StemCell Therapy

Rudi Keller @CDTCivilWar

The University of Missouris College of Veterinary Medicine reversed a planned budget cut after pressure from agriculture interests and veterinarians made it unlikely the move would save any money.

Under President Mun Chois spring directive to find savings and do so without using an across-the-board approach, the college needed to find $2.4 million in savings, former Dean Neil Olson wrote in a memo distributed June 6 to the colleges faculty. To meet that goal, Olson wrote that the college would cut back on its animal reproductive services by eliminating the Theriogenology Service and curtailing companion animal, small ruminant and embryo transfer reproductive services in 2019.

The Missouri Cattlemens Association and the Missouri Veterinary Medicine Association objected strongly to the decision. While training in theriogenology would continue, students would have less hands-on experience if the cut stood, said Mike Deering, executive vice president of the cattlemens association.

They would no longer train veterinarians to specialize in reproduction of our livestock, when that is the bread and butter in our state, Deering said.

Olson left his job on Tuesday. The cattlemens association reported that the cut had been reversed by interim Dean Carolyn Henry in its Friday newsletter. Henry was traveling Friday afternoon and could not be reached.

The industry advocates asking for the cut to be reconsidered made good points, said Tracey Berry, spokeswoman for the college. The cut threatened to disrupt giving to the school, she said.

Her review of the budget situation and the impact of cutting these program led her to believe the net income loss from stakeholders was not going to save us any money in 2019 or beyond, Berry said. That is why she put the brakes on that decision.

The reversal brought praise for Henry in the newsletter.

With only one day on the job as the interim dean, Carolyn Henry recognized the need to keep the program intact and quickly solved a problem, association President Butch Meier said in the newsletter. This is the kind of leadership our future veterinarians deserve.

Missouri is the nations sixth-largest producer of cattle and calves and the seventh largest producer of hogs and pigs, Olsons memo states.

Theriogenology helps animal producers improve strains and maintain genetic purity, Deering said. Embryo transfer is an especially important skill because it allows producers of seed stocks to expand production by placing an embryo from one breed into a female of another. The female becomes a living incubator and the supply of high-quality animals is increased, Deering said.

There are specialists but every single large animal veterinarian has to have some reproduction training, especially on the cow-calf side, Deering said.

Other groups that joined in the effort to reverse the cut included the American Kennel Club and hog producers, Deering said.

Henry was concerned about the industry objections as she reconsidered the cut, Berry said.

It is fair to say our interim dean is supportive of theriogenology, she said. It is an area where we can expand and grow.

The cuts werent intended to save money until 2019, Berry said. By committing to keep the services, Henry can look for ways to collaborate with animal science and biological science research, she said.

It is an area of potential revenue growth, she said.

rkeller@columbiatribune.com

573-815-1709

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University of Missouri reverses cut to veterinary services - Columbia Daily Tribune

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