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The Midwest Cattleman %u00b7 October 24, 2024 %u00b7 P10Cattleman, she is looking forward to embracing her most valuable roles as mother and homeschool teacher!We are very grateful to Keith and Glenna for trusting us to carry on the brand they created for 30 years. And we are excited to continue their mission as we enter a new era of communications within the beef industry.Our VisionWe believe with the changing of hands comes the opportunity for two things: the continued commitment to providing an outlet and resource you can trust, and an open door to new ideas that will elevate the value of what we provide to you as readers and advertisers.So%u2026 what does that look like for The Midwest Cattleman?First and foremost, we are committed to providing a valuable resource that cattlemen can trust to receive industry news, market information, and educational content that helps them make better decisions on their operation. Whether you own 2 cows or 2,000 cows, our goal is to ensure you learn something every time you read an issue.To accomplish this, we will be bringing exclusive news, feature stories and industry perspective columns written by our team and industry experts you know and trust.Along with this commitment, we plan to bring key changes that will further enhance your experience with The Midwest Cattleman.The publishing schedule will remain at 10 issues a year but be adjusted to yearround printing with your next issue arriving in early January. Additional print dates can be found on page 5. We also plan to elevate the online and social media presence of The Midwest Cattleman and encourage you to watch for new channels to launch in the next year. Finally, if you%u2019re not already, we want to encourage you to subscribe to The Midwest Cattleman. By doing so, not only will you have the convenience of receiving every single issue in your mailbox, but you will be able to access additional content and benefits reserved for subscribers. As we approach the end of the year and look to 2025, we are positive about the future of the beef industry, the Black family and The Midwest Cattleman and we can%u2019t wait to have you along for the ride!God Bless, continued from page 4continued from page 3NEW HANDSK-STATESolutions Program, backed by support from the Zoetis Foundation, is designed to support veterinary students across several areas, including tackling student debt and financial planning, developing business management skills, and learning how to engage with rural communities. Participants also will get advice from the Farm Journal Foundation%u2019s veterinary ambassadors, a group of experienced veterinarians and educators who serve as mentors. Brad White, DVM, K-State professor and director of the Beef Cattle Institute, currently serves as an ambassador.%u201cA robust supply of food-systems veterinarians is critical to rural agricultural production,%u201d said White. %u201cThe Veterinary Workforce Solutions Program is bringing together expertise from a variety of areas to address current challenges and identify opportunities to promote rural veterinary services. I think this program will be beneficial to current and future rural veterinary practitioners.%u201dTo date, the pilot program has reached 450 students and early career professionals. KLAISU early acceptance initiative recruits future production animal veterinarians.Addressing the veterinarian shortage in rural areas of Iowa and the United States is the goal of an innovative new program at Iowa State University (ISU) that aims to recruit and mentor future animal medicine students.The joint program between the College of Veterinary Medicine and Department of Animal Science in ISU%u2019s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, entitled the Production Animal %u2013 Veterinary Early Acceptance Program (PA-VEAP), has been established with the goal of educating more students who wish to practice production animal medicine.Hopes are that interested students will discover their calling in veterinary medicine and consider practicing in underserved areas of Iowa and throughout the United States.%u201cCurrently there is a shortage of veterinarians across the profession,%u201d said Dan Grooms, the Dr. Stephen G. Juelsgaard Dean of Veterinary Medicine at ISU. %u201cIt%u2019s bigger than just rural veterinary medicine, however. Here in rural areas of Iowa where agriculture is extremely important to the economy and community, we%u2019re looking for solutions where we can continue to provide health care, especially to the livestock industry, which depends on care for the health of their animals.%u201cWith the PA - V E A P program, we are helping to address the critical need for veterinarians to support Iowa%u2019s $32 million animal agriculture industry.%u201dJustin Brown, assistant professor of veterinary diagnostic and production animal medicine and director of the program, said the number of students considering production animal veterinary medicine nationwide continues to decline. Finding a solution is imperative, he said.%u201cThe American Veterinary Medical Association reports that less than 4% of veterinarians practice predominantly in food production animal medicine, and those numbers have been trending down since 2013,%u201d Brown said. %u201cIowa State University is one of the top institutions for production animal veterinary medicine and animal science programs.%u201cThis PA-VEAP will help to recruit individuals to ISU and the profession and address the critical need for production animal veterinarians to support Iowa%u2019s agriculture industry.%u201dInterested studentsPA-VEAP is an undergraduate program for students majoring in animal science or dairy science at ISU. Students must also be pursuing completion of an undergraduate certificate in beef cattle, dairy cattle, poultry or swine production management.%u201cThis program provides students with a demonstrated interest in production animal medicine a community of INNOVATIVE PROGRAM AIMS TO ADDRESS VET SHORTAGEISU intern Hannah Hipkiss pairs a newborn calf with its mother after performing a successful C-section. Photo / Conrad Schmidtcontinued on page 11