AZ225 PREVENTING THE KICKER COW: HOW MOBILE CAPTURE AND RESTRAINT FACILITIES CAN IMPACT FOOD SAFETY, EDUCATION, AND DISEASE CONTROL IN THE RURAL SOUTHWEST

Adding mobile large animal capture and restraint equipment and a robust vehicle to transport it the long distances of Yuma County will enable us to launch a multi-faceted positive affect on our community. We will be able to measure the increased number of preventative medicine and herd cases seen along with an expanded area of geographical coverage from the more efficient appointment capabilities. Safer methods of handling animals using the equipment will make it more feasible to take students and employees on mobile calls and allow them to assist more with cases. Our first year will focus on acquiring the equipment and educating the community about preventative medicine and our expanded services with our website and marketing budget. Moving into the second year our clients and producers will be more familiar with a preventative medicine schedule and we would be actively speaking with them and making appointments to use the equipment at their farms for regular whole-herd care. By year three students could have a regular rotation joining us on mobile calls and we will be able to more safely introduce them to large animal medicine. Long-term, our success at helping to relieve the shortage of veterinary care in this area will positively impact the agricultural environment by reducing potentially zoonotic animal-related soil contamination to food crops, keeping healthier herds and a residue-free food chain, providing producers with a higher profit and healthier animals, and stimulating the science and agriculture education opportunities for students. Ultimately, I hope to have shown that Yuma can be a productive and enjoyable place to practice and hire an additional veterinarian and staff.