Beef Veterinarian Receives AgriLabs Award
Wednesday, September 13, 2017
Holt Tripp, DVM, MBA, of Okotoks, Alberta, Canada, received the prestigious AgriLabs Dr. Bruce Wren Continuing Education Award at the 2017 American Association of Bovine Practitioners Annual Conference held recently in Omaha, Neb. Tripp, a 2015 DVM/MBA dual degree alumnus of Oklahoma State University’s Center for Veterinary Health Sciences, is the director of cattle operations for the GK Jim Group of Companies located in Canada.
The award honors Bruce Wren, DVM, PhD, a long-time AgriLabs technical services veterinarian, in recognition of his lifelong commitment to practical and formal continuing education for veterinarians. Tripp received a $5,000 grant to further his education. He will learn cutting-edge principles of modern risk management from the Real World Risk Institute in New York City.
“I anticipate that this training will better prepare me to help producers develop robust systems to manage their risk holistically,” says Holt. “By that I mean I will be better able to help cattle investors address cattle health and production, procurement, marketing, and price risk as parts of a comprehensive strategy, not simply in isolation from one another.”
Since graduating, Tripp has worked with Dr. Kee Jim at GK Jim Group of Companies.
“My time working with Kee has been nothing short of incredible,” says Tripp. “Kee has demonstrated what it means to stay the course, focus on controlling the variables we can, and to use data to drive our decisions on health, production and the markets. He gives me tremendous responsibility and allows me to figure out how to most efficiently achieve objectives. He also models what it means to dedicate oneself to continual self-improvement and he supports my efforts in that arena.”
Holt attributes the award to his colleagues and mentors who have helped him develop as a person and professional over the years.
“It’s a long list and includes my employer, Dr. Kee Jim; all of the veterinary and nutritional/production consultants at our sister company, Feedlot Health Management Services; my mentor and friend, Dr. D.L. Step; and too many private practitioners and veterinary consultants to list. They have challenged me to think critically, see the big picture, and use data to answer the questions we face daily in the beef industry.”
This is the second year in a row that an Oklahoma State alumnus has received the AgriLabs Dr. Bruce Wren Continuing Education Award. Last year Tripp’s classmate, Dr. J.D. Folsom, received the award also in the beef category.
Besides being a young practitioner, applicants must specifically outline the type of continuing education they seek, its approximate costs, and the benefits it will provide to the applicant, his/her practice and the practice’s clients. An awards committee from AABP undertakes the selection process choosing one dairy veterinarian and one beef veterinarian, each one receiving $5,000.
Photo by Genesee Photo