The research team developed the first integrated interdisciplinary food animal patient-client-veterinary relationship (PCVR) workshop available for use by continuing education providers and extension agencies. It features topics to enhance partnerships between producers and veterinarians with the goal of creating and sustaining the profitability of small and medium-sized ranching operations. The workshop content was created based on the results of a needs assessment conducted by Texas A&M University and Prairie View A&M University. The workshop materials were created under the leadership of an advisory board which consists of veterinarians and producers. The workshop materials are created in a way that a local veterinarian and local producer can teach the workshop to those in their community. Resources on various topics covered in the workshop are available to the public at: https://howdypartner.org/resources/ .
Primary responsibility for the development of the workshop resided with Dr. Nicola Ritter (Co-PI), Instructional Associate Professor in the Department of Veterinary Integrative Biosciences and Director of the Center for Educational Technologies (CET) at TAMU. She led the team that included project faculty with relevant subject matter expertise in commercializing large ruminants, small ruminants, and swine.
- Dr. Molly Gonzales, Co-PI, Research Assistant Professor, Department of Veterinary Integrative Biosciences
- Dr. Glennon Mays, Co-PI, Clinical Associate Professor, Department of Large Animal Clinical Sciences
- Dr. Kevin Washburn, Co-PI, Professor, Department of Large Animal Clinical Sciences
- Dr. Brandon Dominguez, Co-PI, Clinical Associate Professor, Department of Large Animal Clinical Sciences
- Dr. Dan Posey, Co-PI, Professor, West Texas A&M University
- Dr. Dee Griffin, Co-PI, Professor, West Texas A&M University
The project team delivered the workshop through Waller County Farmers’ & Ranchers’ Cooperative, and 100 Ranchers Inc. Primary responsibility for delivering the workshop within Waller County Farmers’ & Ranchers’ Cooperative resided with Drs. Milton Daley (Co-PI), Prairie View A&M University. Primary responsibility for delivering the workshop within 100 Ranchers, Inc. resided with Ms. Kim Ratcliff (advisory board member).
Thirteen producers from Waller, Lavaca, and Harris counties attended the Prairie View A&M workshop, while 19 producers from Central Texas counties attended the workshop in Oakwood, TX. Once the workshop ended, the producers and veterinarians work begins. Next, producers and veterinarians will establish a formal PCVR. This will open opportunities for veterinarians to have distance medical care, a critical component to animal welfare when ranches are over an hour away from the closest large animal/food animal veterinarian. Through this training program producers also received vaccines from Merck and nutrition vouchers from Carhill Animal Nutrition.
The next phase of this training program will be launched through the eXtension Foundation to share the workshop materials on eXtension.org, which is the United States Cooperative Extension System online resource sharing platform.
This material is based upon work supported by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, under Agreement No. AP20VSCEAH00C027. Any opinions, findings, conclusion, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the view of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
CREATIVE TEAM
Bette Bittner, Instructional Designer
Suzanne Kabat, Website and Graphic Design
Vince Chihak, Multimedia Producer
Crystal Schibler, Website Developer
Cory Schibler, Technical Support
Michelle Wiederhold, Project Manager
RESEARCH TEAM
Dr. Nicola L. Ritter, MEd, PhD (Principal Investigator)
Dr. Milton Daley, PhD
Dr. Glennon Mays, DVM
Dr. Molly Gonzales, MEd ,EdD
Angelica Frazier
Vanessa Manohar
ADVISORY BOARD MEMBERS
Ms. Kimberly Ratcliff, 100 Ranchers, Inc.
Dr. Dan Posey, West Texas A&M University
Dr. Joe Mask, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension
Ms. Ashley Pellerin, Prairie View A&M University Cooperative Extension Program
Dr. Dee Griffin, West Texas A&M University
Dr. Glennon Mays, Texas A&M University (Ex-officio)
Dr. Milton Daley, Prairie View A&M University (Ex-officio)
Dr. Nicola L. Ritter, Texas A&M University (Ex-officio)
About Research at the Center for Educational Technologies: At the forefront of education, the CET’s mission is to advance education by developing, implementing and evaluating innovative educational tools and resources. Research conducted at the CET represented annual expenditures of more than $1 million in fiscal year 2022. The CET continues to serve our state, nation, and world through various research, teaching, and entrepreneurial endeavors – all of which are centered on providing engaging and rigorous online learning resources.