Winter Conference
9 a.m. – 4 p.m.
Calling all mixed-animal practitioners
Topics included: Backyard poultry, small ruminant Johne’s disease, honeybee management, small ruminant parasites, and beef cattle topics.
Location: Hampton Inn By Hilton Spokane Airport, 2010 S. Assembly Road, Spokane, Washington
Fee: $150. This program is approved for 6 hours of continuing education credit.
Schedule
- 9 – 10 a.m. – Vaccination protocols for reproductive success in beef females. A review and discussion of the current vaccination protocols and their effects on reproductive success of beef cows and heifers.
Vitor Mercadante, Virginia Tech, Beef Extension
- 10 – 11 a.m. – Focusing on reproductive efficiency for cow-calf systems. Working with cow-calf producers to improve reproductive success and increase adoption of reproductive technologies.
Vitor Mercadante, Virginia Tech, Beef Extension
Originally from Brazil, Vitor R. G. Mercadante comes from a family with a strong agricultural history. Dr. Mercadante has a DVM from São Paulo State University and a MS and PhD degrees from the University of Florida, with an emphasis in strategies to improve fertility and reproductive efficiency of cattle. He joined Virginia Tech in the spring of 2016 and is currently an associate professor and extension specialist of Beef Production Systems Management in the School of Animal Sciences. He also holds an appointment as an associate professor in the VA-MD College of Veterinary Medicine, Large Animal Clinical Sciences. His research and extension program focus on bovine reproductive physiology, bio-technologies, and management strategies to improve reproductive efficiency.
- 11 – 11:15 a.m. – BREAK
- 11:15 a.m. – 12:15 p.m. – Backyard Poultry Respiratory Diseases and Management Strategies. A review of poultry respiratory diseases with insights on available diagnostics and management of backyard flocks with respiratory illness.
Jonathan Elissa, WSU’s Washington Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory (WADDL)
- 12:15 – 12:45 p.m. – LUNCH
- 12:45 – 1:15 p.m. – Honeybee management and the role of veterinarians in beekeeping. This lecture will cover the basics of honeybee development, their castes, division of labor, colony structure, and colony management. This background information will prepare veterinarians for consults from beekeepers.
Ryan Kuesel, WSU Honey Bees + Pollinators
Ryan is originally from Holland, Michigan. He completed his BS in ecology and evolution at the University of Michigan and earned his PhD at the University of Kentucky in the Gonthier lab studying spotted-wing drosophila in blueberry, raspberry, and blackberry crops. As a postdoctoral researcher at WSU, Ryan has been working with the vet school’s HoneyBee Club to educate future veterinarians about honeybees. He also partners with commercial apiaries to inspect their hives for signs of disease and to monitor their growth. Ryan’s current major project aims to better understand European foulbrood.
- 1:45 – 2:45 p.m. – Small Ruminant Parasites. Laura Williams, WSU’s Washington Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory (WADDL).
- 2:45 – 3 p.m. – BREAK
- 3 – 4 p.m. – Unmasking Johne’s Disease: Illuminating Diagnostic Strategies and Trends for Small Ruminant Stakeholders. Johne’s disease (Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis; MAP) is an underdiagnosed but clinically important disease affecting domestic goat and sheep herds worldwide. Determining a diagnostic testing strategy has proved challenging for small ruminant producers and veterinarians due to infrequent/intermittent shedding, subtlety of clinical signs, and lack of producer awareness. To understand Johne’s diagnostic trends in small ruminants, we have evaluated over 10 years’ worth of submissions to the Washington Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory (WADDL) and compared different testing modalities. This presentation will provide insight into the results from this study and use case presentations to discuss diagnostic strategies.
Craig McConnel, WSU Veterinary Medicine Extension.
Questions about the Fall Veterinary CE event?
Contact us via email or at 509-335-1198, or contact program coordinator Katy Heaton by email or at 509-335-8221.