while increasing the number of clients seen in VA-204. The practice's expansion into VA-204 will be accomplished by dedicating a new large animal associate veterinarian to servicing the region and leveraging the practice's experience in client outreach to promote the business in a new area. With the benefit of our existing facilities, support staff, and portable handling equipment, we'll be able to maintain efficiency and a high level of service. However, we'll need to purchase portable diagnostic equipment in order to perform testing on the farm and decrease the mobile clinic's dependance on the practice office's lab.

Progress 09/01/20 to 07/12/23

Outputs
Target Audience:Farmers and ranchers withing the shortage area. Changes/Problems:Rising land values, urban sprawl, and ageing farming population are leading to a decline in active farming locally. Simultaneously companion anmal medicine has become ever more lucrative. Our practice has become more and more focused on equine, small ruminant, and backyard poultry production simpy beacause the demand is there and those patients aremore lucrative. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?I was able to train my associate and multiple pre-veterinary and veterinary students during the project period. As well as present at the AABP annual conference. 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? We were able to recruit and train an associate but the rising salary opportunities in other area of veterinary medicine made it impossible to retain them. Instead we have opened a hual in facility to continue providing care to clients in outlying regions while aintaining affordable prices by increasing effieincy and lowering travel time. On farm diagnostics proved too time consuming and the equipment to delicate to function reliably in our work environment. We instead have diagnostics available at the clinic with the exception of portable ultrasound that works well ina field setting. Our pratice has acheived its likely maximum case load. We treat an average of 900emergencies a year as well as 1200 routine client visits. As a solo practitioner we probably won't exceed that in the forseable future.

Publications

• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2022 Citation: My experience with the VMLRP and VSPG programs: Theyre not trying to kill you& it just seems that way. AABP conference 2022

Progress 09/01/21 to 08/31/22

Outputs
Target Audience:Farmers within VA204 region. Changes/Problems:Salary and lifestyle discrepency between small animal positions and large animal positions makes recruitment a herculean task. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Particiapted in 4 extension/outreach workshops. Taught classes at several local technical education programs. Trained 4 student interns. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Presentations at extension/outreach workshops. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?Continue providing routine and emergency services to VA204. Advertise for a new associate veterinarian.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? The practice met these goals for 2021-2022. However, our associate has departed for a state pathology job effective 6/1/22. Their VMLRP submisson was not selected forfundingin 2021 so they departed for a job with equivalent pay and a more stable schedule at the end of their contract term. We anticipate reducing emergency availabiltity to compensate for working as a solo practice. With the high starting salaries offered in small animal medicine hiring a replacement seems unlikely.

Publications

Progress 09/01/20 to 08/31/21

Outputs
Target Audience:Outreach to farmers has been slowed by pandemic. However, we continue in-person outreach by meeting diectly with producers in the shortage area and consulting remotely withestablished and prospective clients. Changes/Problems:Pandemic has limited our ability to perform client outreach in person. However, with social distancing, masking, vaccination, and a business model focused on mobile rather than haul in services we have been able to maintain services without interruption throughout the pandemic. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? We have attended the AABP Next Generation Practice Workshop and the follow up distance meetings and look forward to attending the follow up meeting in the fall. New associate is continously mentored for professional development. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Not at the present time. We have no results to report. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?Continue to provide services in the shortage area and expand the number of producers seen and the level of diagnostic support provided. Begin attending and hosting in-person producer meetings as community health status improves.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? New associate has become fully operational as an independent veterinarian. Gross revenue has grown by 30% On farm diagnistics have improved. In the previous year we have performed Ultrasound used on a daily basis 69 radiographs 63 Complete Blood Counts 59 Chemistry analysis Hosted zoom meeting for new poultry producers in conjunction with county extension agents.

Publications