The UGA College of Veterinary Medicine broke ground on a new facility on their campus in Tifton, Georgia recently. The UGA Tifton Farm Animal Veterinary Medical Center will improve the CVM’s ability to serve Georgia’s animal agricultural industries and will strengthen the South Georgia region overall.
The 9,000-square-foot facility will feature space for the clinicians in Tifton to perform both routine and specialized food animal medical procedures in a controlled and safe environment thanks to the availability of a large hydraulic tilt chute and enclosed treatment room. In addition, this facility will help bring access to advanced reproductive technologies such as in-vitro fertilization procedures to smaller producers who may not have had access to these technologies in the past. The College expects that they will be able to offer additional services once the facility is completed in early 2020. These services will likely include lameness treatments using the new tilt chute to address feet and leg problems in cattle, especially for bulls.
“The goal of this new facility is to strengthen our support of farmers and producers in this area and increase our students’ exposure to the unique needs of South Georgia,” said Lisa K. Nolan, dean of the College of Veterinary Medicine. “It fits perfectly into the College’s long-range plans to better serve all parts of Georgia and to encourage our graduates to practice in rural areas. It will allow us to more efficiently deliver veterinary services to livestock owners and, with its proximity to our Tifton Diagnostic Lab, will strengthen the relationship between the clinical and diagnostic sides of veterinary medicine.”
The groundbreaking ceremony featured remarks from state representative Penny Houston (R-Dist. 170) as well as College personnel. Former state senators John Crosby (R-Dist. 13) and John Bulloch (R-Dist. 11), both of whom were instrumental in helping secure the funding for the project, were in attendance as well as Representative Clay Pirkle (R-Dist. 155), representatives from the College’s advisory board, and constituent groups such as the Georgia Veterinary Medical Association, Georgia Department of Agriculture, Georgia Milk Producers, and Georgia Cattlemen’s Association. Construction on the facility will begin immediately with an expected completion in spring 2020.
