LYOU CAN

•

,~

if youid like to lea lie a "35 Kilo." That-

3ai

Careers ⁱⁿ Agriculture

"There's a

lot

of hard work and

late

hours — _many routine

tasks that differed

from the glamorous picture many have of

the profession.

"

Veterinary Medicine

To _had

^{beavet, I usedto think,}

^you

^just

tohavea shiny truck withlotsof medicine

compartments and

a really sturdywashing

machine

totake careof

all those coveralls.

As

it turns out, the truck and coveralls

may

be important, but they take a back seat to the real requirements of practicing veterinary medicine.

Vet

Med

^isthe scienceofdiagnosing

and

treatingdiseasesofanimalssaysDr.

Kenneth Niemeyer

ofthe Universityof MissouriSchoolof Veterinary Medicine.

"It's a

complex

area to talk about because there are so

many

different

ways

a degree can be used," he says.

However, thecareerfield can generally be broken into

two

areas: large animal practiceandsmall animalpractice.

Private practice

on

large animals

means

workingwithcattle,horses,swine, sheepandotheragriculturalanimals.

"A

vetplays a crucial rolehere because so

much

of the practice is preventative medicine

—

^testing,vaccinating," saysDr.

Niemeyer. Small animal practice is

growing rapidly, he says, "because of emphasis on using pets as

companion

animalsforolderpeopleand forhandi- capped persons.While economicsplays an importantrole in largeanimal prac- tice,

meaning

business is brisk

when

livestock prices are high,small animals tendtobe

"members

ofthe family,"and aretaken care ofno matter what.

By

ShirleyJones

Otheropportunitiesfor

someone

with avet

med

degree include researchersin laboratoryanimalmedicine, supervision of federal meat inspection

and

in the pharmaceutical

and

feed industries.

Although

it's a competitive field, Dr.

Niemeyer

says, "I believe there will

always beaneedfor

good

people."

What makes

^a

good

vet?

Leo

Anderson,aformernational

FFA

officer

and

veterinarianinMitchell,Nebraska, says a

good

vet has people skills.

By

that,

Leo

says,"I

mean

theabilityto talk withclients,tobeable toreallyconverse."

Somewhat hampered

by the silenceof his"patients,"Mr.

Anderson

says

com-

passion

and

perception is the key. Dr.

Niemeyer agrees: "Will Rogers once said, 'Animalscan'ttell

you

wherethey hurt,

you

justhave toknow.'"

The

veterinary business takes hard work.

Where Leo

practices, cattle pro- duction is prominent.

Much

of his

"emergency

work"

takes place during calving season."Ifone

works

with small animals

and

didn't maintain an emer- gencyservice,theymight beabletokeep eight-to-fivehours," hesays.

Competition Fierce

Importanttoanyprospectivevet are theeducationalrequirements

— some

say themostchallenging, difficult-to-achieve ofany careerfield in agriculture. Aca- demic requirements are high, partially

due to a large supply of eager vet studentswilling toputtime

and

energy into achieving

"A"

rankings inthe lab

and

classroom.

The

competitioncan be

fierce.

Leo's experience at Colorado State Universityreflectsafairly

common

seven oreightyearstoobtainan undergraduate degreeinpre-veterinarycourses (witha heavy emphasis

on

mathematics, biology

and

chemistry)

and

his

Doctor

^of Veterinary Medicine

(DVM)

degree.

Having

been

awarded

the degree, vets

must

be licensed bythe statein which theywishto practice.

Butdon'tbedisillusioned. Acceptance intoa veterinary

program

^isnoteasy.

To

beginwith,only27collegesof veterinary medicineexistinthe United States.

An

application

and

interviewsarerequired in

many

schools, with heavy emphasis placedon academic performance(grades)

and

personal characteristics such as motivation, background,

communica-

tionability

and

extracurricularactivities.

Leo

^creditsthe

FFA

forthe skills that helped

him

throughthe process.

"FFA

helped

me

^{in fillingout appli-}

cations," he says.

The

chanceto be in front ofpeople in

FFA was

helpful as well,hesays, referring tothevetschool entrance interview.

"One

interviewer asked

me

totell

him

aboutmyself

and

he keptquiet fora half-hour," hesays."It

was

atoughsituation.

FFA

helped."

42 The Salional

FUTURE FARMER

Afterall,

how many

semi-automatic 22'sletyousqueezeoff 18

Long

Rifle cartridgesfasterthan theMarlin

Model

60?

How many come

witha22" Micro-

Groove

^s barrel torflawlessaccuracy?

Or

abrass innermagazine tubethat

won'trustnomatterwhat?

Or

aconven- ientbolthold-opendeviceforadded safetyandeaseofcleaning.

And how many

haveatough-as-nails

Mar

Shield⁸ finish.

Or

a receiverthat's

grooved fortip-offscope

mounting?

See the

Model 60

andall theother

Marlin 22'satyourfavoritesporting goodsdepartmentor

gun

shop.

Or

for acopyofourfree 1983 Marlincatalog, writeMarlinFirearms Co.^,100

Kenna

Drive,

North

Haven,

CT

06473. Amertca'sLargesfRiflemaker

rirearms k_o.,iuu ts.enna

Marlin m

If

Leo

has oneregretit isthathedid not

work

for a veterinarian before he startedschool."I feellikeIdidn'thavea realisticpictureofbeing avet,"hesays.

"There's a lot of hard

work and

late

hours

— many

routinetasks that differed

from

theglamorouspicture

many

have of theprofession."

Working

with a practicing vet is especiallyimportant,saysDr.Niemeyer,

if a student does not have a farm background.

"Coming from

a farm is

not essential," he says, "but working

with a vet prevents a student

from

formingfalseperceptions."

The make-up

ofvet classes has gra- duallychangedoverthepast20yearsto includealmosthalf

women.

Dr.Niemeyer saysthat after

World War

II,mostvets weremale becauseoftheneedforlarge animal handling.

With

the restraining drugsavailabletoday,vets

do

not have to be as strong physically, which has

opened

the

door

tofemales.

"While lots of

women

^{go into small}

animal practice, there are

women

right

now who

are wrestling with pigs and

cows

outonfarms," says

Tim Donovan

of the

American

Veterinary Medical Association.

"A

survey offirst-yearvet students in 1982-83

shows

50.3 percent weremaleand49.7 percent female."

Salariesforveterinarians are

among

thehighest inagriculture,

commanding

an average $34,561 for vets not in private practice to an average $37,030 forthoseinprivate practice.However,a typicalbeginningsalaryis

much

lower,

asinanycareer. •••

Animal Technology Careers Offer Alternative to Vet School

If working with animals has always appealedtoyou, but afull-fledgeddegree

program

in veterinary medicine does not, there'sa relatively

new

careerfield that may. It's called

"Animal

Tech- nology,"

and

^it's a practical alternative for

many

people.

Animal

Technologists go to school for

two

years

and

assistveterinariansin a variety of ways. In a large animal practice,they

communicate

withanimal owners,dresswounds,collectspecimens

and

perform

some

routine laboratory procedures.

They

prepare patients

and

equipment for surgery

and

in general, can

do

anythingthat does not involve diagnosis, prescription, surgery or any act forbidden bythe stateinwhichthe technicianis employed.

The

field

opened

up, says

Tim Donovan,

because"there

was

aneedfor qualified personnel

who

could under- standanimals

and

science" well

enough

toassist vets.

Fifty-seven schools in the United States offer accredited

programs

in

Animal

Technology.

To

find out their locations,

you

canrequest alisting

from

the

American

^VeterinaryMedical Asso- ciation by sending a self-addressed,

stamped

business-size envelope to

AVM

A, 930 North

Meacham, Schaum-

burg,Illinois60¹96.Alsoavailableisthe 22-pagebooklet"Today'sVeterinarian"

andthebrochure"YourCareerin

Animal

Technology." ^•••

ShirleyJonesisaformerFFASlateOfficer,

WCP

counselorandNationalFFAinformationintern.

She^currentlyworksasDirectorofCommunica-

tionsfor Agri Business AssociatesinIndianapolis, Indiana.

October-November, 1983 43

Above,aWhite

House

visitwithPresident

Reagan was

the highlightofanaction-packed

week

forstate

FFA

leadersandthesix national officers (picturedwith Mr. Reagan)during the1983StatePresidents'ConferenceinWashington, D.C.inJuly.

A Week Of Opportunity

"The Future Farmers of America does more than give a good

^start

to

some

fine

young people. By

cultivating

leadership

skills

and

patriotism, it

ensures

the

strength and

vitality

of our country."

— President Ronald Reagan

Not

^{everyone isfortunate}

^enough

^to

havean audiencewiththePresident ofthe United States.

Butby White

House

standards,state

FFA

officers meeting in Washington, D.C. this

summer

were

more

than im- portant

enough

tomerit a Rose

Garden

reception withcomplimentaryicedtea,

no less and a meeting with President Reagan.

Over

200 state and national

FFA

officers and adult supervisors were on

hand

at the White House, which

was

one ofseveral highlights of a

week

of opportunityfor state

FFA

leadersatthe I6thannualState Presidents'Conference, sponsored by General

Motors

Corpora-

tion.

In his speech. President

Reagan

im- pressed

FFA members

with his

know-

ledgeofagriculture."This generation of

American

farmers has astounded the worldwithitsproductivity.

Farm

output since 1950has

jumped

89percent, with 44

agriculturalproductivityrising

more

than four times faster than industrial pro- ductivity per hour worked," he said.

"Agricultural productivity has permitted ustodevelop

human

valuesand toput those values into practice.

Our

abun- dance is a productofthe hard

work

of ourfarmers, theskill andtechnological

know-how

that

we

put intoagriculture and,mostimportant,thefreedom which we'reso proud of here in America."

.The President continued, "I

know

that the Future Farmers of America is

doingits part to build characterandto keepour countryintheforefrontofthe productionoffood

and

fiber. I'dliketo congratulate you for

FFA's

theme this year, which I understand is 'Keeping America on the Grow.' I

know

things have been rough and ^stillare for

many

farmers. ButIhope

when you

go backto your homes,

you

will tell your families and your friends . . . that

American

farmersarenotgoingtobeleftoutofthe

good

timesthat lieahead."

The

meetingbroughttogetherofficers

from all 50 states and Puerto Rico to motivate,informandupdatestateleaders on current national

FFA

programs,

activities and agricultural issues which affect the entire

FFA

membership.

Severalworkshops, round-tablediscus- sions and "rap sessions" with national

FFA

leaders were held specifically for thesepurposes.

At

The

^National

FFA

Center, the group wasgiven a premiereshowingof the

new FFA

audio-visual

theme

show,

"Keeping

America On The Grow"

anda preview ofthe first-everPublic Service

Announcements

supporting vocational agriculture,featuringactorEddieAlbert (see page20this issue).

The

stateleaders alsotooktimetofill

out a survey on agricultural attitudes and other opinions sponsored bv The National

FUTURE FA RMER

fnaga- (Continuedon Page46) The^SationalFlT(RE

FARMER