Veterinary schools partner to develop dairy medicine education center

National Report — Several veterinary schools have secured a new grant to develop and implement a National Center of Excellence in Dairy Production Medicine Education for Veterinarians.

Veterinary schools at the University of Minnesota, the University of Illinois, the University of Georgia and Kansas State University all will share the $700,000 grant, awarded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Institute of Food and Agriculture. The "center of excellence" was authorized in the 2008 federal agricultural appropriations bill and will serve veterinary students from the four universities, as well as serve as a template for future centers. The goal of the center will be to address the "ongoing critical need for enhanced education for food animal medicine," according to sources at the University of Minnesota. The program will deliver highly specialized and intensive training rotations for senior veterinary students pursuing a career in dairy medicine. Students from all four universities will live at the center during four, two-week clinical rotations focusing on dairy health management, production systems, food safety and food-system security.