WELCOME

Welcome to all. As I sit down to compose this letter, I am reminded that PAC has been in operation for ten years. When Dr. Tom Noffsinger and I formed the vision for Production Animal Consultation, we wanted to have young, energetic veterinarians to help us with our feedyards, to mentor them with clients and to form a robust database which had enough numbers to help us create knowledge. Drs. Doug Ford, Nels Lindberg, Corbin Stevens, Kip Lukasiewicz and Kev Sullivan reviewed the vision and joined Dr. Tom and me. During this time, Garrett Taylor started his software and technology company and helped us advance our database goals. The compiled data became information and have allowed us to evaluate what we are doing and consider different approaches to problems. Our database continues to be a driving factor for PAC’s success.

Over the next few years, PAC welcomed several more veterinary consultants. Dr. Jim Lowe brought knowledge of the swine industry and production management. Dr. Shane Terrell brought feedlot lameness to the forefront as he finished his PhD in this area. Dr. Dan Thomson has provided great industry knowledge in many areas, including nutrition, medicine, packer relationships, and end user education. He always represents Kansas State University in a great manner, and we are happy to have the opportunity to partner with him and KSU. Dr. Tom Edwards joined the group and shared his expertise in ultrasound technology and feedlot lameness. Dr. Matt Fruge has become a great dayto-day educator and diagnostician. Dr. Jacob Hagenmaier has recently come on board, and we look forward to watching his growth. Drs. Shane, Matt and Jacob are the foundation for the third generation of veterinary consultants for PAC.

Over the last ten years, we became more and more concerned with the need to instruct, educate and help caregivers support and care for the animals under their care. A newsletter was formed and given life by Kelly Terrell. She did a great job developing that newsletter into this magazine, Protein Producers . We strive to keep this publication current and informative for people involved in protein production. Jose Valles joined the team and has been vital in providing bilingual training, education and support for operations and veterinarians. This has been essential for many operations and workforces. Ted Howard has impacted many operations with horsemanship and the corresponding stockmanship principles. Brandi Bain is working diligently behind the scenes to help in many business areas such as meeting coordination, magazine production and paperwork completion. Darcy Howard also helps with content creation and magazine production. This brings us to Lisa Taylor, who leads many different areas of our business to help all of us effectively support our clients. She is invaluable to the organization.

PAC continues to grow and evolve to meet the needs of our clients in an ever-changing industry. I have truly appreciated the opportunity to work with everyone. We at PAC are humbled that you entrust us to help in your operations and with your caregivers. We look forward to seeing where the next ten years will take all of us.

As I finish writing this, I have received word that a major packinghouse is on fire. This is a sobering reminder to me that there are many areas in this industry which we cannot control that can have a major effect on us. Let's work hard to eliminate the variability in the areas in which we do have influence.

Dr. Wade Taylor