As of Dec. 1, all antimicrobials used in animals will require a prescription from a registered veterinarian — and vets can only write a prescription if the four conditions that define a Veterinarian-Client-Patient Relationship (VCPR) are met.

Some producers may be wary of this new set of regulations, fearing it’s just a ‘money grab’ for the vets.

Alberta veterinarian Dr. Mike Jelinski understands where those comments come from.

“Veterinarians are in that unique position where we are able to both prescribe and dispense,” said Jelinski of Veterinary Agri-Health Services in Airdrie.

“That is where it can be perceived as a conflict of interest.”

But while the regulations were developed to ensure proper use of antimicrobials (combating antimicrobial resistance, in particular), Jelinski argues a VCPR can bring a lot of value to the table for a producer.

“Veterinarians who are familiar with the species can add a lot to production animal advice,” he said.

Having a deeper understanding of individual herds and farms allows vets to help producers improve their nutrition programs, breeding, vaccinations, and many other critical aspects of livestock operations, he said.

“It doesn’t have to be strictly about treatment of disease, it encompasses the whole operation,” Jelinski said. “I think most producers who engage their veterinarian in that respect find value in that.

“When we go into an operation, we identify areas where certain production elements can be improved upon.”

That’s been the case for Acme-area rancher Ian Murray, a longtime client of Jelinski’s clinic.

“Working with the same group of veterinarians, they have grown to know what is going on with our herd,” said Murray. “They have tracked the progress of (our herd) throughout the years.”

Murray has had a VCPR at Shoestring Ranch for some time.

He enrolled in the Verified Beef Producer program and began marketing beef to the European Union. Both required working with a veterinarian to establish treatment protocols on the farm (for the EU program an EU certified veterinarian is required).

“(It’s) herd health planning, vaccination schedule, creating health monitoring, seeing things that are going off the rails and trying to pull things back together, that I find is invaluable,” he said.

Treatment options for production animals can be very expensive these days, added Jelinski, and so his goal is to encourage practices that reduce the need for antibiotics or for treatments in general.

A veterinarian who is genuinely interested in an operation will be focused on understanding the producer’s management approach and how it can be improved, he said.

“That really involves coming out to the farm and looking at the (animals), the environment, the feed resources, and coming up with strategies,” said Jelinski. “I think (the producer) will quickly realize if they have a veterinarian who is engaged in that type of practice, that they are not just there trying to sell them something.”

For example, he said he would rather work with his clients to help them balance rations rather than dealing with wrecks, such as downed cows or sick calves, because of poor winter nutrition.

“Having to do calvings is an important part of our responsibility but we’d much rather make sure you grew your heifers out and fed them properly through gestation, so you aren’t having calving problems,” he said.

“I think almost all our clients will tell you we try to bring value.”

Making it work

What makes a Veterinarian-Client-Patient Relationship work is the relationship part, said Murray.

“I work very closely with (our veterinarians), they know what is going on here. But, it’s not like I’ve completely turned management over to them.”

For example, Murray said in most years he doesn’t pregnancy check his main cow herd.

“We always preg check our replacement heifers because we can market them right away if they are open,” he said. “Most vets would tell you it’s more profitable to preg check in the fall and get rid of those open cows.”

However, Murray finds it more profitable to cull his open cows after they have weaned off a calf, and put some weight on them after a few months, in years when feed is plentiful.

“Just because I’m working closely with the veterinarian, does not necessarily mean that I have to spend a whole lot more money than I deem necessary for my own management,” he said.

Although having a VCPR is now required for prescriptions, the goal should be prevention, he said. Jelinski and his colleagues have “laid out most of my protocols for me,” Murray added.

“I’ve fine-tuned it for our operation, but we’ve got treatment protocols on hand so that if I find something like foot rot or calf pneumonia, I don’t necessarily need to get the vets to come out again because I’ve been working with them so closely,” he said.

“It’s money saving because we’ve established protocols, we know what to do. We have a first line, and a second line. If that doesn’t work then we’re in contact with them.”

How it works

Developing a herd health protocol with a veterinarian is becoming a trend, said Jelinski.

Once the VCPR is developed, the vet visits the operation at least once a year, although that varies. For example, Jelinski regularly visits his feedlot clients (often on a daily basis) but typically goes to a cow-calf operation two to three times a year — usually preg checking, breeding soundness exams, and a pre-calving visit.

These visits can save a producer major dollars.

“I’ve seen some pretty catastrophic wrecks over my career,” Jelinski said. “A good example would be scours in calves. Sometimes it’s hard to identify the root cause, and other times it’s a major management error that leads to the loss of a significant per cent of the calf crop.

“That may cause a loss to a third of their calf crop, if it’s really bad.”

Even in less severe cases, producers may end up treating half their herd.

“When you think of the hours spent treating scouring calves with electrolytes, the ones you lose, the ones that never perform up to their capabilities because of damage to their GI tract — those are the cases that I think about,” he said.

A visit lasting an hour or two allows a vet to review items such as rations, minerals, biosecurity, and other matters.

“As time goes by and we are seeing more of these programs where auditing is taking place to demonstrate compliance, veterinarians will become more involved with on-farm visits because it’s going to be driven by some of the auditing requirements,” said Jelinski, who has been in practice more than three decades.

“When I reflect on my career, as we’ve got better vaccines, better management strategies, and better antibiotics we do a lot less individual animal medicine than we ever did.

“So much of our medicine now is herd oriented, and that’s a good thing.”

Having a relationship with your vet can also help make producers more aware of trending issues with consumer perceptions and new regulations regarding animal welfare that may be coming.

“We see our role as educators,” said Jelinski. “We take great pride in the transfer of technologies and information from the research and policy-driven level to the producer. I think the veterinarian is the connection, the liaison, between those areas.”

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Dr. Robert (Bob) Jones has been named Veterinarian of the Year while Dr. Peter Martin will receive the Meritorious Service award when the association holds its awards banquet in February.

The Young Veterinarian of the Year award will go to Dr. Graeme Boender, the Communications award will go to Dr. Cody Creelman, and Cindee Burns will receive the Registered Veterinary Technologist of the Year award. Dr. Kevin Breker will receive the Outstanding Mentor award.

The post Vet award winners announced appeared first on Alberta Farmer Express.

In 2012, the association’s food animal advisory committee recommended such a move, but ABVMA members were not supportive. Last year, the committee again recommended allowing veterinary technologists to use ultrasound for pregnancy detection, noting the technology “has become very accurate” and is now often used by “laypeople.”

“The Food Animal Advisory Committee would like to keep pregnancy detection within the profession and enhance the perception of the veterinary team to animal owners,” the association said in a recent e-newsletter to members.

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New regulations passed by Health Canada that come into effect Dec. 1 will require that all medically important antimicrobials (MIA) — including those that are injected, dissolved in water, fed in feed, or administered as a bolus — will need a prescription.

Just dropping by the local feed store to pick up those ready-to-access pharma such as implants, all forms of penicillin, and tetracyclines will now require a full prescription. That means for every treatment you will need to have an existing veterinary-client-patient relationship.

Before you panic on cost and drug access, this has been coming down the pipe from a global perspective for a long time. The World Health Organization issued warnings on antibiotic use a few years ago and Health Canada has responded. There are also active research trials going on to further investigate how to reduce the antibiotic and growth promotant load in food animal production.

It is not clear if the new regulation requires that each animal be physically seen and the prescription be for that specific treatment or if the whole bottle goes home. A good relationship where the veterinarian knows your herd or flock can help with preventive planning. It is common sense that the vet does not need to drive 200 kilometres to see an obvious foot rot that you have sent a photo of over your smartphone. But if there is a pen of sick calves, then it is a good idea to have your vet pop by to look and take some samples as there are a variety of viral or bacterial possibilities. Although with the technology today there are ways to view the problem to further address the concern, it does not however, negate the need to have a prescription.

• More with Brenda Schoepp: There’s a new kind of loneliness — but overcoming it isn’t easy

As all antibiotics do not act the same or cover the same issues, a blanket treatment such as feed additives and water-soluble medications will now require a prescription.

Take the time now to have a discussion with the veterinarians in your area if you do not have a veterinary-client-patient relationship, and open an account with the one of your choice. Invite the vet to do an initial visit to ensure he or she understands your operation and your standard operating procedures. This is important as the vet will have to set foot on your farm in order to write a script.

Some veterinary clinics are now offering this as a free one-time consult. Take advantage of this or ask that the initial visit be free. Talk about goals and expectations, and disclose if you are interested in strictly conventional or alternative animal care as several clinics are licensed for both. Ask about preventive programs and ensure that you follow through. For pet owners and small farm owners, ensure that your pets and small herd or flock are known to the clinic. This includes raising bees and fish (aquaculture).

The question of education has been brought to my attention and I know there is great value in education. But that does not make for a diagnosis nor will it reverse this legislation (which also applies to human medicine). Ask your veterinarian what you need to know, and also what he or she needs to know in the future to ensure early diagnosis and a quick response.

Will this hurt local businesses, such as small veterinary clinics?

On the contrary, the way that some established clinics are buying smaller ones indicates that they expect an increase in traffic. So don’t think that your local clinic will be closed. It likely will get busier, and even though you get the prescription from your vet who has a clinic 100 miles away, in Alberta, you can fill that prescription at the local clinic.

Do not, however, count on driving to the local farm supply store to buy food animal treatments any longer. These must be purchased at an establishment licensed to do so. Old standbys that are needed immediately, such as scour boluses, are included in the new regulation so advanced planning is really important. Again, early detection on your part, especially with a small flock or herd, will be critical so you have time for a consult and to fill a prescription if needed.

Think of it as having a relationship with your doctor. You have gone in and found out that treatment is necessary. The prescription he/she writes can be filled anywhere but you cannot go to the drugstore and pull it off the shelf.

It is the same now in veterinary medicine. You need a doctor, a prescription, a place to fill the prescription, and instructions on how to use the prescribed drug.

Veterinarians will now be required to submit an annual antimicrobial sales report and have been required by law to keep a record of the prescriptions on hand. The regulations are in play and are seen as the first step in antimicrobial stewardship.

Stay tuned for more information.

The post It’s a new era when it comes to livestock medication appeared first on Alberta Farmer Express.

However, Ashley Gaudet will gladly tell you she is Canada’s sole registered veterinary technician with a veterinary technician speciality in clinical practice specific to production animal medicine.

What does that full mouth mean? Equated to human medicine, the 32-year-old is the equivalent of a nurse practitioner — higher than a registered nurse, but below a physician.

Gaudet works for Veterinary Agri-Health Services in Airdrie and puts her special schooling to use every day.

“I do drug deliveries, post-mortem examinations, and I definitely get lots of questions from newer veterinarians,” she said. “It’s really neat to be included in that way. By working in a fee-for-service setup I get to do more and be of more use to them.”

In addition, Gaudet also visits feedlots and performs implant evaluations, assessing everything from the implant itself to alternate strategies for greater success rates. In a surgery setting, she aids veterinarians by acting as an O.R. nurse, scrub nurse and surgical assistant during procedures such as castrations, prolapses, nerve blocks for dehorning, and epidurals.

“It’s been really neat to have the support from the staff to add those tools to my tool box,” she said. “They let me do things they feel comfortable with because of my credentials and background. I feel good about myself personally and professionally.”

In addition to her day job, she is also a 2017 Cattlemen’s Young Leaders Program participant, and is being mentored by purebred Black Angus breeders Rob and Gail Hamilton, who operate just northeast of Cochrane.

The couple is a great resource for Gaudet, who acquired four Red Angus-Red Simmental-crossbred heifers last spring and has since retained two heifer calves and bought two more to use as heifers. The animals are currently being boarded at Schunicht Farms in Strathmore.

Luckily for her, the Hamiltons and her have more in common than just a love of cows.

“Gail and I started from scratch in our operation,” said Rob Hamilton. “We didn’t take over a family farm. We didn’t have something to run with when we started. We started with 30 cows on rented land and both had full-time jobs.”

Hamilton Farms now covers more than 6,000 acres and is home to a herd of 325 purebred Black Angus cows as well as a seedstock operation.

“We are telling Ashley what we’ve done and what might work in her scenario,” Hamilton said. “She will make every ounce of knowledge go to work for her.”

Gaudet is out at their farm as often as possible to have conversations, help out, and make the most of the young leaders’ program.

“They are the exact people I would want to learn from because they’ve been there and done that,” said Gaudet.

As part of the young leaders’ program, Gaudet has road mapped five major goals, including business development, and her candid conversations to date have helped re-enforce her intention to build a purebred Angus herd.

“I asked Rob, ‘Why Angus?’ and he explained that they are an easier breed and that about 20 purebreds are usually worth (the same return on investment as) 100 commercial cows,” she said. “I found that number to be a shock. That ratio is ridiculous.”

Gaudet is also exploring the business of embryos to kick-start her operation, thanks to a chance conversation with Canadian cattle baron Kevin Blair at the National Western Stock Show and Rodeo in Denver. Once again, it was an opportunity that wouldn’t have happened without the young leaders’ program.

“Rob and Gail are so inviting and honest. It’s a win-win having this mentorship,” she said.

For more information go to the Cattlemen’s Young Leaders website.

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Dr. Duane Landals of Onoway has been given the 2017 Carl Block Award by the Canadian Animal Health Coalition.

For more than 37 years Landals has “contributed significantly” to veterinary medicine, both in Canada and internationally. He has served as president of the Canadian Veterinary Medical Association; vice-president of the World Veterinary Association; and president and then registrar of the Alberta Veterinary Medical Association. He continues to serve with many organizations, including Veterinarians Without Borders; the Registry of Approved Continuing Education Committee of the American Association of Veterinary State Boards; the Canadian Veterinary Medical Association Veterinary Pharmaceutical Stewardship Advisory Group; and the National Farmed Animal Health and Welfare Council antimicrobial-resistance working group.

Landals was also the owner and operator of two multi-species veterinary practices for 35 years and owned a rural veterinary practice and a beef cattle and horse ranch for 25 years.

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The province announced last month it will be pulling its $8 million in funding from the Western College of Veterinary Medicine in Saskatoon to expand the University of Calgary’s faculty of veterinary medicine. The government says the move will save taxpayers $3.3 million a year while still producing the same number of veterinarians.

• Read more: Vets decry province’s plan to redirect school funding to Calgary
• Read more: Alberta to reallocate veterinary school funding

And while the Alberta Veterinary Medical Association supports the expansion of the Calgary program, it wants the province to continue funding the school at the University of Saskatchewan — which was created by the four western Canadian provinces more than 50 years ago.

“Our concern has always been about capacity for educating veterinarian students and we believe that by moving that funding there’s effectively been a cap placed — Alberta will not be able to educate more than 50 veterinarian students per year,” said Dr. Phil Buote, deputy registrar of the Alberta Veterinary Medical Association.

“There reasonably could have been an announcement increasing funding for Calgary while keeping 20 seats in Saskatoon.”

But Alberta is already doing more than other provinces and they “need to step up,” said the dean of the University of Calgary program.

“For a province like Alberta to fund 70 seats is I think a bit unfair for Alberta taxpayers,” said Dr. Baljit Singh.

Currently, each of the four western provinces fund “seats” at the Saskatoon school. (Alberta, B.C., and Saskatchewan pay for 20 while Manitoba pays for 15 spots.) Over the next four years (as Alberta students currently in the program graduate), the province will withdraw its funding, shifting some to the Calgary program (which will go from accepting 30 students per year to 50).

“There is no reduction in capacity,” said Singh. “Alberta will still be receiving 50 graduates from veterinary medicine. Instead of coming from two colleges, they will be coming from one closer to home — I’m sure many families, and many students, will find it easier to study at home.”

While the two men use different definitions of ‘capacity’ (the actual number of vets being trained versus the ability to train more), both agree there is a shortage of veterinarians in Alberta.

His association’s website currently has job listings for 40 vets, noted Buote.

“We hear quite commonly from veterinarians from across the province that they have difficulty finding veterinarians to work in their practices,” he said.

And that’s even though Alberta has been attracting more than its share of University of Saskatchewan grads, he added.

In the last four years, 97 grads from the Western College of Veterinary Medicine have located in Alberta, said Buote. That means Alberta “would have paid for 80 but got 97 in return” during those four years, he said.

“So is Alberta doing enough to educate veterinarians? It would seem that some veterinarians that are being funded by other provinces are actually locating in Alberta,” said Buote. “Are they doing enough? It would seem that they’re not.”

His association also questions how much money the province will save, noting the University of Calgary will have to expand its lecture hall and training facilities to accommodate another 20 students.

The school will need to expand, said Singh, but there will be ongoing savings.

“If you look at Saskatoon — where I taught for 17 years and was associate dean — they have a class size of 78 to 80 and the size of their academic staff is about 82,” he said. “If you look at the UCVM, for a class size of 30, we are at 72 or 73 (staff). So we gain efficiency in the operation as the number goes from 30 to 50 to 70 (students).”

Calgary is following the pattern established by other Canadian vet schools (the others are in Ontario, Quebec, and P.E.I.) — starting with about 30 students and expanding once the program is established, said Singh.

The school (which accepted its first set of students in 2008) has also established a stellar reputation in a very short time, he said.

“It is very uncommon for any new facility of veterinary medicine to make its mark on teaching, research, and service components within a decade,” said Singh. “UCVM has put Alberta on the map of veterinary medicine excellence globally.”

Buote questioned why the provincial government would take the decision to pull its Saskatoon funding without consulting his association. (It was asked for input but only learned of the province’s decision the day of the funding announcement.)

“We would have expected that in making a decision such as this that will have such an impact on the profession that the profession would be consulted,” he said.

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The association said it supports the expansion of U of C’s veterinary medicine program to about 210 students (from 130 students currently) by 2023.

• Read more: Alberta to reallocate veterinary school funding

But it’s “deeply concerned” by the province’s decision to start phasing out its funding of the U of S vet school when the current version of a long-standing four-province funding agreement expires in 2020.

“Eliminating funding for this partnership reduces the capacity for veterinary education and therefore limits the number of veterinarians available to practice in the province at a time when there is already a shortage,” the association said in a news release.

Starting in 2020, the province will allocate $4.7 million per year to the U of C’s veterinary program with incremental increases of 20 seats per year — for an annual saving of $3.3 million a year. Advanced Education Minister Marlin Schmidt said the move means “we will now have the capacity to train all of our students right here in Alberta.”

The decision “will certainly have an impact” on the U of S vet college, the school’s dean, Douglas Freeman, said in a separate news release.

The Saskatchewan school, which the four western provinces set up in 1963, “will continue to be Western Canada’s veterinary college, providing quality veterinary education, research and clinical expertise to the region,” said Freeman.

The “most immediate impact” of Alberta’s decision will be on the province’s own students, he said. After the 2019-20 academic year, students from Alberta will “no longer have the choice” of completing a doctor of veterinary medicine degree in Saskatchewan.

The Saskatoon-based college noted it offers access to a “thriving” veterinary teaching hospital, a “diverse caseload of small- and large-animal patients,” specialized faculty, livestock-focused teaching and research facilities and a range of research centres on the U of S campus.

Under the current interprovincial agreement, U of S takes 78 new veterinary students per year, with Alberta, B.C. and Saskatchewan each supporting 20 seats while Manitoba supports 15. Two more seats are allocated for Indigenous students and one for a student from the northern territories.

For its part, the Alberta government said it expects more students and communities across the province to benefit from the Calgary program’s community-based practicum model, which connects veterinary students with rural practices.

The new funding “gives more Alberta students the opportunity to enter our community-embedded veterinary medical training programs and increases our capacity to graduate local veterinarians to support the province’s food animal, equine, and pet-owning communities,” said Baljit Singh, dean of Calgary’s veterinary medicine faculty.

A labour market demand forecast for Alberta estimates the province will need nearly 1,100 veterinarians by 2023, the province said.

However, U of S said many of its graduates are already beginning their veterinary careers in Alberta communities, including 97 in the past four years (with about 60 per cent of those being in mixed-animal or large-animal practices).

The Saskatchewan college said it also provides the entire western region with post-graduate programs, research in biomedical and veterinary sciences, clinical and diagnostic services, continuing education, and training support for veterinary technology students.

The post Vets decry province’s plan to redirect school funding to Calgary appeared first on Alberta Farmer Express.

The code, released in 2013, is a comprehensive guideline covering basic food and water needs; shelter; freedom of movement; companionship; veterinary and farrier care; husbandry practice; and humane end-of-life options.

Horse owners, riders, and custodians along with horse business owners and staff are encouraged to take the survey, which closes by Oct. 31.

The survey, along with the equine code document, can be found at www.horsewelfare.ca.

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“We do know that there are changes in play that will require all medically important antimicrobials to become prescription only,” said Rob McNabb, general manager of the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association.

Some medically important products are still available over the counter — not just through veterinarians. This will change, although there are still ongoing discussions between the federal government and the provinces on some details. Ottawa has the authority to determine what is sold by prescription and what can be sold over the counter, but the provinces play a major role, too.

“It’s provinces that have the jurisdiction over the sale and distribution of veterinary pharmaceuticals,” said McNabb, who is based in Calgary.

Antimicrobials should be a major focus for all producers because of a growing public concern about antibiotic resistance and the threat that poses. And while the beef industry does a pretty good job in using pharmaceuticals the right way, there is always room for improvement, he said.

Veterinarians can be a big help in advising producers on the use of medications, and also in lowering the incidence of disease and health issues — but they need to know the operation, he added.

“We want people to be aware that if they don’t have a veterinary client/patient relationship, now would be a good time to get one,” he said.

Producers should also watch out for a finalized traceability system. Regulations governing mandatory premise identification and animal movement will be finalized next year.

“That’s a complex issue at the moment, because it requires both federal, provincial and industry collaboration in moving it forward,” said McNabb.

Another thing that producers should watch out for is biosecurity. It’s increasingly important to know where animals are coming from and their history, and to be cautious about introducing them to the rest of the on-farm herd, he said.

Biosecurity doesn’t stop with just the animal traffic, either — people are also important components of maintaining proper biosecurity.

Producers should be vigilant about who is coming to their farm, whether or not these people have taken proper precautions and might be bringing “problems” onto a rancher’s property, said McNabb.

“I think biosecurity is going to be of huge importance as we’ve seen with other species that seem to constantly have something happening. A lot of it can be routed back to a lapse in biosecurity, whether it is PEDv in hogs or avian influenza in poultry.”

Biosecurity is a key part of the Verified Beef Sustainability Plus program (VBP+), which is going through another rebirth. The program is also tied in with the Canadian Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, which is expected to release the results of its pilot project this fall.

McNabb said the basic foundation of sustainability is in the VBP+ program, and that the program represents a minimum entry requirement to meet some of the demands of the global marketplace.

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