Tom Burkgren, DVM, Executive Director of the American Association of Swine Veterinarians (AASV), was a one of the panelists to take part in a discussion at the Ceva Swine U.S. Launch and Scientific Symposium, which took place just before the AASV annual meeting.

The panel gave Dr. Burkgren a better perspective on how the producers in the group viewed veterinarians, as well as a greater understanding of what the client and the pigs need.  That’s what veterinarians coming to this event want to learn, Burkgren noted.  They’re interested to learn something they can take home tomorrow and use on a farm.

With the new launch of the U.S. Swine division of Ceva, another role of veterinarians is to help gain good information for their clients.  The new products being offered for animal health can be of benefit to the pigs and consumers, Burkgren believes, but someone needs to help disseminate accurate information.

“I see the role of the veterinarian on the farm as sorting through the chaos and clutter in the information world and deriving that information. That’s really where our meeting is pointed at. I applaud Ceva for having the symposium today to do the same thing,” Burkgren tells AgWired.

Next up for Dr. Burkgren is the AASV annual meeting.  The event has 167 scheduled speakers covering a variety of topics so broad Burkgren says the idea of all that knowledge base in one place can be overwhelming.  More than 1,100 attendees will be looking for more and better information, with antibiotic alternatives and reproduction efficiency toping that list.

To hear more about these events listen to Chucks interview: Interview with Tom Burkgren, DVM, AASV

You can find lots of photos from the launch here: Ceva U.S. Swine Launch Photo Album