Heimerl Farms, LTD., OH

Description of Elective Experience: 

The student will be actively involved on the day to day work of a swine production medicine veterinarian.  He/She will be with the staff veterinarian overseeing the sow units and following those pigs the entire way to market weight visiting nurseries and finishers.  They will be exposed to interactions with contract growers, sow unit staff, and production team members, to better help their communication and problem solving skills.  Many times issues in food animal production medicine is management based and we will work through problems of nutrition and ventilation and how this greatly impacts swine health.  Vaccination protocols are a large focus area and we must review these often for the best health program.  Due to the new FDA guidelines around antibiotic usage he/she will be involved in reviewing records on how this affects the farm and alternatives to help decrease usage.  

Institutional and Educational Resources - staffing, equipment, etc.: 

He/she will have text book resources to help with disease recognition and access to the on-farm staff veterinarian throughout the experience.

Student Responsibilities - what is expected of students in terms of hours, days of the week, shadowing or actual support?: 

The student will be with the veterinarian and will work 5 days a week about 8-9 hours per day.  They will be able to interact and ask questions.  

Student Housing (include costs, amenities, pet friendly, contact info if different from elective contact info): 

Upon request

Supervisor: 
Terri Specht, DVM
Contact email: 
Address: 
3891 Mink Street
Johnstown, OH 43031
United States
Is student housing available?: 
Yes
Hours of supervision by a licensed veterinarian per week: 
40-45