Our first event for the year was a Welcome Back BBQ for Bovine Club members held on October 2. The Club has also coordinated a Firearms Safety Course allowing members to obtain their purchasing and acquisition license. We are hoping to arrange another humane euthanasia lab to be held later this fall. New for the Club this fall has been the initiation of livestock judging during lunch hour. To judge, we use pictures of animals and then discuss how we would place the class. There has been a wide range of students in attendance from those who have never judged before to those who have extensive experience in competitive judging. So far we have only judged beef heifers, but plan on also judging bulls, steers, and dairy cattle. The website we use for pictures also gives us the opportunity to move on to sheep, pigs, or horses.

On October 4, we joined up with the WCVM Animal Welfare Club and were able to bring Dylan Biggs to the school for a one-day seminar on low stress cattle handling. The morning was spent in the classroom with Dylan going over basic principles and the afternoon was spent at Goodale Farm with hands on experience and tips from Dylan. The Club would like to thank the WCABP for their sponsorship of the event which made bringing Dylan Biggs to the school a reality and affordable for those students who wanted to attend.

The Club has planned a four-day field trip to Alberta from November 7-11. Twenty-five students have signed up for the trip where they will be taking part in interactive tours and lectures regarding various aspects of feedlot health. Thank you to Dr. Ted Clark of Antech Diagnostics, Drs. Mike Jelinski and Craig Dorin of Veterinary Agri-Health Services and Cattleland Feedyards for hosting our Club. In addition, one day of the trip has been dedicated to dairy farm tours and lectures on dairy herd health and management systems in use and is being hosted by Drs. Melodie Chan and Egan Brockhoff of Veterinary Dairy Health Services, Olds, AB. The WCABP has also sponsored this aspect of our Club and we would like to thank them for their support.

We are looking forward to attending the WCABP Conference in January as it is back in Saskatoon making attendance for the students quite a bit easier. We are currently looking for student paper submissions to be presented at the Conference allowing the student body to be active participants in the Conference.

Considering that the Bovine Club is one of the most active clubs at the WCVM, it shows that there is a definite interest in bovine practice at this College. We appreciate the support given to us by the WCABP, which allows us to pursue and promote this interest. We are also very grateful for the support shown to us by all the speakers willing to share their knowledge and those that assist in making the Club a worthwhile and enjoyable experience for all the members.

If you have any ideas, suggestions, or comments for the WCVM Bovine Club, feel free to contact me at kdw329@mail.usask.ca

The Ray Butler Seeing Practice Bursary is awarded annually to three first-year veterinary students, in hopes of encouraging these students to consider a career in bovine practice. The bursaries are $1,000 each, with the purpose of supporting a visit of not less than twelve days in a bovine (dairy and/or beef) practice.  This visit must be completed prior to second year registration.

WCABP welcomes your financial support to enable us to provide these Bursaries to deserving students. We are also looking for practitioners who are interested in serving as hosts for these student visits.  Please call the WCABP office to make your donation or offer to host.