Overview

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Overview

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Center for excellence in
swine veterinary medicine education

The center is dedicated to providing veterinary students and
practicing veterinarians from across the United States and
around the world with extensive hands-on experiences
and education in swine health and production.

Mission

Collect, synthesize and disseminate best practices in clinical swine medicine to stakeholders who can apply them to improve swine health and welfare, ensure pork safety, maintain sustainability and conserve food resources.

View or read Dr. Pat Halbur's initial vision for the SMEC presented at the 2010 AASV Annual Meeting.

Primary Goal

Get the best science into the hands of the people who can most effectively apply it to improve swine health, welfare & pork safety.

Drivers for establishing the SMEC

AAVMC Foresight Report suggested specialized centers
Fewer swine faculty nationally; limited replacement in veterinary colleges
Refinement of web access & teaching methods
Precedents in dairy (MN, MI) & beef (NE) production medicine
Increasing external demand for ISU swine production medicine courses (KSU, UW, MSU, Guelph)

SMEC Structure

Cooperative effort between ISU CVM & AMVC in Audubon, IA.

Timeline

Fall 2010
- Approved by Board of Regents
Spring 2011
- Development of curriculum & admin. structure
- Fundraising
- Development of web portal
Summer 2011
- First web-based resources available
Fall 2011
- First on-farm courses taught

SMEC Funding

Estimated annual budget: $500,000.

Primary funding by industry resources & fees for delivery of educational modules.

State of the art, new production facilities are the long term objective

Facilitate basic and advanced technical training to swine health professionals
Allow demonstration and comparison of cutting edge production and health technologies
Showcase swine production, health and welfare to media and public
Supported by the industry to insure sustainability of pork production in the United States