Lincoln Memorial University-Richard A Gillespie College of Veterinary Medicine (LMU-CVM) has agreed to partner with the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (VDACS) in launching additional laboratory service for Southwest Virginia livestock producers.
A formal agreement signing event took place at the DeBusk Veterinary Teaching Center (DVTC) in Ewing, Virginia, on February 27. The LMU-CVM Dean Stacy Anderson, DVM, PhD, DACVS-LA, and VDACS Commissioner Joseph Guthrie were joined by Tyler Lester (Legislative Director to State Senator Todd Pillion), Christopher “Kit” Kelly (LMU-CVM DVTC Medical Director), Ann Slemp (President of the Lee County Farm Bureau), Emily Edmondson (Board of Directors, District 1, VA Farm Bureau & Cattle Producer), David “Wayne” Campbell (President of the Virginia Cattlemen's Association & Cattle Producer), and Cody Mumpower (Deputy District Director for U.S. Representative Morgan Griffith).
This partnership enables LMU-CVM veterinarians to perform on-farm necropsies on deceased livestock and poultry and submit tissue samples to the VDACS’ Regional Animal Health Laboratory (RAHL) in Wytheville for testing. This new service is in addition to the necropsy and testing that is already performed at the Wytheville RAHL. Samples may also be tested at the other VDACS’ RAHLs in Lynchburg, Warrenton, and Harrisonburg.
“This partnership provides a new low-cost field necropsy option to ensure producers and veterinarians in the western most portion of Virginia have access to animal health diagnostics. I would like to thank Dr. Stacy Anderson and everyone at LMU-CVM for their collaboration on this very important initiative,” said Guthrie. “During the recent laboratory listening sessions, we heard the needs of producers very clearly. This alliance and additional service strengthens the VDACS lab system and demonstrates our focus on the need for food animal necropsies in Southwest Virginia.”
Today’s announcement provides livestock farmers with operations in, but not limited to, Lee, Scott, Wise, Dickenson, Buchanan, Russell, and Washington counties an additional option for disease surveillance and support for owner herd health plans. While the Wytheville RAHL will continue to perform necropsies, the new service enables livestock producers to eliminate the time and transportation cost of traveling to Wytheville.
“In addition to serving the local community, this partnership expands the classroom experience by providing our veterinary medicine students with valuable field experience,” Anderson said. “Partnerships such as this help to ensure the work force readiness of our veterinary graduates.”
Livestock producers may be charged by LMU-CVM for field service. The fee for necropsy sample testing and reporting is listed in the VDACS Office of Laboratory Services Test Fee Schedule. Livestock field necropsies are provided with the same level of quality and reporting timeliness as necropsies performed in the laboratory.
Lincoln Memorial University (LMU) is a values-based learning community dedicated to providing educational experiences in the liberal arts and professional studies. The LMU-Richard A. Gillespie College of Veterinary Medicine is located on LMU’s main campus in Harrogate, Tennessee, with additional academic facilities in nearby Lee County, Virginia. LMU-CVM is an integral part of the University’s medical programs and provides real-world, community-based education in a collaborative learning environment. For more information about LMU-CVM, call 1.800.325.0900, ext. 6600 or visit us online at vetmed.LMUnet.edu.
