Feds Appoint New Chief Veterinary Officer

Jan 08, 2014

By Amanda Brodhagen, Farms.com

The Canadian government named a new chief veterinary officer who will lead the country’s animal and veterinary public health activities.

Dr. Harpeet S. Kochhar was announced Tuesday as Canada’s new chief veterinary officer, replacing Dr. Ian Alexandar, who will now serve in a new post as the Executive Director of Animal Health Science for the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA).

Kochhar has been with the CFIA since 2002 in various capacities, including senior Animal Biotechnology Policy Specialist and having worked in the CFIA’s Science Branch. He is a veterinarian by trade, and holds a Master’s degree in Veterinary Science and a PhD in biotechnology.

Prior to 2002, Kochhar worked as a veterinarian in private practice and was a professor at the University of Guelph’s Veterinary College. He also has experience working internationally with the World Organization for Animal Health and the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization.

Canada’s chief veterinary officer plays a pivotal role in providing advice to the government on animal and veterinary public health issues, which includes managing disease threats.

Video: A chain harrow is a game changer

Utilizing a rotational grazing method on our farmstead with our sheep helps to let the pasture/paddocks rest. We also just invested in a chain harrow to allow us to drag the paddocks our sheep just left to break up and spread their manure around, dethatch thicker grass areas, and to rough up bare dirt areas to all for a better seed to soil contact if we overseed that paddock. This was our first time really using the chain harrow besides initially testing it out. We are very impressed with the work it did and how and area that was majority dirt, could be roughed up before reseeding.

Did you know we also operate a small business on the homestead. We make homemade, handcrafted soaps, shampoo bars, hair and beard products in addition to offering our pasture raised pork, lamb, and 100% raw honey. You can find out more about our products and ingredients by visiting our website at www.mimiandpoppysplace.com. There you can shop our products and sign up for our monthly newsletter that highlights a soap or ingredient, gives monthly updates about the homestead, and also lists the markets, festivals, and events we’ll be attending that month.