Food Animal Services

The Food Animal Section in the Department of Large Animal Clinical Sciences at Texas A&M University includes three primary service sections; Food Animal Medicine and Surgery, Food Animal Field Services, and the Texas Department of Criminal Justice Veterinary Services. These services are supported by ten faculty members, two full-time veterinary technicians, and nine house officers including one food animal medicine resident. Clinical services are offered through our in-house facility at the Veterinary Teaching Hospital and through our ambulatory service. Senior veterinary students participate in all of our food animal service sections as part of their clinical training in the veterinary curriculum. Our faculty members also teach numerous classes and laboratories in the first three years of the veterinary curriculum.

In addition to our clinical responsibilities where we provide patient care to our primary and referral patients, food animal faculty are also active in other aspects of food animal veterinary medicine. Several of our faculty members provide consultation services for producers and veterinarians throughout the state addressing livestock nutrition and disease outbreaks. Members of our faculty also are active in research programs including infectious disease, environmental health, epidemiology, livestock production, and patient centered research efforts. Our faculty are recognized nationally for their expertise in their respective fields and routinely participate in continuing education and scientific programs throughout the state of Texas, across the U.S., and around the world.

Facilities

• The Food Animal Medicine and Surgery Service operates in one of the finest hospital facilities of its kind. Faculty, house officers, and students have all of the equipment and space necessary to take the best care of your livestock including processing chutes, tilt chutes and tables for lameness work-ups, and surgery facilities for all livestock species.

Technicians

• C.W. Haynes

• Melissa Welch

Research Programs

• Johne's Disease
  • Drs. Roussel and Osterstock have an active research program in Johne's disease in beef cattle.  Johne's disease is a bacterial infection of cattle caused by Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis.  This disease is an economically important disease to the beef and dairy cattle industries and is characterized by progressive weight loss and diarrhea.  Cattle are generally infected as calves, but do not develop clinical signs until much later in life.  Current research in Johne's disease includes collaborations with Texas A&M University epidemiologists and geneticists including studies in diagnostic test performance, risk factors for infection in beef cattle, and genetic resistance to Johne's disease.
• Environmental Toxicology
• Food Animal Pharmacology, Small Ruminant and Swine Research

  • Dr. Washburn's research has been focused on pharmacokinetic studies of antimicrobials labeled for use in livestock species, in addition to efficacy and safety studies.  He has also worked with small ruminant lentivirus, primarily CAEV, in efforts to de-contaminate colostrum by alternative means.  He has done projects in swine evaluating the effects on trace-mineral supplementation on prevalence of lameness in adult sows.  Currently, he is the principal investigator in collaboration with Dr. Wesley Bissett, on a small ruminant project evaluating a new treatment modality for caseous lymphadenitis.  He is also part of ongoing research projects aimed at adding caprine to the label of a relatively new antimicrobial (tulathromycin).

Clinical Services

• The Food Animal Medicine and Surgery Service operates in one of the finest hospital facilities of its kind.  Faculty, house officers, and students have all of the equipment and space necessary to take the best care of your livestock including processing chutes, tilt chutes and tables for lameness work-ups, and surgery facilities for all livestock species.

Student Information

• Beef Cattle Teaching Herd
  • The Department of Large Animal Clinical Sciences has established a beef cattle teaching herd.  The herd was created through contributions from Texas bovine veterinarians and cattle producers including monetary donations and donated cattle.  Currently, new facilities are being designed to facilitate student teaching supported by funds from the Department of Large Animal Clinical Sciences.  This herd is run by students from our local American Association of Bovine Practitioners and is supported by many local companies including DVM Resources, Champion Ranch, and Global Resources International.