Connecting members with the latest news from USAHA, and with each other.

April 2025

Happy Spring, USAHA!

Spring has sprung! And that means different things for USAHA members in different parts of the country. But one thing holds true regardless of your geography – there is never a slow season when it comes to the world of animal health and disease control, animal welfare, food safety, and public health. Although priorities may shift depending on the month, the collective responsibility we all have remains significant and at times can feel like a bit of a pressure cooker.

We do hope that the Connection member newsletter reminds you that as you go about doing your good work in your corner of the country, there are USAHA colleagues doing the exact same in theirs. Collectively, the accomplishments of USAHA members benefit all Americans and make a real difference in the global world of animal agriculture. Thank you for the important work you do!

This Connection edition focuses on some of the 2025 USAHA accomplishments that have already taken place through important discussions in Washington DC and some that are anticipated in the upcoming district meetings across the country. We’ve sprinkled in an executive committee member meet-and-greet and a little bit of fun on top of that. Yes, you guessed it, there is (of course) a contest! Be the first out of the gate with the successful completion of the inaugural USAHA crossword puzzle, and “bragging-rights” fame awaits you.



Happy Spring and happy reading!

Well, glad you asked! We appreciate our First Vice President & 2025 Committee on Government Relations (GRC) Chair Justin Smith (KS) reviewing for us the value of one of USAHA’s most important committees and providing a wrap-up of this year’s meeting. The GRC is a standing committee chaired by the first vice president and comprising USAHA executive committee members, committee chairs, and district leaders. It is by design a small but influential standing committee tasked with carrying USAHA’s torch in DC. Specifically, the GRC builds and maintains relationships with key federal partners and helps advance conversations around USAHA resolutions. These important discussions occur every March in coordination with the American Association of Veterinary Laboratory Diagnostician’s (AAVLD) executive board.

Feedback from USAHA committee chairs and executive committee members related to USAHA’s priority topics and resolutions informed the 2025 GRC meeting agenda. Once collected, USAHA and AAVLD provided the topics in advance to federal partners to allow them to prepare for the discussion in DC. Some federal agencies participated virtually and some in person, but the list of collaborating agencies was substantial and included the following: AVMA; FDA-CVM; APHIS-Wildlife Services; DHS-Customs and Border Patrol; Agricultural Research Services; FBI; APHIS-Veterinary Services (VS); WOAH (APHIS staff); CDC; and FSIS. Representatives from all sectors of the livestock community, including aquaculture, attended the industry stakeholder session, making that a smashing success!

Bill Flynn (FDA-CVM) has the floor for this GRC meeting segment. Federal partners’

annual participation in the GRC discussions is one of the attributes that makes the

GRC gathering in Washington DC so valuable.

There were unique challenges the GRC and USAHA Executive Director Ben Richey overcame this year to host a successful meeting. The meeting had to navigate the changing political environment, and finalizing the agenda was significantly more challenging than prior years’ meetings. Additionally, it was clear from the outset that many agencies that received USAHA’s 2024 resolutions, including APHIS-VS, had not had the chance and/or permissions to address the requests contained within. Our partners were apologetic and recognized the value of the resolution process, but disease response, navigating policy changes, and other issues have consumed their time and attention since last October. There were, however, productive discussions around specific resolutions pertaining to HPAI and poultry.

Some discussions are best held in person vs Zoom or Teams. GRC meeting participants collaborate with USDA-APHIS colleagues Rosemary Sifford and Koren Custer.

All laptops were in heavy use and the caffeinated beverages kept attendees in top form.

The discussion topic at the top of everyone’s list was what the federal landscape will look like in the future and what impact federal policy changes will have on our partner agencies’ ability to continue operations. Attendees used the brief time together to identify the best methods and messaging to effectively reach decision makers and federal leadership with USAHA’s concerns and animal health priorities and to clarify who should be the recipient of those important outreach efforts. Is it best to inundate agencies with multiple letters or is a more refined approach to a selected group of leaders preferred? Justin reports that one of the 2025 GRC meeting take-aways is that there is not a clear “best practice” in the current climate but building and maintaining relationships as well as having a productive presence and collaborative attitude will be key to future animal health successes. Fortunately, building and fostering professional relationships happens to be one of USAHA’s strong suits!

Discussion with USDA colleagues is a perennial GRC meeting highlight, and 2025 was no exception. Dr. Watson, USDA-APHIS Administrator, was able to spend a quality hour with attendees and provide an overview of how APHIS is trying to navigate uncertain waters. Without specific knowledge of exactly what the federal employee “reduction in forces” scenario will look like, Dr. Watson acknowledged that the future will look different for APHIS-VS. The remainder of the APHIS-VS conversation encompassed most of the relevant subjects, including in-depth discussion of H5N1 and the administration’s 5-point strategy, vaccination strategies for HPAI, African swine fever, and foot and mouth disease if ever needed, and New World screwworm (NWS.) APHIS-VS is taking the NWS issue very seriously by implementing mitigation and prevention strategies despite concerns about how aggressive Mexico and some countries of Central America are willing to be. The value of and changes resulting from the prior audit of federal import & export staff, as well as whether a new round of audits is warranted, were also discussed (Resolution 14). The group also discussed the future of various advisory committees, especially the General Conference Committee of the National Poultry Improvement Plan and how policy changes may impact public-private partnership programs like the new US Swine Health Improvement Plan. Stay tuned…

USDA-APHIS-International Affairs staff educated attendees about the purpose and operational details of the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH), resulting in a clear understanding by all of how the US delegation develops its priorities for WOAH’s General Session of the World Assembly of Delegates and the importance of the US delegation’s work before and during that annual meeting in Paris, France. It is obvious that a strong delegation is vital to supporting the US positions in animal disease response and trade issues.

To sum things up, the 2025 GRC meeting was NOT a meeting that could have instead been an email. Despite some challenges, the group had two full days of productive discussions that prioritized a dialogue with federal partners rather than presentations from them, which is a change for the better from prior years. There are many unfamiliar faces in key federal roles, and the 2025 GRC meeting afforded GRC members the opportunity to meet many of them in person for the first time and develop the trust and familiarity necessary for future successful conversations. It also oriented our federal partners to USAHA and allowed them to gain an understanding of what USAHA can bring to the proverbial table that can help them in their various federal roles.

Lunch is best served with good friends, good networking, and a bit of sunshine.

From L to R, Steve Crawford, Alan Young, Bruce Akey, and Tanya LeRoith

enjoy each other’s company during a meeting between the meetings.

So, what’s next? Justin shared with us that USAHA has already begun developing organizational outreach and education materials for the benefit of the new administration, legislators, and policy decision makers describing USAHA’s subject matter expertise in the areas of emergency preparedness and response, trade, national security, and food security. Lastly, while the GRC certainly understands federal partners’ requests for flexibility as they address the outstanding USAHA resolutions, USAHA will be making plans to circle back with recipient agencies to ask for updates on their progress. We are pleased that several agencies have since provided responses!

Organizing a meeting of this scale during challenging times is no small feat, and we are grateful to USAHA’s leadership team and all who contributed to making the 2025 GRC a success. And thank you, Justin, for taking the time to update us all on some important GRC outcomes and next steps.

Kathy summarized perfectly the importance of the DAL, AI within USAHA’s structure by saying, “The DAL, AI is a critical component of USAHA membership.

Kathy’s official NCBA photo, 2023

The DAL, AI provides the perspective of the “client” or the producer in the veterinary relationship as well as the pharmaceutical or nutritional counselors. Animal health is a shared goal of state and federal veterinarians, diagnosticians, pharmaceutical representatives, nutritionists, and the animal farmer or producer. The DAL, AI evidences this collaboration to support animal health.” After all, what perspectives could be more important in a discussion about animal health than those from the members of society who directly depend on healthy and well cared for animals for their livelihood? And Kathy has not just passively supported the DAL, AI during her tenure on the EC; she has passionately advocated for them. One related success that Kathy is most proud of is her work to spearhead development of the new USAHA “state affiliate” membership category. A state affiliate member is defined as one who holds membership in a national organization that is a board member of USAHA. Kathy hopes this new USAHA membership option will help her reach her goals of encouraging more industry representatives to join USAHA to engage in important committee conversations and leading outreach on the benefits of USAHA membership for farmers and producers.

And remember, making progress on these goals is not limited to USAHA executive committee members or to the USAHA Annual Meeting. In fact, with the USAHA district meetings upon us, it seems like the perfect time for us to again urge district USAHA leaders and meeting organizers to encourage your local/state/regional industry representatives to join your meetings and to recruit their active engagement in your meeting discussions. These are the discussions that most directly impact your local industry, and local engagement serves as a wonderful steppingstone to active involvement in national animal health policy discussions, thereby making Kathy’s industry-related vision for USAHA a reality! As you contemplate the ways you can help make this happen, enjoy Kathy’s answers to the real-life, behind-the-scenes questions you didn’t even know you were craving.  

Q: If you could have any superpower, what would it be and why?

A: Superpowers should serve to make us more useful and powerful in our daily lives so

I would want to be able to fly through the air. I travel in my current job for NCBA, and

this superpower would allow me to travel more easily. I hate airports and the time that

is wasted traveling using commercial air travel.

Q: What is a fun or interesting fact about yourself that not many USAHA colleagues know?

A: One fun fact is that I collect art (multiple media) and especially animal art. I have

several paintings, and when I travel, I usually bring home a piece of local artwork as my

souvenir of the trip.

One of Kathy’s favorite souvenir pieces of animal art,

an alligator by her artist friend, Ann Lane.

Q: What are the most interesting steps along your career path that led you to where you are today?

A: A summary of my career starts with my graduation in the first class of a new

veterinary school in southwest Virginia with less than 40% women in my graduating

class. I started in a mixed animal veterinary practice in a small town in West Virginia

as the first female doctor of any kind in the area. I successfully “pledged the fraternity”

of my male veterinary colleagues in the area and enjoyed clinical practice. I moved to

northern Virginia to practice veterinary medicine in Virginia for 25 years, working for

1.5 years in a veterinary corporation. I accepted the AVMA Congressional fellowship

and worked for a year in the member office of U.S. Senator Olympia Snowe (R-ME),

working on human health policy and staffing her on the powerful Senate Finance

Committee. This led me to my current policy position with the NCBA where I enjoy

working on cattle health and welfare issues, international animal health, and

international food safety.

Q: What is a piece of advice you have received that you always keep in mind, and how has it benefited you along the way?

A: I was 50 when I wrestled with the idea of leaving private veterinary practice, which I

loved, to change my career path towards policy work. During the decision process, I

experienced some sleepless nights. My colleagues in clinical veterinary practice told

me it was a mid-life crisis and I just needed to buy a red sports car. In my heart, I knew

that I wanted to make a career change but who leaves a successful and lucrative

career to start over in a new direction? One night I had a dream - I was lost on the

highway and searching for a road sign that would lead me to a main road. The sign

appeared and it said, “Have Faith and Proceed.” This became my guidepost as I

navigated a new career path. Just “Have Faith and Proceed.” 

Q: What did you want to be when you grow up?

A: While growing up, I wanted to be a veterinarian, starting at 13 years of age.

Previously, I wanted to be an FBI agent. My mother was relieved that I decided to be a

veterinarian. Editor's comment: USAHA is happy about this decision, too! 😊

Q: What are some of your hobbies or things you enjoy doing to unwind from work?

A: I enjoy gardening and especially love growing dahlias. My house contains lots of

house plants, which keep me busy during the winter months.

Q: What is an organizational structure or ethos that you admire, and does USAHA have it?

A: I admire organizations that are inclusive and transparent and are dedicated to

serving the needs of their membership. USAHA possesses these qualities and more.

Q: What is a place you’d love to travel to but haven’t yet, and why the appeal?

A: I would like to visit the Tuscany region of Italy. The great food and wine and beautiful

countryside is the appeal.

Q: If you could have any animal as a pet, what would it be and why?  

A: I like dogs, and I have always had a dog in my life. Dogs give unconditional love and

loyalty.

Q: What is the best thing that has happened to you within the last month and why was it memorable?

A: The best thing that happened to me recently was my family, friends, and neighbors

gathered to celebrate my father’s 100th birthday. It was a great celebration of his life and our family.

There appears to be some debate as to whether Granite Stater Horace Greeley or Mainer John Soule coined this catch phrase in the early-mid 1800s, but we can likely all agree it is great advice. Maybe that is why this simple phrase coined almost 200 years ago still is in our lexicon today. Have you followed this advice? Whether you consider yourself a bona fide cowboy/girl or have only watched Yellowstone on TV, now is your chance to head to one of the most beautiful regions of our country because registration is open for the 2025 Western States Livestock Health Association (WSLHA) meeting slated for June 8-11 in Tucson, AZ. While you’re thinking about it, visit the USAHA District Meetings webpage for information on all 2025 district meetings. We highlighted the northeast district in your spring 2024 edition of Connection, the West is up now, and in future years we will be reaching out to north central and southern district leadership teams for their best regional promos.

Ryan Wolker (AZ) and Tahnee Szymanski (MT) comprise the current leadership team of the WSLHA, which according to Historian Dr. Jack Armstrong, was formed in the early 1920s although the exact date is lost to time. Tahnee reminded us that “WSLHA member states extend beyond the western district of USAHA which means this meeting is a comprehensive gathering of the entire western half of the country. This fosters great discussion and multiple perspectives on animal health issues the region deals with on a regular basis.” We asked Ryan for the best meeting attendance sales pitch he has, and he got right to the point. “It’ll be an udderly fun time and while it may be 110F outside, the A/C blows cool, and we have truly excellent Mexican food and the best company owing entirely to the participants bringing that Western hospitality.” Sounds pretty darn great!

Thanks to the ongoing multi-species HPAI outbreak superimposed over a rampant wildfire season with a little bit of New World screwworm threat tossed into the pot for good measure, meeting attendees will have plenty to discuss. And let’s not forget about brucellosis, an issue that impacts discussion far beyond the borders of the 3 Greater Yellowstone Area states and one that is made more difficult by the shortage of veterinarians interested in working in remote regions serving livestock and poultry industries. The WSLHA meeting agenda will focus heavily on disease outbreak/response and emergency management, and the broad cross section of attendees will allow for robust and meaningful discussions on these topics and more. This meeting typically boasts attendance by representatives from numerous animal agricultural systems including the poultry, swine, dairy, & beef sectors, aquaculture and cervid industries, and the critically important livestock markets, laboratory diagnostic vendors and animal movement and traceability specialists. Ryan and Tahnee recognize these are the partners who make their jobs as regulators manageable in every way, shape, and form, and they both view this gathering as an amazing opportunity to build professional and personal relationships with peers and industry. After all, it truly takes a village to successfully manage the complex issues we all face.

Even though the 2025 meeting is not happening in what Ryan considers to be the most famous state in the district – Hawaii – every member state has beautiful views along the way, boasting national parks, shimmering bays, valleys with agricultural treasures, and more. And since we always like to see a little bit of “hometown pride” that may turn into a future friendly district competition, we will leave you with Ryan’s closing remark: “West = Best.” So go west this June, young men and women, and see if he is right! Report back to us and maybe we can get a real district competition off the ground!

Attn. WSLHA meeting attendees: caption this photo of your WSLHA president to win at least bragging rights (and maybe an actual gift if your caption is good enough) at your upcoming meeting! Submit your caption to Ryan at rwolker@azda.gov. Winner will be announced at the meeting. 

Yep, that’s right – those national media outlets with their current event crosswords have nothing on USAHA’s Kelly Janicek, creator of the first USAHA crossword for your enjoyment! If you are game, give it a go, and remember, no prizes for second place. If you think you might be the fastest on the draw with completing this, and the most accurate, send a photo or screenshot of your completed puzzle to kscoach@gmavt.net to earn your 15 minutes of fame with a highlight in the next Connection newsletter. And here is a hint – this puzzle draws VERY heavily from your December 2024 edition of Connection so if you missed that one, have another look to gain an advantage. The link to that edition of Connection and all others is also at the bottom of your Daily News Alert Summaries emails.

If you’d rather complete the puzzle electronically, click here. Check it out, and good luck!

Thanks to all who played!

Now that you are caught up on the people and events of USAHA and hopefully have had a little bit of fun along the way, we will wrap up this edition of Connection. A few reminders before we go, though:

• Remember to check out the district meeting details at https://usaha.org/district-meetings/. Although the northeast and north central meetings are underway, the WSLHA and southern district meetings aren’t until June so you have time to plot and scheme to make it to one of those.

• If you are a district meeting organizer or part of a district leadership team, make Kathy Simmons proud and remember your industry – reach out to them and encourage them to attend your meeting. In future years, consider sending a letter to your regional industry organizations like the one WSLHA President Ryan Wolker issued to raise awareness of their 2025 meeting. You can find it here.

• If you are or know a state-level allied organization interested in USAHA, check out our New State affiliate Membership. Be a contributor to the work of USAHA - learn more here: https://usaha.org/state-affiliate-membership/ 



• And, lastly, until we are all together again for the 129^th Annual Meeting in Denver, Colorado, have a great spring and summer doing the things you love with the people who matter to you, both at work and at home.  

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