Recipient Organization
ROHLEDER VETERINARY SERVI
1954 VINEYARD RD
HAYS,KS 676019408
Performing Department
(N/A)
Non Technical Summary
Rohleder Veterinary Service is a two-veterinarian practice focusing on Beef Cattle and is located in Hays, KS. It is in the Veterinary Shortage Situation identified as KS214. This area includes the five Kansas counties of Ellis, Rooks, Rush, Russell and Trego which covers over 4000 square miles and has a cattle population of over 150,000 animals. The problem in the K214 area is there are not enough Food Animal Veterinarians to service all the Producers. Our clinic has established goals to help with this issue. Our goal is to serve the Food Animal Producer in the KS214 Shortage Area in a more efficient and timely manner. To accomplish this goal, we will update and expand our mobile veterinary equipment. These updates will allow us to complete jobs more quickly, therefore accomplishing more in our workday. Due to the large clientele base, both veterinarians are on call 24/7, 365 days of the year. With technology, pictures and videos are used to alleviate caseloads during busy times of the year. The hours required to complete the work in this area are immense. The days are long, the environmental conditions can be extreme and there are not many days off. The work is physically demanding. The mobile equipment updates will increase the ease of moving cattle to the chute for processing, relieving the stress on the animals, the producers and the veterinarian. In December 2021, the KS214 shortage area was devasted by the "Four County Fire" which burned more than 190 square miles. Many of our clients lost their homes, handling facilities, portions of their cattle herds, and fencing. Remaining cattle were relocated to other farms around Kansas and surrounding states. As our clients begin to rebuild and bring their cattle home, the facilities needed to process cattle are no longer in existence or are not in good shape therefore creating dangerous working conditions for the veterinarian, the producer and the animals. This type of working condition increases the workload and amount of time needed to complete the job. Expansion of our mobile equipment will allow us to service our cattle clients on the farm safely and efficiently. Our focus is to provide quality large animal health care, meeting the needs of our clients by providing mobile services as well as haul-in facilities.Our second goal is the education of Food Animal Producers, the youth and the general public in the area. Many hours are spent in the truck traveling between jobs due to the distance between farms. These hours are spent consulting and educating clients on important topics such as herd management, nutrition, preventative health care, food safety and answering questions and solving problems. This time helps create a bond between the veterinarian and the producer. Keeping our producers informed and educated will help them to prosper. Educational opportunities will be offered to our clients on routine preventative care and the role it plays in better overall herd health, better profitability and sustainability. These meetings will give them the opportunity to see the new mobile equipment in action. Educating the youth about careers in Food Animal Veterinary Medicine is important. We have plans for educational days to be held on site at the veterinary clinic. We support our local 4-H, FFA, and employ students from the local high schools and Fort Hays State University. Education of the youth and the general public is key to the recruitment of Food Animal Veterinarians. Exposing students to learn about and explore Food Animal Medicine is key to having them return to rural areas to practice. It is important that the general public understand our role as it applies to the safety of the nation's food supply.Rohleder Veterinary Service was established in 2006 as a single man practice, focusing on Food Animal services. In August, 2017, a second veterinarian, a VMLRP recipient, joined the practice, making it a father and son partenership. Combined we have 35 years of experience and are well respected Food Animal veterinarians. Our clinic is geographically located in the center of the five county shortage area. We have quick access to main roads and highways, making it easier for us to arrive at our locations quickly. We serve clients in the KS214 area, plus fifteen other Kansas counties and have a service radius of over 100 miles. We are the veterinarians at the Farmers and Ranchers Livestock Market in Salina, KS due to their inability to find a large animal veterinarian in their area. Our current caseload includes 900 clients. In 2021 we processed 9000 cows, 9000 calves, 13000 pregnancy checks, AI'd 1000 cows, and 1000 Bull Soundness Exams. Including the cattle we worked at the Livestock Market, we pregnancy checked 51,000 cows and processed over 100,000 head of cattle. We estimate that we receive 3000 calls a year for consultation, appointments, emergencies and general questions. Due to our large client base and geographical area we cover, the goal of recruiting and hiring a Food Animal Veterinarian will be key to relieving the Veterinary Shortage of KS214. It will be important to share with recruits the value of living in a rural area, the deep bonds formed with clients, and the satisfaction of knowing that a Food Animal Veterinarian ultimately ensures the safety of the food supply of the nation. Each year the number of young veterinarians attracted to Food Animal Medicine is becoming smaller. It is difficult to compete with the salaries offered in urban areas, as well as a more consistent schedule.
Animal Health Component
(N/A)
Research Effort Categories
Basic
(N/A)
Applied
(N/A)
Developmental
(N/A)
Goals / Objectives
Goals for Grant Title: KS214_Rohleder Veterinary Service, P.A.: Serving Rural Kansas Food Animal Producers are (1) continue providing services that are effective and efficient to our current producers while adding new, sustainable producers. (2) Provide education to producers on herd management, preventative health care, nutrition, and safe food supply; Provide exposure to students in grades 11 and 12 to educational and career opportunities in food/large animal medicine and herd health management; Provide information to the general public concerning food animal production and a safe, nutritious and secure food supply (3) Recruit and retain a Food Animal Veterinarian.Measuring the success of our objectives over the three-year period will be accomplished by using software to track processing, pregnancy checks, breeding soundness exams, and new clients. Our goal is to increase these numbers by 5% annually.We will measure the impact of educating our producers on herd management, preventive health care and nutrition by comparing the number of antibiotics sold versus the number of vaccines and dewormers sold annually. If there is an increase in vaccines and dewormers sold, we will be achieving our goal. Additionally, we will track the amount of mineral sold throughout the year to evaluate if education is having an impact on the nutrition of the animals. We would like to see an increase in 5% annually in the areas of preventative health care and nutrition. We will measure the attendance at the annual Producer's Meeting and expect to see a growth of 5% in attendance annually.Outreach and Education will be measured by number of attendees at our educational events. Recruitment begins early by providing educational opportunities to Junior and Senior High School Students. We will host a "Future Rural Food Animal Veterinarians of Kansas Day" at the clinic which will involve discussions about Food Animal veterinary careers, the role veterinarians play in keeping America's food supply safe, and demonstrations of pregnancy checking, a breeding soundness exam, vaccinations and deworming. We will interact with the local 4-H and FFA groups by offering to be speakers at their meetings. We will offer meetings to our producers and provide information on herd management, vaccines protocols, antibiotics and demonstrations of our new mobile equipment. Local media will be invited to attend these events so they can inform the general public about the important role that local producers and Food Animal Veterinarians play in the economy and the safety of our nation's food supply. Our goal is to increase attendance at these events by 5% annually.Our final objective of hiring a new associate will be measured by how many applicants we have, and, most importantly, if we are able to fill the position.
Project Methods
With VSGP grant monies, we will purchase additional equipment to help us accomplish our goal of providing services that are effective and efficient to our current producers, while also adding new producers by increasing efficiency in our large animal mobile services. We will purchase the following equipment: IMV Imaging Easi-Scan 4 Ultrasound and accessories, a Large Rawhide Portable Corral with Hydraulic Alley Adjustment, a 4 x4 2500 GMC Sierra Pickup and a Porta-Vet Magnum 4 Vet Box. We have selected equipment that will deliver longevity and improve the ability to process cattle in the country, increase the safety of the animals, veterinarians and producers and provide dependable transportation to and from job sites.The IMV Imaging Easi-Scan 4 Ultrasound Package will include an Easi-Scan 4 ultrasound, quick release introducer, Easi-Scan 4 carry bag, an Easi-Scan 4 battery and battery charger. This equipment is an upgrade to our current ultrasound. This ultrasound will allow for pregnancy exams to be completed quicker and more efficiently, which in turn, will increase veterinarian and client safety. Animal safety is improved as well, by reducing the risk of injury caused by manual palpations. By identifying bred versus open cattle, we can help the producer make informed decisions about their herd with the end goals being increased health, profit, production, and sustainabilityThe Rawhide Portable Corral with the hydraulic alley adjustment will allow producers an option for working cattle in areas previously unavailable to them or on locations where facilities were lost due to the "Four County Fire" in December 2021. Many facilities where we work are dangerous to animals, producers and veterinarians due to the quality or age of the corrals. The Rawhide Corral system will hold up to 225 animals in a holding area. The animals can easily be moved into the alleyway causing them to flow efficiently into the chute for processing. The Rawhide will be available for producers to set-up prior to their appointment to help them catch and hold their cattle until the veterinarian arrives for processing. By using the portable corral and alleyway the stress caused by moving cattle to the clinic for processing will be eliminated.The 4 x4 2500 GMC Sierra Pickup and Porta-Vet Box will be an upgrade over the current vehicle and box that is in use. The pickup will be able to transport the portable corral, portable chute and other mobile equipment with ease. It will be able to handle the rigors of towing and off-road driving in difficult conditions.The new equipment that we purchase will help us accomplish our goal of providing veterinary services that are effective and efficient. Through education of our producers and the public about the new equipment available to them and discussing how it will improve working conditions for all the parties involved, we will be able to work through the busy seasons of the cattle cycle and increase the number of animals processed. We will be able to add new clients with the availability of efficient equipment. Reaching more producers provides us with the opportunity to discuss herd management, vaccination schedules and nutrition. Focusing on preventative medicine should increase profits and minimize losses for the producer.During the past two years due to the COVID outbreak, education of our clients was on an individual consultation basis. To help meet our goal of promoting preventative medicine, routine herd work and better management through educational activities, we are planning to hold Producers' Meetings. At these meetings, we will showcase and demonstrate our new equipment, discuss vaccination programs, nutrition/mineral programs, Veterinary Feed Directives, Trichomoniasis testing, animal well-being, food security and marketing of their food animals. Guest speakers will be on hand to discuss each of these areas. These meetings will connect producers with important resources to help them achieve their goals. As veterinarians, it is important for us to help our producers to be successful.Through educational programs with high school students in the KS214 shortage area, we can begin early recruitment of new rural veterinarians. We are planning to host Junior and Senior high school students at the "Future Rural Food Animal Veterinarians of Kansas Day" at the clinic. This program will offer students the opportunity to view a veterinarian at work with food animals. Demonstrations of various procedures such as vaccinations, pregnancy checking, both manually and with the new ultrasound, aging of cattle, and breeding soundness examinations will take place. We will showcase our new equipment by discussing the importance of the vet truck to a veterinarian, demonstrating the Rawhide corral and the ultrasound. We will provide them with the opportunity to ask questions of not only the veterinarians, but of our clients and pharmaceutical representatives. We will cover the education needed to become a Food Animal Veterinarian and what it takes to be accepted into a Veterinary Medical School. We believe this program will be successful and attendance will grow each year. We will work with the FFA Chapters and 4-H groups in the shortage area counties to assist them with their animals and provide career information. It is our plan to eventually add a program for the Pre-Vet students attending Fort Hays State University in Hays, KS. All activities mentioned above will be held on a yearly basis, ensuring that all our clientele, the public and students are kept informed of the latest information. Local news media will be invited to these events. Because of the continued need to keep all these entities informed, these educational events will continue even after the grant period endsWe will continue the search for a Food Animal Veterinarian to hire. We believe that Rohleder Veterinary Service is on the cutting edge of veterinary medicine and is a place for a new veterinarian to grow and thrive. We will share the value of the relationships that we have developed with our clientele and the advantages of establishing roots in rural communities. We know that it will be a challenge to hire and retain a veterinarian in our rural area due to the inability to meet the salary levels of veterinarians in less rural areas.