Radio Oklahoma Ag Network Intern, Maci Carter, had the opportunity to talk with Hope Harrington of Merck after the 2023 Bovine Health and Technology Summit put on by Oklahoma State University and Merck. Harrington and Carter discussed Merck’s role in the summit, what they presented to the veterinarians, and Merck’s plans moving forward.
“The Bovine Health and Technology Summit was an idea that our group had because, in our conversations with veterinarians, we noticed that there was a real lack of large amounts, 10 plus hours of CE (Continuing Education), really focusing on cattle medicine, and their role in a bovine practice,” Harrington said.
Harrington said their realization led to a successful first summit at Texas A&M last year, providing practical, applicable Continuing Education. After receiving great feedback, Merck partnered with OSU to bring the same thing to Stillwater.
“I’m hoping that producers are taking or veterinarians are taking home today is just the knowledge of the precision agriculture elements that are available to them, as well as an update in veterinary medicine and industry challenges,” Harrington said.
With Merck recently buying Allflex, a technology company, Harrington said she is hoping that the veterinarians at the summit are really taking home a better understanding of what resources there are out there available for them.
“Currently, we are implementing or integrating with Merck Animal Health intelligence,” Harrington said. “So, we have several different technology companies under our Merck umbrella.”
From Vence (virtual fencing) to SenseHub Cow-Calf, Merck has several different recent technologies. Those are what Harrington said Merck Animal Health is currently most excited about.
“The things that I’m hoping that they take away from this summit are practical applications for their producers in order to bring dollar value back to their herds,” Harrington said.
“Hopefully, this is going to be a reoccurring meeting every summer,” Harrington said. ” I’m offering anywhere from 12 to 15 hours of cattle see for our veterinarians.”
According to Harrington, having OSU host the summit was a large success. After this year, although next year’s location has not been released yet, Merck looks forward to continuing this program.
