WCABP names WCVM graduate bovine vet of the year
Dr. Calvin Booker of Okotoks, Alta., a Western College of Veterinary Medicine (WCVM) graduate, is the 2023 recipient of the Veterinarian of the Year Award — an honour supported by the Western Canadian Association of Bovine Practitioners (WCABP) and Boehringer Ingelheim Canada.
Organizers announced the award during the WCABP’s annual conference in Saskatoon, Sask., on January 20.
Booker, who earned his Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree in 1989 and a Master of Veterinary Science degree in 1992 from the WCVM, is recognized for his significant impact on feedlot veterinary medicine, his groundbreaking research as an epidemiologist and several innovations that have transformed the cattle industry.
"The WCABP is comprised of veterinarians with a broad array of talents and interests in bovine practice and cattle production. I am proud to be a member of this organization and receiving this award is truly an honour,” said Booker, general manager of services and research with Feedlot Health Management Services, a division of TELUS Agriculture Solutions Inc.
He’s also an adjunct professor at Texas A&M School of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences and with VERO (Veterinary Education, Research and Outreach).
“On behalf of the WCABP, I congratulate Dr. Calvin Booker on being honoured as the 2023 WCABP Veterinarian of the Year,” said Dr. Tim Nickel, WCABP president. “Dr. Booker’s contributions to feedlot medicine and the cattle industry, as a whole, are immeasurable.
“He not only has transformed the industry with many science-based innovations, but he also provided leadership by serving on many boards and committees including as president of the American Association of Bovine Practitioners. He is a very deserving recipient of the WCABP Veterinarian of the Year.”
Booker was instrumental in the development of several groundbreaking concepts that revolutionized the delivery of feedlot veterinary services. Some of his significant accomplishments include the development and introduction of a data recording system for day-to-day feedlot operations and the use of applied epidemiology to control disease in feedlot operations. Booker is named on four patents for his innovative work in developing a method and system for monitoring animals.
Booker has also made extraordinary contributions to bovine health through his research projects, including identifying and documenting Histophilus somni as a major disease in cattle, developing prevention and treatment regimes for the control of undifferentiated fever/bovine respiratory disease in feedlot production and defining the role of bovine viral diarrhea virus in feedlot disease.
The Boehringer Ingelheim WCABP Veterinarian of the Year Award annually recognizes a veterinarian for being a leader in advancing bovine health and for demonstrating a strong commitment to veterinary practice, the cattle industry and the veterinary profession — specifically in Western Canada.