Contact: Karen Templeton
STARKVILLE, Miss.--Dr. David Smith, an epidemiologist at the Mississippi State University College of Veterinary Medicine, has been selected to serve on the U.S. Agriculture Secretary's Advisory Committee on Animal Health.
Smith, who is the first Dr. P. Mikell and Mary Cheek Hall Davis Endowed Professor of Beef Cattle Health and Reproduction at MSU-CVM, will serve on the national committee through August 2014. Smith and other committee members will lead dialogue on livestock economies and public health concerns. He will provide perspective and feedback on U.S. Department of Agriculture strategies, polices, and animal health disease eradication programs.
Smith, a board-certified veterinary epidemiologist, came to the MSU-CVM from the University of Nebraska's School of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences. His 30 years of experience in cattle production systems and disease control have prepared him to assist the owners of the 17,000 beef cattle farms in Mississippi.
"Dr. Smith's inclusion in the federal animal health committee is beneficial to the University as well as our state's beef cattle producers," said Dr. Kent Hoblet, MSU-CVM Dean. "He provides solid evidence-based information on cattle health, well-being and performance and is an expert in food safety and livestock preventive medicine. We are pleased he'll be able to share his knowledge with a national audience."
The committees' meetings are public and a Federal Register notice will be posted prior to the meetings detailing topics for discussion. Information will also be available on the USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service website at: http://www.aphis.usda.gov/animal_health/acah/index2.shtml.