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1. Veterinary colleges look within for debt-reduction strategies
Main ideas involve shortened preveterinary requirements, scholarships
By Malinda Larkin
JAVMA News
Posted June 1, 2016
Dr. John C. Baker says tuition increases at veterinary colleges are unsustainable. He should know. As dean of the Michigan State University College of Veterinary Medicine, he estimates that if MSU's tuition and fees continue to increase annually at the current rate of 2 percent over the next 10 years, they would grow from $109,639 in 2015 to $140,329 in 2025 for residents and from $217,903 to $307,176 for out-of-state students.
"Here at Michigan State, we really feel the threat," Dr. Baker said during the Economics of Veterinary Medical Education Summit. It was held April 20-22 and hosted by the veterinary college in conjunction with the AVMA and Association of American Veterinary Medical Colleges. In fact, the summit was Dr. Baker's brainchild. Shortly after he was named dean in 2014, Dr. Baker saw the need for large-scale collaboration to address the educational debt crisis. He predicts that if nothing changes, one or more schools could close, or the existing ones could have far fewer faculty and students.
Dr. Baker announced at the end of the summit his plans to reduce educational debt for veterinary students at Michigan State. They include continuing to work with the provost to reduce tuition or the rate of increase, revising the curriculum, and advocating for increased support from state organizations and government in coordination with MSU. Already this year, he has worked with the state legislature to try to get $1 million in new appropriations for the Diagnostic Center for Population and Animal Health.
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2. K-State offers online VFD module [edited]
By Kansas State University
Drovers CattleNetwork.com
June 1, 2016
Striving to provide the most up-to-date information on upcoming changes in regulations related to the Veterinary Feed Directive, the Beef Cattle Institute (BCI) at Kansas State University is offering a new online resource - for free.
The BCI partnered with animal health experts Mike Apley of the Kansas State University College of Veterinary Medicine and Brian Lubbers of the Kansas State Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory, to create an online informational module that answers frequently asked questions regarding the Veterinary Feed Directive (VFD) issued by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Changes to the regulations as a result of the directive are scheduled to take place Jan. 1, 2017.
According to Lubbers, K-State has been heavily involved with face-to-face meetings regarding the VFD, but the online modules will give producers and veterinarians an opportunity to gain foundational knowledge on their own time.
The free informational modules for beef producers and veterinarians can be found at www.beefcattleinstitute.org.
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3. Trichomoniasis Cases Increasing In South Dakota
WNAX.com
June 1, 2016
Thirteen South Dakota beef herds in five counties have been diagnosed with Trichomoniasis disease. It was detected in herds starting in December of 2015 until just recently in Oglala Lakota, Dewey, Corson, Ziebach and Gregory counties. Assistant State Veterinarian Dr. Mendel Miller says that's a big increase from previous years.
The disease is transmitted between cows and bulls during breeding activity. Once established in the female reproductive tract, it causes an inflammatory action leading to abortion. Miller says it's a disease that has to be managed because there is no vaccine for it.
Miller recommends producers have their bulls tested this spring for the disease.
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4. Pizza Hut halting antibiotics in chicken by 2017
By Jere Down
Courier-Journal
June 1, 2016
Pizza Hut is joining the fast food trend of removing antibiotics crucial to human medicine from animal breeding by March 2017, the pizza chain announced in a press release.
To prevent infection inside crowded poultry barns and promote growth, the routine dosing of antibiotics in chicken feed has contributed to the growth of "superbugs" resistant to antibiotics, medical experts say.
In changing its policy, Pizza Hut joins the ranks of restaurateurs responding to growing consumer concern about food safety. Taco Bell, Chick-Fil-A, Panera, Chipotle and others have also changed poultry antibiotic policy in recent years.
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5. Forward-thinking topics showcased in World Dairy Expo seminars
By World Dairy Expo
DairyHerd.com
June 1, 2016
For the past five decades, World Dairy Expo has brought world-class seminars to the place where the dairy industry meets - in Madison, Wis. This year, eight seminars feature cutting-edge topics including dairy product demand, workforce trends, manure processing, pregnancy rates, water quality and nutrition, genomic testing, low milk prices and the veterinary feed directive.
Members of the American Registry of Professional Animal Scientists (ARPAS) and the American Association of State Veterinary Boards - RACE Program* (RACE) can earn continuing education credits for attending. Additionally, all seminars will be available for viewing at worlddairyexpo.com after they are presented.
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6. Animal welfare activists, state spar over Utah's 'ag-gag' law
By Brady McCombs, Associated Press
Salt Lake Tribune
June 1, 2016
Utah's law banning secret filming of agricultural facilities is unconstitutional and should be struck down just as Idaho's measure was last year, argue animal welfare activists in a new court filing.
The so-called "Ag-gag" law, passed in 2012, has a chilling effect on groups trying to expose unsafe and illegal practices at slaughterhouses and factory farms, said attorneys for a group of plaintiffs that include the Animal Legal Defense Team and People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.
Utah state officials defend the law in their own filing, saying it doesn't violate any constitutional protections and still allows for filming from public places and for whistleblowers to report abuses. The state argues that it promotes workplace safety by barring unskilled undercover operatives from slaughterhouses and meatpacking plants.
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