Specialist in Beef Cattle Health & Production
School of Veterinary Medicine, UC Davis
3/10/2013
Position Description:
The focus of this position is beef cattle health, welfare and production across the various
segments of the California beef industry, including cow-calf, stocker/feeder, seedstock, and
feedlot production systems. This position will be 1.0 FTE CE Specialist in Veterinary Medicine
Extension within the Department of Population Health and Reproduction, School of Veterinary
Medicine, UC Davis. The successful candidate is required to have demonstrated expertise in beef
cattle production medicine, with an emphasis in one or more of the following areas: reproductive
management, microbiology and infectious diseases, nutrition, preventive medicine and herd
health. Previous clinical or private practice experience is desirable. Training or familiarity with
beef quality assurance programs, preharvest food safety, residual prevention, and sustainable
production practices is preferred. For example, expertise in developing or extending information
on beneficial management practices that balance the needs for profitable beef cattle production
with environmental constraints such as livestock grazing, poisonous plants, and wildlife
conservation is preferred. DVM or equivalent degree is required, with graduate level training
and/or board certification in an appropriate discipline preferred (e.g., internal medicine,
epidemiology, theriogenology). This extension position will interact closely with the beef cattle
industry and collaborate with I&R and AES faculty, UCCE Specialists and county-based
Advisors who are involved in California beef cattle production, practicing veterinarians, and
individuals involved with sustainable animal agriculture and natural resource management.
Justification:
The various segments of the beef cattle industry in California are geographically distributed
throughout the major regions of our state. The beef industry is collectively one of the largest land
use activities occurring across our agricultural landscape and provides essential economic
opportunities for hundreds of rural communities. These operations range from the concentrated
feedlot industry in Imperial Valley, extensive stocker and feeder operations along the western
foothills and Delta, to cow-calf operations that utilize private and public rangeland located
throughout the intermountain region, central and north coast, foothill and montane pastures
throughout the Sierra Nevada Mountain Range and southern Cascades. The aggregate economic
activity, human and animal resources, and land use associated with beef cattle production
systems (cow-calf, stocker/feeder, feedlot, seedstock) has one of the most extensive geographical
footprints of California’s diversified agricultural industry.
This position is closely aligned with ANR’s strategic initiatives, contributing to Sustainable Food
Systems, Endemic & Invasive Pests and Diseases, and Healthy Families and Communities.
Healthy cattle and profitable herds provide an economic foundation for sustaining rural
communities, which in turn allows for optimum resource management and promotion of
sustainable agriculture practices throughout the state. Our beef industry generates a wide range
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of goods for both domestic and international markets and numerous valuable ecosystem services.
For example, California consumers purchase roughly $13.3 billion of beef products annually,
with total cash receipts collected from the sale of cattle and calves totaling $2.83 billion in 2011.
This economic activity helps support nearly 12,000 beef cattle producers across the state, ranging
from small scale ranchers to large operations with over 1000 cows, yearlings, or feeder cattle.
Lastly, about 2 million head of cattle (fed beef and dairy steers, cull cows, bulls, etc) are
slaughtered annually in California for beef, making beef quality assurance and food safety a
priority concern if these markets and industries are to be maintained.
Private practice veterinarians have historically been a major source of information for beef
producers, but few large or food animal veterinarians remain available in California for outreach
and extension. Exacerbating the problem is the continuing decline in UCCE Livestock Advisors,
with remaining venues of information for producers from sources such as animal product sales
and support staff. A veterinary medical specialist in beef cattle health and production is in a
central position to deliver a wide range of animal health cooperative extension services to the
California beef cattle industry, essential for herd health, animal welfare, and economic viability
of the ranching enterprise. This position will be expected to provide up-to-date extension
information on a wide range of veterinary medical topics, such as calf disease prevention, cow
reproduction, parasite control, mineral nutrition and vaccinology. During the rare, but inevitable
outbreaks of highly contagious diseases, the beef cattle veterinary medical specialist is a primary
source of information and guidance for UCCE Specialists and Advisors, livestock producers, and
commodity groups. Working closely with the California Cattlemen’s Association, livestock
Advisors, practicing veterinarians, and livestock Specialists such as Jim Oltjen, Animal
Management Systems Specialist, Department of Animal Science, UC Davis, this position will
help deliver the Beef Quality Assurance program throughout the state to assist small and large
producers alike provide a safe and wholesome product.
Equally important, this position will compliment ANR’s current efforts to rebuild the critical mass
of UCCE positions that focus on California livestock production and beef cattle health. ANR has recently
hired a Range and Livestock Advisor for the North Coast region of the state. In addition, the leadership of
ANR has committed the resources needed to recruit a Range and Livestock Advisor in Monterey, Santa
Cruz, San Benito Counties, along with a Natural Resource and Livestock Advisor in Madera and Fresno
Counties. To compliment these county-based advisors, ANR will also recruit in 2014 a Rangeland
Specialist at either UC Davis or UC Berkeley. Our position in beef cattle health and production will fill a
critical veterinary medical gap for these new and existing positions.
Given that California ranchers utilize about 20 million acres of private land and 10 million areas
of public rangeland for beef production, this specialist position has an important opportunity to
collaborate within the ANR network and to advise on meaningful sustainable production
practices from a veterinary medical perspective. A beef cattle veterinarian brings a unique
perspective to microbial water quality, such as developing herd health programs that minimize
zoonotic diseases in cattle and calves and thereby reduce the likelihood of human infection.
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Working in close collaboration with human resource, water quality, and natural resource
Specialists and Advisors that complement this veterinary perspective, this beef cattle production
position will be closely aligned with additional ANR strategic initiatives (e.g., Water Quality,
Quantity and Security; Sustainable Natural Ecosystems).
Extension:
Given the statewide distribution of our state’s diverse beef industry (cow-calf, stocker/feeder,
feedlot, seedstock), this position will provide statewide cooperative extension and outreach both
within the ANR network (Advisors, Specialists, AES faculty) and across the state to
organizations such as California Cattlemen’s Association (CCA), National Cattlemen’s Beef
Association, California Farm Bureau Federation, California Veterinary Medical Association,
animal health laboratories, state and federal agencies, individual ranchers, veterinarians, and the
lay public. This position will develop and extend science-based information on how to promote
animal and herd health, improve ranch profitability through disease control, optimize
reproductive efficiency, assist with adoption of sustainable livestock production practices, and
act as a liaison between cattle organizations, the University of California, and state and federal
agencies. Anticipated interactions will include collaboration with Advisors and AES faculty on
research and demonstration projects, helping conduct workshops, seminars and speaking at
livestock field days (SFREC Field Day, Oakdale Livestock Forum, county CCA spring meetings,
etc.), web-based training courses, and publication of lay and peer-reviewed publications. At
CCA’s discretion, this position will continue the long-standing tradition of contributing
educational articles on beef cattle health in CCA’s monthly magazine.
Research:
The specialist will develop an applied research program in important disciplines related to beef
cattle production and veterinary medicine. Areas of possible emphasis could include: infectious
disease control, nutrition, internal medicine, reproduction, food safety, animal welfare, beef
quality assurance, or beneficial management practices consistent with sustainable ranching. The
specialist could assist efforts to develop a vaccine for Enzootic Bovine Abortion given its
importance to the cow-calf industry in this and neighboring states. The exact areas of emphasis
will be based on a thorough evaluation of the needs of the California beef industry, with ample
opportunity to expand and redirect efforts as new issues emerge across California. Publication
outlets can include California Agriculture, ANR peer-reviewed 8000 series, peer-reviewed
veterinary and agricultural journals, and lay beef cattle and producer publications. There are
research resources within the School of Veterinary Medicine and across UC Davis and ANR to
help a new specialist develop an applied research program (UCCE Research and Extension
Centers, CAES-UCD Analytical Lab, California Animal Health and Food Safety Lab, California
State University livestock facilities, etc.).
ANR network:
ANR is deeply vested in the health, economic well-being, and long-term sustainability of the
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California beef industry. Beef production systems have extensive economic and ecological
impacts on the well-being of rural and periurban communities, natural resources, food safety
(produce and animal products) in mixed use systems, and emerging and endemic animal
diseases. There is an extensive network of livestock, natural resource, and watershed Advisors,
UCCE Specialists, AES and I&R faculty that are working on various aspects of California’s beef
cattle industry. This specialist position in Beef Cattle Health & Production is expected to
collaborate and where needed provide leadership on numerous traditional and emerging issues
facing our beef industry: infectious diseases, herd health, environmental concerns, animal
handling, appropriate drug use, managing diseases in organic production systems, export beef
markets, and food safety.
Support:
Veterinary Medicine Extension, located within the Department of Population Health and
Reproduction, School of Veterinary Medicine at UC Davis, will provide administrative support
for grants and contracts, office space, and computing and telephone support. The Department of
Population Health and Reproduction will provide adequate laboratory space for applied research,
currently located in room 1225 first floor (VMEX Staging Area) and on the fourth floor of the
newly constructed VM3B.
Other support:
The Specialist will be able to apply for various intramural grants to support his/her program in
beef cattle health and production. For example, the Center for Food Animal Health, School of
Veterinary Medicine, UC Davis provides competitive seed grants ($20,000/yr) twice a year for
projects related to food animal production through a peer-review process. This mechanism has a
long history of supporting beef cattle research and sustainable agriculture. Similarly, the
specialist will be able to apply for grants from the Russell L. Rustici Rangeland and Cattle
Research Endowment, College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, for research and
extension projects related to beef cattle production and rangeland management. The Western
Institute for Food Safety and Security (WIFSS), which is jointly administered by the School of
Veterinary Medicine and the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, has developed
numerous collaborative relationships with state and federal agencies that provide funding for
research and extension on food safety, water quality and related issues. The specialist will have
the opportunity to collaborate with WIFSS’ scientists and take a leadership role on relevant
aspects of these funded programs. In addition, the specialist can collaborate with the California
Animal Health & Food Safety Laboratory and interact with the Beijing Genome Institute at UC
Davis to conduct high level genomics research on critical microbial pathogens impacting animal
health and food safety.
Location:
This position will be located at UC Davis given the existing cadre of (1) food animal production
and range science faculty, (2) UCCE livestock, natural, and human resource Specialists, and (3)
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AES faculty at the School of Veterinary Medicine and CAES. Furthermore, the location at UC
Davis will allow the specialist to readily interact with state and federal agencies located in
Sacramento that are involved with beef cattle production and related issues (CDFA, USDA,
CDPH, SWRCB, USFS, Cal-EPA, etc).
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