AASV News

AASV engages FFA students at national convention

Once again, AASV took advantage of the opportunity to promote the swine veterinary profession to the throng of agriculture-focused high school and college students and their instructors at the 92nd National FFA Convention and Expo in Indianapolis, Indiana. The 2019 event marked the twelfth year of AASV’s participation in the convention, which hosted more than 70,000 attendees from across the country.

The National FFA organization describes itself as “the premier youth organization dedicated to preparing members for leadership and careers in the science, business and technology of agriculture.”(convention.ffa.org/about/) The fact that several AASV officers, district directors, and committee leaders participated in FFA during their youth appears to support this claim. The AASV Student Recruitment Committee directs the effort to interact with this massive gathering of students from which future swine veterinarians are likely to arise.

Drs Todd Wolff, Brad Schmitt, and Tom Burkgren represented the association during the 3-day event, visiting with students and instructors about what it is like and what it takes to be a swine veterinarian. They shared posters and information about swine diseases, biosecurity, and production practices, and passed out copies of AASV’s swine career brochure to students interested in pursuing a career in veterinary medicine. For the ag educators in the crowd, they offered AASV’s advisor packet of educational resources to use in the classroom.

It may be a few years before these efforts result in new AASV members, but it is clear that AASV has a “vision for the future.”

A FFA student at the AASV booth with Dr. Schmitt
FFA students at AASV table with Dr. Burkgren
Crowd of FFA students

Photos courtesy of Sue Kimpston

AASV committee leaders and Board of Directors meet

The Board of Directors of the American Association of Swine Veterinarians met in West Des Moines, Iowa on October 2, 2019 following a meeting of Committee Chairs on October 1. Highlights of the meetings include:

  • A new e-Letter feature, “Get to Know your AASV Leadership,” will help introduce you to AASV district directors and officers.
  • It is important for AASV members to also hold American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) membership to ensure that AASV continues to qualify for voting representation as an allied veterinary organization in the AVMA House of Delegates.
  • The AASV will conduct a salary survey in 2020.
  • The AASV membership directory will no longer be printed but will remain up to date on the AASV website at www.aasv.org/members/only/directory.php.
  • The Transboundary and Emerging Diseases Committee developed a document, Establishing Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae herd status classification criteria for breeding herds. The objective of this document is to propose an updated Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae breeding herd status classification system that includes a set of diagnostic guidelines to help determine the exposure and shedding status of herds. The document can be found on the AASV website at www.aasv.org/members/only/committee/CTED.php.
  • The Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome (PRRS) Task Force revised the PRRS herd classification document, which will be posted online at a later date.
  • The Board approved an increase in 2020 membership dues from $235 to $255.
  • Program Planning Chair Dr Jeff Harker announced the 2020 annual meeting will be held in Atlanta, Georgia and feature Dr Betsy Charles as a motivational speaker.
  • The Student Recruitment Committee developed PowerPoint slides describing the benefits of AASV student membership. These slides can be found on the Student Recruitment Committee page at www.aasv.org/members/only/committee/StudentRecruitmentCommittee.php and used in conjunction with any presentation.

Read the complete minutes of the Board meeting on the AASV website at www.aasv.org/aasv/board.htm.

AASV forms new committee for early career veterinarians

The AASV Board of Directors established an Early Career Committee to strengthen the value of AASV membership for early career swine veterinarians, assess the needs of early career veterinarians, identify resources needed by those veterinarians, guide AASV leadership and staff in developing resources, and develop future AASV leaders. The Early Career Committee will represent early career swine veterinarians less than 10 years post veterinary graduation.

Proposed Committee Mission Statement:

To strengthen the value of AASV membership for early career veterinarians (less than 10 years post veterinary graduation) by assessing their needs, identifying resources, and guiding AASV leadership and staff to develop those resources that will assist AASV members early in their careers.

The Early Career Committee will meet on Saturday morning, March 7, in Atlanta, Georgia, during the AASV annual meeting.

Interested in joining the committee? Contact Dr Abbey Canon, Director of Communications, at canon@aasv.org.

AASV updates committee guidelines

The AASV Board of Directors approved the updated AASV committee guidelines, which now include more descriptive membership categories and a conflict of interest statement. The updated committee guidelines can be found on the AASV committee webpage at www.aasv.org/aasv/committee.php.