American Association of Bovine Practitioners

09/28/2026

AABP Have You Herd? Podcast – Getting Out in Nature for Your Mental Health – Sponsored by Boehringer Ingelheim

AABP Executive Director Dr. Fred Gingrich is joined by Dr. Aaron Pospisil to discuss the mental health benefits of spending time in nature. This episode was developed by the AABP Mental Health and Well Being Committee. If you are interested in joining the AABP Mental Health and Well Being Committee, please visit the Committee page.

This episode of Have You Herd? is sponsored by Boehringer Ingelheim and Pyramid® vaccines. When it comes to bovine respiratory disease — BRD — your calves need protection as soon as possible. Because calf health is everything, choose a vaccine as premier as your herd. PYRAMID® vaccines deliver relentless protection against the primary viruses and bacteria that lead to BRD — like BVDV Type 1b, BRSV and Mannheimia haemolytica — even in the face of maternal antibodies. Get Relentless Protection at .

Pospisil shares his personal story of mental health struggles and burnout that led to suicidal thoughts. He discovered the Buckeye Trail in Ohio and set out a goal of hiking the trail and discovered the benefits to his mental health hiking with his family. We discuss some triggers that veterinarians may experience in practice, how these change over time and the generational differences regarding our veterinary medicine identity and stressors.

Pospisil reviews some of the published research on the benefits to our mental health of experiencing nature which is known as the biophilia hypothesis. There are multiple opportunities for ambulatory veterinarians to pause during the day to experience and appreciate their surroundings and the dose can be as low as 20 minutes per week to see benefits. Sharing favorite hikes and outdoor activities is a great way to collaborate and network as colleagues to support our mental health and well-being.

Search for AABP Have You Herd? Podcast and listen to this and other episodes.

Aaron Pospisil Photography page.

Jimenez, M.P.; DeVille, N.V.; Elliott, E.G.; Schiff, J.E.; Wilt, G.E.; Hart, J.E.; James, P. Associations between Nature Exposure and Health: A Review of the Evidence. Int. J Environ Res Public Health. 2021;18:4790.

Zhang, Z.; Ye, B.; Yang, W.; Gao, Y. Effect of Nature Space on Enhancing Humans’ Health and Well-Being: An Integrative Narrative Review. Forests. 2024;15:100.

Ruirui Zhu, Liyun Yuan, Yanting Pan, Yefan Wang, Danping Xiu, Weiyi Liu. Effects of natural sound exposure on health recovery: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Sci Total Environ. 2024;921.

Gaekwad JS, Sal Moslehian A, Roös PB, Walker A. A Meta-Analysis of Emotional Evidence for the Biophilia Hypothesis and Implications for Biophilic Design. Front Psychol. 2022;13:750245. PMID: 35693493; PMCID: PMC9186521.

The Nature Fix: Why Nature Makes Us Happier, Healthier and More Creative by Florence Williams.

09/24/2026

The beef industry has spent years studying what can go wrong. A new evidence map shows what we've learned and where the next questions may need to come from.

09/23/2026

Four mixed-animal veterinarians share what drew them to rural practice, the farmers and livestock they serve, and the lessons that shaped their early careers. Read more below ⬇️

09/22/2026

The Bovine Practitioner, online first!

Management of traumatic tarsal septic bursitis in a Brahman cow with long-term intravenous regional limb perfusion
Loren D. Shelby-Hobbs, MPH; Joe S. Smith, DVM, MPS, PhD, DACVIM, DACVCP; Silke Hecht, Dr. Med. Vet., DACVR, DECVDI; Pierre-Yves Mulon, DVM, DES, DACVS

Abstract
A 3-month-pregnant 5-year-old Brahman cow was presented with a 4-day-old tarsal wound and left hind lameness. A diag¬nosis of traumatic septic tarsal bursitis was established. The wound was debrided and cleaned, revealing exudate pock¬ets and bone exposure. The cow underwent multiple proce¬dures, including debridement of the calcaneus, and received ongoing treatment with antibiotics, pain management, and wound care. Despite initial progress, the wound developed complications, including progressive osteomyelitis and soft tissue swelling. Lameness in the affected limb fluctuated from moderate to non-weight-bearing (grade 4/5 lameness). Treat¬ment consisted of bandage changes and regional limb perfu¬sions performed under sedation. To preserve venous access, a long-term catheter was placed in the lateral saphenous vein. Improvement was seen after each surgical debridement, but recovery was slow, and the prognosis remained guarded due to damage to the calcaneus/calcaneal tuberosity and superfi¬cial digital flexor tendon involvement. Additionally, care was taken to avoid medications that potentially affect gestation. After several weeks of treatment, the wound showed signs of healing with granulation tissue and eschar formation. By day 48, the cow was discharged with instructions for continued care, antibiotics and lameness monitoring. During her treat¬ment, she maintained her pregnancy and calved 6 months fol¬lowing discharge.

Bovine Practitioner Vol. 60, No. 2, 2026. See the link in comments.

The Bovine Practitioner is the official publication of The American Association of Bovine Practitioners. All manuscripts are peer-reviewed. The Bovine Practitioner is an open access journal. Articles are printed online first and there are no publication fees. The publication uses an online submission and review process. Print volumes can be purchased. Bovine Practitioner articles can be found online on the AABP website the Publications tab.

09/21/2026

We enjoyed having everyone from Purdue at the conference!

Purdue University veterinary students are making their mark on the national cattle industry, earning scholarships and recognition at one of the country’s largest gatherings of bovine veterinarians. Seventeen students from the Purdue University College of Veterinary Medicine

09/21/2026

AABP Have You Herd? Podcast – Results of the AABP Mental Health Survey – Sponsored by Boehringer Ingelheim

AABP Executive Director Dr. Fred Gingrich is joined by Dr. Jackie Graber, chair of the AABP Mental Health and Well-Being Committee and clinical assistance professor at Large Animal Field Services at Tufts University, and Dr. Laurie Fonken, a counselor and consultant in the area of health and well-being for veterinarians for over 35 years.

This episode of Have You Herd? is sponsored by Boehringer Ingelheim and Pyramid® vaccines. When it comes to bovine respiratory disease — BRD — your calves need protection as soon as possible. Because calf health is everything, choose a vaccine as premier as your herd. PYRAMID® vaccines deliver relentless protection against the primary viruses and bacteria that lead to BRD — like BVDV Type 1b, BRSV and Mannheimia haemolytica — even in the face of maternal antibodies. Get Relentless Protection at PyramidVaccines.com.

The AABP Mental Health and Well-Being Committee developed two surveys, one in 2023 and one in 2025. Find the results of the surveys at https://aabp.org/members/surveys/. The goal was to understand how important mental health was to veterinarians, any stigmas associated with mental health, and challenges or obstacles to treatment that veterinarians encounter. Graber walks through some of the key findings in comparing the responses to both surveys. One notable point was that stigma as an obstacle to mental health treatment declined from 60% of respondents in 2023 to 42% of respondents in 2025. Access to care for mental health services and time available to seek care continues to be an obstacle for rural veterinarians and Fonken discusses opportunities with virtual care access in rural communities. We also discuss the apparent disconnect between employers and employees on mental health support in the workplace and solutions to addressing burnout in new graduates.

The AABP Mental Health and Well-Being Committee continues to provide resources for AABP members and welcomes interested AABP members to join the committee. Anyone interested in participating can email [email protected] for information. Find the resources from the committee at https://aabp.org/committees/committee_resources.asp. We also encourage donations to the mental health fund within the AABP Foundation. The fund is used to provide resources, speakers and CE opportunities about mental health and well-being. Donate to the fund, or any fund in the AABP Foundation, at https://aabp.org/foundation/donate.asp.

Listen to this episode at https://www.buzzsprout.com/814177/episodes/19816392, and search for other Have You Herd? podcasts at https://www.buzzsprout.com/814177; listen on your favorite podcast platform.

L-R: Dr. Jackie Graber, Dr. Laurie Fonken

09/20/2026

“G’mar tov" to those AABP members who observe Yom Kippur, September 20-21.

09/18/2026

National DHIA offers veterinary student scholarships

FITCHBURG, Wis. (September 18, 2026) – If you’re a third- or fourth-year college of veterinary medicine student, apply for the National Dairy Herd Information Association (DHIA) veterinary medicine scholarships. Applicants must be enrolled at a college that is accredited by the American Veterinary Medical Association Council on Education. Successful applicants will receive a $1,500 scholarship.

To apply for a National DHIA Veterinary Student Scholarship, applicants must submit a letter of application and two reference letters. The letter of application requires students to submit information regarding their area of interest/specialty, academic background, experience using DHI data, career plans, issues challenging dairy veterinary medicine and solutions to address those challenges. For more information, contact Elizabeth “Liz” Straw, National DHIA scholarship chair, at: [email protected].

Specific application requirements are posted on the National DHIA website (https://dhia.org/scholarships). Send completed applications to Liz Straw ([email protected]) by Dec. 31. Recipients will be announced at the National DHIA Leadership Sessions and 62nd Annual Meeting, being held March 2-4, Fort Worth, Texas.

National DHIA Scholarship Committee members will evaluate applicants based on overall interest as a veterinarian planning to work in dairy, involvement in dairy medicine and extra-curricular activities, and interest in using dairy software and dairy records to aid in dairy management and in improving animal health.

National Dairy Herd Information Association, a trade association for the dairy records industry, serves the best interests of its members and the dairy industry by maintaining the integrity of dairy records and advancing dairy information systems.
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09/18/2026

09/18/2026

https://www.fox9.com/news/brown-county-rabies-case-owner-children-vets-exposed-after-cow-showed-odd-behavior

A Brown County cow has tested positive for rabies, and nearly a dozen people may have been exposed.