AGRICLUTURE Looking Back and Looking Forward

OWNERS L-R Dr. Carol Ross, Dr. Jeremy Ross

Looking Back and Looking Forward Prairie Animal Health Centre Celebrates a Milestone

By Brook Thalgott Photos Images by Jon Gillies

For Drs. Carol and Jeremy Ross— both veterinarians—2020 is a remarkable year. It’s been fifteen years since they brought together two veterinary practices into one, forming what the southeast knows as Prairie Animal Health Centre.

The journey began with a love of animals, and a family history filled with veterinarians for both Carol and Jeremy. Jeremy grew up in southeast Saskatchewan and returned to his home to practice when he finished his studies. In 2002, he joined Hoium Veterinary Services with Dr. Gary Hoium, and Carol joined the practice a year later. It wasn’t long before Jeremy and Carol saw the need for another veterinary clinic in the Estevan area, and they formed Ross Veterinary Services in 2003. Two years later, the doctors purchased Dr. Hoium’s practice and became Prairie Animal Health Centre (PAHC). “Gary is still a part of PAHC, and we’re forever grateful for his guidance over the years,” says Carol.

Since 2005, the PAHC team may have grown, but their commitment to their patients remains the same. “Being a mixed animal veterinarian has many rewards and challenges,” says Carol. “The greatest gift we receive is seeing a patient’s life being directly impacted by the care given by our team.” PAHC has been so blessed to be part of the community, with so many patients and clients making a lasting impact on their lives and careers. “Over the years we have had many amazing colleagues work with us, some having to move on and a handful of treasured employees who have been with us from the beginning,” says Jeremy. “Our team is made up of the most compassionate, hardworking people. We look forward to our future and are proud of our past.”

Today, Prairie Animal Health Centre is a full-service animal hospital that handles emergency and non-urgent medical, surgical and dental issues for pets and large animals. No matter what care your animal needs, you can be assured they are in caring, compassionate, competent hands. The Prairie Animal Health Centre

PAHC WEYBURN TEAM BACK ROW L-R Janelle, Julie, Crystal, Dr. Andrea Clarke, Lisa, Kristin, Karla, Ticia FRONT ROW L-R Dr. Jeremy Ross, Dr. Carol Ross

RVTS L-R Julie, Karla, Lisa, Janelle, Kristin

Cats & Dogs • Wellness and sick pet exams • Vaccinations • Surgery • Diagnostic Services including Radiographs and Ultrasound • Acupuncture (Estevan) • Herbal Medicine (Estevan)

Cattle & Horses: • Pregnancy Examinations • Semen Evaluations • Calving Emergencies • Herd Health Protocols • Horse Floats • Vaccine programs

clinics also provide care beyond your average rural practice. Your pet can have dental care, extensive orthopedic surgery, and even acupuncture and herbal medicine. No matter the care you seek from Prairie Animal Health Centre, it comes with their four core values: compassion, teamwork, professionalism and excellence. The past fifteen years have shown their dedication to their work and their patients, and they are looking forward to many more years of doing the same—quality veterinary care for every animal and their owners.

AGRICULTURE Prairie Animal Health Centre 416 7 St W Weyburn 306.842.7677 prairieanimalhealthweyburn.com

Prairie Animal Health Centre 108 Breeze St, Highway 39 W Estevan 306.634.7123 prairieanimalhealthcentre.com

Souris Valley Veterinary Services Prairie Animal Health Centre Carnduff 202 2nd St E Carnduff, SK 306.482.5252

Abundance is Everywhere

Locavores are Changing Food for Everyone

By Brook Thalgott

We’re hearing it all the time—eat locally-grown, in-season foods. Grocery stores are clamoring to stock their shelves with local goodness, and more of us are looking around to support growers at farmers markets around the province. Lucky for us, we live in one of the best places in the world to become a locavore. Saskatchewan is one of the world’s most prolific agricultural producers, giving the world everything from wheat to lentils, chickpeas to oats, quinoa to wild rice—not to mention beef, berries, jams, oils and so much more.

Here’s just some of what you can find out your back door.

Bandits Distilling – Weyburn

Micro-distilleries are popping up all over and Weyburn is no exception. Bandits Distilling creates varieties of moonshine, vodka and gin with locally grown grain, handcrafted and bottled right here.

Box H Farm – Gladmar

Box H Farm is a family-run operation raising grass-fed beef, pastured pork and honey that is sold directly to customers through retailers, farmers markets and pick-up locations.

Daybreak Organic Mill – North Portal

Daybreak Mill has been around for decades, providing whole and milled grains to customers across Canada through retailers and online. Always 100 per cent certified organic, Daybreak Mill offers everything from all-purpose flour to granola to pancake mix—all locally grown.

Keller's Bee Happy Honey – Francis

Owned and operated near Francis, the Keller family produces honey and honey-related products sold directly to customers, through local markets and via retailers in Saskatchewan.

Three Farmers – Midale

Likely one of the most well-known Saskatchewan food producers, sisters Elysia and Natasha Vandenhurk wowed Dragon’s Den with their Saskatchewan-grown Camelina Oil, Pea Pops and Roasted Chickpea Snacks that are now found in major retailers across the country and online.

Looking to Expand Your Agriculture Venture?

If you’re a producer looking to expand your operation to capitalize on the growing locavore trend, the time has never been better. Jenn Sharp, a Saskatchewanbased writer and consultant is helping producers do just that. Her Happy Farmer: How to Make $ Farming the Way You Want program can help Saskatchewan’s farmers access this growing, lucrative market and bring the bounty to hungry consumers looking to reshape their food choices. Find Jenn on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter at @flatoutfoodsk.

Where to Buy Local

Buying locally grown food has never been easier. Major food retailers like Co-op carry more and more local foods all the time.

These other Weyburn businesses carry a variety of local food products:

Old Fashion Foods, Main Street The General Store, Main Street Harvest Pie Company at the WorKin Shop and the Open Air Market.

Finally, you can always find local at your favourite farmers market. Markets big and small are found just about everywhere and are always chock full of local goodness.

EXPERT ADVICE EXPERT ADVICE A E

VACCINES AREN’T JUST NEEDLES ANYMORE

In animal health, our knowledge of how to vaccinate animals and herds to achieve maximum immune response and therefore protection against disease is constantly evolving. Timing, delivery methods, animal factors, and vaccine components and formulation are all important considerations depending on the disease being targeted.

Traditionally, our delivery method for vaccines has been via injection. Injectable vaccines stimulate a whole body immune response, resulting in antibody production in the blood to fight disease. Injectable vaccines provide amazing protection for some diseases, including rabies in all species and blackleg (Clostridial disease) in cattle.

Alternately, vaccines can be delivered locally to produce a local immune response. In this case the antibodies protect at the site of infection — such as in the respiratory tract or in the gut. Examples of vaccines given this way are the kennel cough vaccine for dogs, the flu vaccine for horses, and most recently the pneumonia vaccine for cattle.

Every species has their weakness, and for cattle it’s their lungs. While it may be no secret to most that the bovine is not an athlete (disregarding some LonghornCorrientes, known to my neighbors as athletes of high jump, distance running and the limbo), few understand the science of why. Cattle are designed and selected for peaceful grazing, not athleticism. Their lungs are relatively small (compared to the horse), their clearance defenses are weak (compared to the dog), and they are constantly compressed by their highly-evolved and specialized stomach (a superpower in one sense, and a lead balloon in another). Add to these anatomical weaknesses the well-adapted and potent bugs they have to fight: viruses like infectious bovine rhinotracheitis (IBR), bovine respiratory syncytial virus (BRSV), parainfluenza (PI3), and bacteria like Mannheimia hemolytica and Histophilus somnus. Not only hard to spell and pronounce but each comes with virulence factors to capitalize on the bovine weakness. the underlying viral “spark” that can set off the wildfire of pneumonia caused by the bacterial pathogens. Pretty cool, if you ask me!

For help with designing your preventative herd health plan, contact our knowledgeable veterinarians at Prairie Animal Health Centre in Estevan, Weyburn or Carnduff.

Another issue to dance around is maternal immunity. Passed from the cow to the calf in the colostrum, it gives the calf a head start against the pathogens in their environment. It also, unfortunately, initially interferes with that calf’s ability to respond to an injectable vaccine.

Enter the new intranasal vaccines. As a practicing veterinarian and passionate supporter of the cattle industry, I am excited by the research I’ve seen on INFORCE, specifically. Data shows the benefit to long-term health outcomes such as feedlot performance, milk production and longevity in the herd, all associated with a reduction in respiratory disease in calves. The intranasal vaccine is flexible enough to deliver at birth (in a herd with pneumonia in really young calves) without worrying about maternal antibody interference, to using on arrival at the feedlot for high-risk green calves (without worry about a “hot” vaccine reaction). Also, by targeting IBR, we get

Dr. Carol Ross

Prairie Animal Health Centre 416 7 St NW Weyburn 306.842.7677 www.prairieanimalhealthweyburn.com

108 Breeze St, Highway 39 W. Estevan 306.634.7123 www.prairieanimalhealthcentre.com

Souris Valley Veterinary Services Prairie Animal Health Centre Carnduff 202 2nd St E Carnduff, SK 306.482.5252