It's been a minute, but I've been busy in my new role at Iowa State Vet Field Services, returning to school as a graduate student, & adjusting to a new hometown.
Last weekend I had the privilege of attending the American Dairy Goat Association (ADGA) - American Association of Small Ruminant Practitioners (AASRP) joint conference in Tulsa, OK. There was a cool mix of producers & small ruminant veterinarians in our continuing education sessions, which covered topics like raw milk, Johne's disease, milk quality, mineral management, & more. I haven't been to many conferences in my career as a veterinarian, but I've been to a lot of dinner lectures & WOW this group of lecturers & topics was the most practical & useful from some of the best speakers I have heard from. Everything I learned can be immediately incorporated into my own practice, shared with my colleagues, & provided some areas for me to do some further research on.
Why is continuing education important for veterinarians?
Continuing education is required for all veterinarians, though the amount required is state-dependent. Besides the legal requirement, it provides us with new information about diseases, treatments, procedures, & products, & also allows for networking & swapping stories with other veterinarians. It ensures that we keep veterinary medicine moving forward by learning new information & skills.
The addition of dairy goat producers into our usually veterinarian-only sessions provided unique perspective & some questions that we are likely to get from our own producers. It also meant that there were a number of trade show booths with goat-themed & goat-related products, like the bar soap & goat-embroidered beanie I brought home with me. It also meant that there was a showcase auction, where some of the foremost dairy goat breeders featured animals for sale, with the high sale being a Nigerian Dwarf buck for $16,200. I also had the opportunity to meet up with one of my friends, Dr. Lauren Christensen, who I hadn't seen in awhile. Overall, we had a great learning-filled weekend.
Next week I'm switching gears a little bit, as VanderPlan Consulting will have a booth set up at the National FFA Convention in Indianapolis. Come visit us at Booth 404 to see all of our offerings geared towards ag educators, school farms, & small producers. We'll have hard copies of all our classroom materials, samples of our how to videos, a sneak peek at our virtual workshops, a few things to raffle off, & an open ear for any comments or suggestions you'd like to share with us. Stop by & say hello if you'll be there too!
Hope to see you there!
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