This year’s recipient of the Boehringer Ingelheim WCABP Veterinarian of the Year award is Dr. Calvin Booker of Okotoks, AB.

Dr. Calvin Booker of Okotoks, Alberta is the recipient of the 2023 Veterinarian of the Year Award presented by the Western Canadian Association of Bovine Practitioners (WCABP) and Boehringer Ingelheim Canada. He is recognized for his significant impact on feedlot veterinary medicine, groundbreaking research as an epidemiologist and several innovations that have transformed the cattle industry.

The Boehringer Ingelheim WCABP Veterinarian of the Year Award honours a veterinarian for being a leader in advancing bovine health, and for demonstrating a strong commitment to veterinary practice, the cattle industry and the veterinary profession, specifically in Western Canada. Dr. Booker was announced as the winner at the WCABP annual conference in Saskatoon on Jan. 20, 2023.

“On behalf of the WCABP, I congratulate Dr. Calvin Booker on being honoured as the 2023 WCABP Veterinarian of the Year,” said Dr. Tim Nickel, President, WCABP.  “Dr. Booker’s contributions to feedlot medicine and the cattle industry, as a whole, are immeasurable.

“He not only has transformed the industry with many science-based innovations, but he also provided leadership by serving on many boards and committees including as president of the American Association of Bovine Practitioners. He is a very deserving recipient of the WCABP Veterinarian of the Year.”

Dr. Booker is the General Manager, Services and Research with Feedlot Health Management Services, a Division of TELUS Agriculture Solutions Inc., with responsibilities that include heading up research and development. He is also Adjunct Professor in the Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences and VERO at Texas A&M University.

In addition, Dr. Booker is a respected innovator who was instrumental in the development of several ground-breaking concepts that revolutionized the delivery of feedlot veterinary services. Some of his significant accomplishments include the development and introduction of a data recording system for day-to-day feedlot operations and the use of applied epidemiology to control disease in feedlot operations. Dr. Booker is named on four patents for his innovative work in developing a method and system for monitoring animals.

"The WCABP is comprised of veterinarians with a broad array of talents and interests in bovine practice and cattle production. I am proud to be a member of this organization and receiving this award is truly an honour,” said Dr. Booker. “I am humbled by the recognition. I thank WCABP for the award and Boehringer Ingelheim for sponsoring it."

Dr. Booker has made extraordinary contributions to bovine health through his research projects, including identifying and documenting Histophilus somni as a major disease, developing prevention and treatment regimes for the control of undifferentiated fever/bovine respiratory disease in feedlot production and defining the role of bovine viral diarrhea virus in feedlot disease.

Derek Groff, Business Unit Director (Livestock) with Boehringer Ingelheim Animal Health Canada, explained the Boehringer Ingelheim WCABP Veterinarian of the Year Award recognizes exceptional leaders who are making significant contributions to the cattle industry in Western Canada while also demonstrating a strong commitment to the veterinary profession.

“Congratulations to Dr. Booker for being recognized as the 2023 WCABP Veterinarian of the Year,” Groff said. “His pioneering work as a veterinarian, epidemiologist, researcher and innovator have led to advancements in bovine health and the delivery of veterinary services in feedlots in Canada and around the world”

Groff thanked the WCABP for its work to seek nominations and select the recipient of the award.