Progress 09/01/23 to 08/31/24
Outputs
Target Audience:Broken Bow Animal Hospital provides predominantly beef cattle and equine services in an approximately 50-mile radius around Broken Bow in central Nebraska. This practice area includes the counties within the NE234 shortage area of Custer, Blaine, and Logan. BBAH serves over 400 clients and approximately 30,000 cow-calf pairs, hundreds of horses, thousands of calves in feedlots and backgrounding operations, and numerous small ruminant operations. Services are provided at the clinic, on-ranch, and the local sale barn for weekly livestock sales. These farm calls sometimes can use the ranch facilities but often require veterinarians to bring portable chutes, alleyways, or other portable facilities. Our target audience for this advancement of reproductive services is both commercial and seedstock livestock producers within our practice area and beyond who have a need for quality herd health reproductive services and advanced reproductive services such as artificial insemination and embryo transfer. The expected target audience for the improvement of mobile veterinary services are livestock producers in this area with inadequate facilities, those with situations that are impracticable to haul animals to the clinic, and/or those with limited ranch help to work cattle. Our target audience for our internship program is veterinary students, veterinary technician students, and undergraduate students interested in large animal veterinary practice from the Midwest and beyond. Our target audience for engagement with high school students to grow interest in large animal practice is FFA students, 4-H members, and students within our practice area. Changes/Problems:The only major problem we had in the past year was regarding our portable Rupp hydraulic calf cradle. This cradle ended up costing significantlymore than anticipated to build a trailer to be able to transport it. In addition, it took longer for the trailer to be built than expected. By the time it was ready and functional, a lot of the calf branding in our area was already finished. We hope to have it well-advertised and ready to use early next spring! What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?One of our veterinarians, Dr. McKenzie (Beals) Hendricks attended the American Association of Bovine Practitioners Edwin Robertson Beginning Embryo Transfer Seminar at Virginia Tech University on July 31-August 2, 2023. This seminar provided hands-on experience performing conventional flushes on superovulated donor cows, sorting through collection dishes, grading and staging embryos, and freezing embryos. This seminar greatly improved Dr. Hendricks' skills and confidence in conventional embryo technologies. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?In addition to reporting to NIFA VSGP here, these results have been communicated among our three practice owners to determine how to continue reaching our rural practice enhancement goals into the next year. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?To reach our broad overarching goals to maintain and improve animal welfare, ensure the health and welfare of cattle and horses, support the production of a wholesome food supply, reduce wait times for veterinary services, and improve the veterinarian-to-food animal ratio within the NE234 veterinary shortage area, we aim to: Objective 1: Advancement of reproductive services through the introduction of advanced technology, new services, and attendance of advanced training seminars Advertise our reproductive services and the value they have on an operation, including artificial insemination, ultrasound for pregnancy diagnosis/staging/sexing fetuses, bull breeding soundness examinations, and embryo flushes and transfers. This advertisement will be included on our clinic Facebook page and word of mouth. Objective 2: Improve mobile veterinary facilities through the purchase of a practice vehicle, a mobile alleyway, and a mobile hydraulic calf cradle We will continue to advertise our ability to care for livestock "on-the-ranch" as well as in the clinic. We plan to especially advertise our ability to brand calves on the ranch with our mobile calf cradle and use the portable alleyway when facilities are unsafe or unusable on the ranch. We will maintain our veterinary trucks in good working condition to ensure we can travel safely and effectively on country calls and work cattle on producers' ranches. Objective 3: introduce a veterinary internship program for current veterinary, pre-veterinary, and veterinary technician students to support experiential learning and career prospects in large animal practice We will promote our college student externships/internships with local college programs to encourage students to learn more about careers in large animal medicine. Keep specific externship program "binders" updated with key information, skills, and case studies for educational development based on education level of students (veterinary, veterinary technician, and undergraduate students). Objective 4: enhance engagement with local high school students to introduce career opportunities in large animal practice by coordinating opportunities through 4-H, FFA, and area schools. We will continue working closely with local high schools and agriculture programs to encourage careers in large animal veterinary medicine through volunteerism in our local 4-H/FFA/county fair, supporting job shadow students, and participation in "career events" at these local schools.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Multiple measurable events related to our objectives for this Rural Practice Enhancement Grant of this year ("Year 1" - September 1, 2023 - August 31, 2024) were compared to the previous year ("Year 0" - September 1, 2022-August 31, 2023) to evaluate success and progress in meeting our goals. Objective 1: Advancement of reproductive services through the introduction of advanced technology, new services, and attendance of advanced training seminars Artificial Insemination: 2858 head [0.04% increase from Year 0] Pregnancy check by ultrasound: 12,371 head [20% increase from Year 0] Total pregnancy check: (ultrasound + palpation): 34,905 head [12.4% increase from Year 0] Bull breeding soundness examinations: 1,746 head [3% decrease from Year 0] Embryo conventional flushes: 15 [275% increase from Year 0] Embryo transfer: 85 [129% increase from Year 0] Embryo freezing: 59 [637% increase from Year 0] Objective 2: Improve mobile veterinary facilities through the purchase of a practice vehicle, a mobile alleyway, and a mobile hydraulic calf cradle Total country call miles: 13,995 miles [29.4% increase from Year 0] Cattle worked "on-ranch": 15,283 head [35% increase from Year 0] Baby calves worked "on-ranch" with Rupp mobile hydraulic cradle: 28 head [first year with Rupp portable cradle] Daniels Double Feed Alley utilized "on-ranch": 4 times [first year with alley] Rupp Hydraulic cradle rented to producers: 7 times [first year with Rupp portable cradle] Objective 3: introduce a veterinary internship program for current veterinary, pre-veterinary, and veterinary technician students to support experiential learning and career prospects in large animal practice Developed specific externship program "binders" with key information, skills, and case studies for educational development based on education level of students (veterinary, veterinary technician, and undergraduate students). Veterinary Student Externships: 2 students (3 weeks total) - 4th year veterinary students from Oklahoma State University and Iowa State University Veterinary Technician Student Internships: 1 student (2 months) from Nebraska College of Technical Agriculture Job Shadow Students: 3 students (4 days) - 1st year vet student from Professional Program of Veterinary Medicine (Nebraska-Iowa 2+2 Program), 2rd year vet student from Iowa State University, pre-vet student from South Dakota State University. White Coat Ceremony: Dr. Smith "coated" a student who had job shadowed with us during their White Coat Ceremony as they started their 3rd year of veterinary school. Overall, we interacted with 6 college students in externships/internship programs. The previous year (Year 0), we did not host any college students. Objective 4: enhance engagement with local high school students to introduce career opportunities in large animal practice by coordinating opportunities through 4-H, FFA, and area schools. School-To-Work Employee - 1 student from Ansley-Litchfield High School spent over 20 afternoons shadowing with us after class, over 9 weeks. Student Tour Group - Nebraska Vocational Rehabilitation group of 4 high school students visited and toured our clinic, learning about large animal medicine Part-time Student Employee - 1 student worked part-time for us throughout the year Sponsored facilities for the Custer County 4-H and FFA beef weigh in and weigh out for carcass contest Broken Bow FFA: Our LVT volunteered to teach local FFA group on instrument identification for FFA state contest Broken Bow Enterprise Panel: Dr. Hendricks sat on the panel with other local professionals, and discussed career opportunities in veterinary medicine. Tech Savvy (AAUW Janesville-Fort Atkinson, Wisconsin) - Dr. Hendricks volunteered to present and teach a wet lab for middle school to high school students about large animal veterinary medicine. This included harvested pregnant uterine and fetal tissues to demonstrate pregnancy checking and staging the age of pregnancies. Overall, we interacted and taught high school students on eight occasions. The previous year, we interacted with high school students on five occasions. We consider this an 60% increase of high school student engagement compared to Year 0.
Publications
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