JULY 16 2026
16TH, 2026
Veterinary CE Meeting - Kearney, NE - Agenda
7:30-8:30 Kent Andersen MS, PhD
Rebuild Smarter and Healthier
8:30-9:30 Darren Remsberg DVM, DABVP, BCMAS
Tools and support options for client clinical problem solving
9:30-10:30 Vickie Cooper DVM, MS, PhD
Collection and submission of diagnostic samples and interpretation of results
10:30-11:30 Dan Tracy DVM, MS
Evaluating trace mineral status in cattle and their function in reproduction and immunity
KENT ANDERSEN MS, PHD
Kent Andersen was raised on a diversified livestock and farming operation in central Nebraska. Following graduation from the University of Nebraska (B.S., 1985) and Colorado State University (M.S., 1987 and Ph.D., 1990), Andersen served as Director of Education and Research (1990 to 1999) and Executive Vice President (2000 to 2009) for the North American Limousin Foundation (NALF). In his position with Zoetis, Andersen serves as Director of Global Beef Genetic Technical Services, Precision Animal Health. Andersen remains active in his family’s commercial cow-calf operation in Nebraska. He and his wife Wendy reside in Windsor, Colorado, and their daughter Claire attends the University of Nebraska – Lincoln.
DARREN REMSBERG DVM, DABVP, BCMAS
Associate Director, Zoetis - Veterinary Medical Information & Product Support
11:30-12:15
Dirk Burken PhD, MBA
Review FDA production phases and research to design optimal implant protocols
12:15-12:45 Lunch
12:45-1:45 Todd Gunderson DVM, MS
Success factors in rural practice
1:45-2:45 Jess Hinrichs DVM
Comparison of reproductive protection against bovine viral diarrhea virus provided by multivalent viral vaccines containing inactivated fractions of bovine viral diarrhea virus 1 and 2
2:45-3:45 Emily Melchior MS, PhD
Evaluation of immune response, reproductive performance, and herd longevity of cows grazing extensive rangeland when vaccinated with a MLV or KV BVD vaccine
3:45-4:00 Closing comments
This meeting has been approved for 8 hours of continuing education.
Dr. Darren Remsburg is an Associate Director at Zoetis where he has the good fortune to manage a team of talented veterinarians and veterinary technicians that support Zoetis customers. Previously, Dr. Remsburg worked as a private practitioner Pennsylvania. He transitioned from practice into work at The University of Pennsylvania’s School of Veterinary Medicine where he researched animal health economics, including cost effective methods of delivering veterinary care to farmers and ranchers. Darren is a Virginia Tech graduate and earned his Doctor of Veterinary Medicine from VirginiaMaryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine, where he met his wife, Carrie. Darren and Carrie live in Pennsylvania where they stay busy with their three daughters.
Topic: Review of tools and support options to use during client clinical problem solving. The presentation will utilize examples from veterinary medical information and product support team at Zoetis.
VICKIE COOPER DVM, MS, PhD
Dr. Cooper joined Zoetis animal health as a beef technical service veterinarian in November of 2019. Dr. Cooper was previously with the ISU VDPAM as a diagnostic pathologist since January of 2003, after spending 28 years in diagnostic laboratories in Kansas, Nebraska, Oklahoma, and Wisconsin. Professional focus has been primarily in diagnostics of production animal disease with an emphasis on cattle and BVDV diagnostics. Dr. Cooper is a member of AVC, AABP, IVMA, SDVMA, ICA,. She lives near Laurel, IA.
Topic: A brief overview of contents of necropsy kits, field necropsy, diagnostic sampling and appropriate sampling
submission is provided. Participants will be given visibility to antimicrobial sensitivity information in the literature, which provides a insights into the differences in between in vitro testing and clinical outcomes when antibiotics are used in vivo. Participants will be provided real clinical cases with diagnostic results, and difficulties in interpretation.
DAN TRACY DVM, MS
Dr. Dan Tracy is a veterinarian on the Zoetis Beef Technical Services team. Dr. Tracy joined Zoetis in 2021, and provides technical support for the Zoetis Territory Business Managers in KY, TN, MS, AL, Ark, and MO.
A Mississippi native, he earned both his Doctor of Veterinary Medicine and Master of Food Animal Production Medicine degrees from Mississippi State University in 2001 and 2002. Dr. Tracy brings a wealth of cattle production medicine expertise to the Zoetis technical team after nearly 12 years of serving both beef and dairy clients as a practitioner in VA, TX, KY, and TN and most recently serving as a technical services veterinarian for Multimin USA. He is a member of both the Academy of Veterinary Consultants, and American Association of Bovine Practitioners and is also an active member of the Society for Theriogenology.
Dr. Tracy lives in Auburn, KY with his wife Suzanne and daughter Ashlyn who is currently studying law at the University of Mississippi School of Law.
Topic: Reviewing the importance of trace minerals in reproductive and immune function. Evaluating trace mineral levels in herds to develop plans of supplementation with emphasis on controlling antagonism.
DIRK BURKEN PhD, MBA
Nutritionist, Beef Strategic Technical Services, Zoetis
Dr. Dirk Burken is currently a Managing Nutritionist with the Beef Strategic Technical Services team at Zoetis. He has been a part of the Zoetis team since 2019 with his main role encompassing the support of customers and colleagues across the Midwest and beyond. Originally from Central Nebraska, Dr. Burken is well versed in operations and practical management of beef cattle. His background in production ranges from growing up on his family cow/calf operation, which he is still actively involved with, to working in a variety of positions within feedyard operations across Nebraska. Dr. Burken has also served as a staff feedyard nutritionist, as well as a feedyard manager for a large cattle-feeding group in Alberta, Canada.
Dr. Burken has a bachelor’s degree in animal science from the University of Nebraska, a master’s in animal scienceruminant nutrition from Oklahoma State University, a doctorate in animal science-ruminant nutrition from the
University of Nebraska, and a MBA from the University of Nebraska.
Topic: Dr. Burken will discuss cattle implants. He will review research data across production phases and discuss the questions that should be asked of clients to get to optimal implant protocol recommendations. He will also discuss the importance of implant administration, the implanting process, and critical control points.
TODD GUNDERSON DVM, MS
Dr. Todd Gunderson grew up on a small dairy in eastern Idaho. He earned a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from Brigham Young University in 2005 and a DVM from Washington State University in 2009. He completed a food animal internship at the University of Idaho’s Caine Veterinary Teaching Center in 2010, then practiced primarily beef cattle medicine across the Mountain West, with extended work in Alberta, Montana, Oregon, and Idaho.
In 2017, he founded an ambulatory food animal practice in Alberta, which he operated until relocating to the U.S. during the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2021, Dr. Gunderson began a residency and M.S. in veterinary epidemiology at Mississippi State University, where his research focused on evaluating the diagnostic performance of the bull breeding soundness exam using Bayesian latent class analysis.
He joined Kansas State University in 2024 as a Clinical Assistant Professor of Beef Production Medicine. His current research centers on improving breeding soundness exam accuracy, supporting rural veterinary practice, and investigating risk factors for late-onset bovine respiratory disease. He and his wife Ruby, a Montana native, have three children and enjoy splitting time between their home in Kansas and the Mountain West.
Topic: Relying on evidence from published and ongoing research, this presentation will examine the key drivers of success in rural veterinary practice, emphasizing practical strategies to improve career sustainability, financial performance, and personal well-being. While rural veterinarians often perceive a wage gap compared to urban counterparts, recent survey data suggest that this gap is more pronounced for associate veterinarians than owners. While salary undoubtedly matters, factors such as practice atmosphere, mentorship, caseload variety, and geographic location also play a role in both recruitment and retention.
A central challenge highlighted is the burden of emergency duty, which is a leading contributor to burnout and a common reason veterinarians leave rural practice. The presentation outlines actionable approaches to mitigate this burden, including clearly defining what
constitutes an emergency, establishing structured oncall protocols, setting client expectations, and leveraging team-based or regional collaborations to distribute workload. Emphasis is placed on reinforcing professional boundaries and improving work-life integration. Financial success is framed as a function of management competency rather than revenue alone. Skills such as financial literacy, strategic planning, leadership, and effective delegation are identified as critical for practice growth and sustainability. The presentation also addresses mental health, drawing on recent wellbeing studies indicating a measurable prevalence of psychological distress within the profession. Protective factors include fostering selfefficacy, optimism, and proactive coping strategies, alongside systemic improvements in workload and compensation.
Ultimately, the session provides a data-driven yet pragmatic framework for rural veterinarians to enhance job satisfaction, reduce burnout, and build resilient, highperforming practices.
JESS HINRICHS DVM
Jess Hinrichs is a Senior Beef Technical Services Veterinarian with Zoetis. Jess grew up on a diversified livestock and crop farm in Nebraska. He received his BS in Agriculture from the University of Nebraska in Lincoln and a DVM degree from Kansas State University in 1998. After working for a year at a mixed animal practice in Dunlap, Iowa, he moved to Sutton, Nebraska and was a co-owner in a 3-4 doctor food animal practice. Over his 18 years of practice the primary focus was feedlot consultation and swine production medicine. In 2016 Dr. Hinrichs became a veterinary medical officer for the US Meat Animal Research Center in Clay Center, Nebraska where he provided clinical care and veterinary oversight to their many ongoing research projects. Jess is a member of the American Association of Bovine Practitioners, Academy of Veterinary Consultants, American Veterinary Medical Association and Nebraska Veterinary Medical Association. He resides with his wife Megan in Sutton, Nebraska and they have four sons, Luke, Joseph, Jacob and Connor.
EMILY MELCHIOR MS, PhD
Dr. Emily Melchior manages ruminant Outcomes Research at Zoetis Animal Health, where she leads global clinical and outcomes research projects. She holds a Ph.D. in Animal Science from New Mexico State University, and a M.S. in Animal Science from the University of Tennessee. Dr. Melchior works closely with US and global beef and dairy technical teams, industry, and academic partners to assess and communicate the value of innovative animal health solutions. She has authored or co-authored more than a dozen peer-reviewed publications and has
delivered over 20 invited and scientific presentations at national conferences. Emily and her husband reside in Colorado.
Topic: Bovine viral diarrhea virus (BVDV) presents an active threat to the beef cattle industry through premature culling, reproductive losses, morbidity, and mortality. Vaccination and testing are two hallmarks of prevention and control of BVDV through the cattle industry. Understanding the role of timely vaccination of calves and replacement heifers and the effects on sustained humoral and cell-mediated immunity, reproduction and herd longevity are critical. To determine long term effects of preventative vaccination, heifer calves born in 2014 received a modified-live viral (Bovi-shield Gold) vaccine at 3 months of age, followed by a vaccination at 8 months of age of either a modifiedlive viral vaccine or killed viral (CattleMaster) vaccine beginning their annual revaccination, and heifer calves born in 2015 received only a modified-live viral vaccine or killed viral vaccine against BVDV at 3 months which was sustained throughout their annual revaccination for their lifetime in the herd. Similar reproductive longevity and calf performance was observed throughout the lifetime of the cattle in each treatment group. Cows receiving an initial modified-live viral vaccine followed by a killed viral vaccine had greater cell mediated responses than cows receiving only a killed viral or only a modified live viral vaccine. This may provide an advantage when cattle are exposed to BVDV in the field without harming reproduction.
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