Western College of Veterinary Medicine Pharmhouse Summer Student Swine Experience Program Offers Hands on Experience

Oct 10, 2022

A veterinarian with Prairie Livestock Veterinarians in Red Deer says her practice's participation in the Western College of Veterinary Medicine Pharmhouse Summer Student Swine Experience Program has proved to be extremely rewarding.

The Western College of Veterinary Medicine Pharmhouse Summer Student Swine Experience Program, which is now moving into its third year, provides first and second year veterinary students hands-on summer work experience while exposing them to pigs, to the swine industry and to the swine veterinary profession with the hope of increasing recruitment of swine veterinarians in Canada.

Dr. Jessica Law, a veterinarian with Prairie Livestock Veterinarians in Red Deer, says her practice has been part of the program from the start.

Clip-Dr. Jessica Law-Prairie Livestock Veterinarians:

I think we have students with us around half the year, whether through internships or summer placements, and so having a source of funding and an ability to create an actual structured program that involves a little bit more practical on farm aspects as well as possibly research as well as the veterinary side was really exciting to me as well as some opportunity for follow up in subsequent years for that student.

Through these two years it's been really exciting to see the students coming into WCVM and their excitement around learning more about pigs or learning about pigs, depending on their experience level.

I really enjoy the mentorship opportunity as well as the ability to work with the next generation of veterinarians. Students are a valuable piece of practice, just to give a fresh perspective and that's actually helped us in terms of managing our protocols and tailoring things to the farm to maker things work better so we can work better with our producers.

It's had a lot of benefits on a number of different levels and being able to promote a career path in production animal medicine is also very important.

Dr. Law commends Farmhouse Consulting and its CEO Bill Maxwell for providing the funding for the program.

Source : Farmscape.ca

Video: What Does 20 MILLION Hogs a Year Look Like?

?? The Multi-Plant System Processing 20 Million Hogs Annually in the Midwest JBS USA operates multiple large-scale pork processing facilities across the Midwest, including major plants in Iowa, Minnesota, and Indiana. Combined, these facilities have the capacity to process approximately 20 million hogs annually.

Each plant operates high-speed automated slaughter systems capable of processing up to 20,000 head per day, followed by fabrication lines that break carcasses into primals, sub-primals, and case-ready retail products.

Hog procurement is coordinated through electronic marketing platforms that connect regional contract finishing operations and independent producers to plant demand schedules. This digital procurement system allows for steady supply flow and scheduling efficiency across multiple facilities.

Processing plants incorporate comprehensive food safety systems, including pathogen intervention technologies, rapid chilling processes, and integrated cold-chain management. USDA inspection is embedded throughout the harvest and fabrication stages to ensure regulatory compliance and product integrity. Finished pork products — from bulk primals to retail-ready packaged cuts — are distributed through coordinated logistics networks serving domestic and export markets.