A22-Lancaster Fanning, Saturday, Juna 13, 1998
State Veterinary Laboratory Is Strong Defense Against Disease
VERNON ACHENBACH JR,
Lancaster Fanning Staff
HARRISBURG (Dauphin
Co.) The Pennsylvania Depart
ment of Agriculture, Pennsylvania
V eterinary Laboratory has been up
and running for more than a year,
and recently received full
accreditation.
That accomplishment is signif
icant for the Pennsylvania lives
tock industry.
Without such accreditation, and
the qualifications and testing accu
racy it recognizes, the slate can not
conduct its own regulatory and
diagnostic testing, and has to
depend on testing laboratories out
Here, Bill Logoda pulls a tray out of a special incubator
and shows a flat of special, virus and bacteria-free eggs that
Ofp used in testing for the actual presence of avian influenza
vfrus. Samples are injected into the expensive, host eggs
Enck Heads
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of Pennsylvania’s New Bolton
Center and Pennsylvania State
University,” Hayes said. “Dr.
Enck will help to facilitate this
effort and help Pennsylvania con
tinue to be 9 leader in animal
health."
Enck founded the Carlisle Ani
mal Veterinary Clinic in 1971,
later developing the Carlisle Large
Animal Veterinary Clinic to serve
the dairy industry. That clinic now
primarily serves the equine indus
try with a Variety of other animals.
He has experience in preparing
cattle, horses and pigs for both
international and interstate export
A member of the American Vet
erinary Medical Association since
1970, he is also a member of the
Agriculture Liaison Committee
and has served as its vice president
for one term. In other activities,
he is a member of the American
Associaiton of Equine Practition
ers, and has served as president of
the Cumberland Valley Veterinary
Medical Association.
For the past two years, he also
served as president of the Cumber
land County Extension Assoca
tion, and has been a member of its
Dairy, Equine, and Building
committees.
He earned his veterinary medi-
of state, some at long distances.
With it, Pennsylvania can con
duct its own regulatory testing to
achieve compliance with require
ments of nations receiving Pen
nsylvania's export trade.
With it, turnaround time on test
ing results is optimized, and costs
minimized for Pennsylvania lives
tock producers.
With it, Pennsylvania can main
tain regulatory testing programs,
such as for brucellosis in cattle, to
achieve a certain status of lives
tock health recognized by the
international community that
allows for less restrictive paper
work and constraints in selling and
PDA Animal
cine degree in 1970 from the Uni
versity of Pennsylvania School of
Veterinary Medicine, while he
earned a bachelor’s degree in ani
mal science from Penn State
University.
In 1984, he received the UP
School of Veterinary Medicine’s
Centennial Award of Merit
Bradley Jones
Market Development
In other news, Bradley R. Jones,
of Camp Hillhas been appointed to
serve as director of die state
Bureau of Market Development
Jones had saved for mote than a
year as executive director the Pa.
Hardwoods Development Coun
cil, until the appointment was
made June 2.
In his new position, he is to
oversee the promotion of products
grown and made in Pennsylvania.
“Brad Jones will work to fulfill
the Ridge Administradon’s goals
of nurturing present markets and of
seeking new opportunities on both
the domestic and intetnadonal
fronts for Pennsylvania’s agricul
tural products," Hayes said.
"He will be responsible for the
commodity and promotion prog
rams, matching frmd program for
county fairs, commodity matching
Dr. Graham Purchase, director of the Pennsylvania Veterinary Laboratory, stands
at the loading dock where a cow is being received fortesting and necropsy. Biosecuri
ty is a top concern at the new facility that features state-of-the art communications
and research and testing technology.
shipping cattle from Pennsylvania.
While measuring the exact eco
nomic benefits to Pcnnsvlvanii
would be difficult, it is not difficult
to understand that it helps provide
the means for a multi-million dol
lar industry to exist, as well as pro
viding a catalyst for increased
growth.
If the diagnostic and disease
monitoring testing and research
services were only concerned with
the health and safety of the state’s
poultry, swine and cattle indus
tries, it would be an investment
Health, Diagnostic
grant program, and livestock and
produce auctions.”
According to Hayes, “Brad
Jones has demonstrated bis mark
eting interests while working with
Pennsylvania’s hardwoods indus
try, and his enthusiasm will be a
major asset
“Our producers and processors
offer world-class products, and
Brad will manage our new initia
tives to advance Pennsylvania’s
competitive advantages and to
highlight our agriculture’ superior
quality and diversity.**
Prior to working with the Hard
woods Council, Jonc had been an
environmental issues manager for
the American Petroleum Institute.
In that position he worked with
legislative issues, managed
research projects and developed
public-service events to increase
the effectiveness of the recycling
programs.
He was an advisory board mem
ber of the Waste Watch Center and
the Texas Natural Resources Con
servation Commission. He was
also a member of the board of
directors of the Virginia Recycling
Association.
He has a bachelor's degree in
forest science.
yielding great returns. The three
species of Pennsylvania livestock
were valued at $1,361,550,000 fqr
1995-96, according to Pennsylva
nia Agricultural Statistics Service.
With exporting possibilities
opened because of better testing
availability, and a strong testing
program that can reassure con
cerned buyers of the quality of
Pennsylvania commodities and
safety of purchasing them, the
inherent value of Pennsylvania
livestock can be assumed to have
increased.
Bureau
Warren Mathias
Region 6
Warren Mathias, of Hummcl
stown, who had served as director
of the Bureau of Market Develop
ment, has been reassigned to serve
as director of the state Department
of Agriculture’s Region 6 office.
In that capacity, he is to oversee
the department’s inspectors and
services in Adams, Cumberland,
Dauphin, Franklin, Lebanon, Lan
caster, Perry and York counties.
Mathias is also a businessman,
having established the Plant Pot-
Pourri Garden Center in Palmyra
in 1973, with a greenhouse, florist
shop, gift shop and nursery. He
expanded the business to include
industrial and institutional
accounts and used a quality man
agement program.
He has a bachelor’s degree in
horticulture from Penn State Uni
versity, and serves on several
advisory and directorial boards,
including the boards of directors
for the Lebanon Valley Vocational
School, and the Milton Hetshey
Horticultural Department, Leba
non County Extension, the Leba
non Valley Chamber of Commer
ce, and the Perm Stale University
College of Agricultural Sciences
Alumni Society.
From there, it’s up to marketers
and trade negotiators to do their
part to make that inherent value
realized to its potential.
The cost of testing, though not'
inexpensive, is a vety small per
centage of the value that it creates
and protects.
For human health concerns, the
activities of the state diagnostic
laboratoiy system are important
also.
The entire livestock testing
program is designed to ensure safe
food, and safe animal production
in the vicinity of humans not
just a first line defense against the
always present danger of commun
icable disease destroying the value
of livestock, or preventing its
export.
The strength of the testing and
monitoring program for Pennsyl
vania's agricultural industry com
es from its unique program the
Pennsylvania Animal Diagnostic
Laboratories System (PADLS).
It is called a “tripartite” system
because it involves three different
institutions the PDA, the Uni
versity of Pennsylvania School of
Veterinary Sciences, and the Pen
nsylvania State University.
Rather than have the state
attempt to build and operate every
’ type of laboratory the
work already being done at the
state's pre-eminent veterinary
school and at Penn State Universi
ty arc being utilized. Both of those
universities receive state funds for
research and operations.
Each lab in the tripartite system
specializes and brings different
strengths in research, reference
materials, and in testing abilities.
Now linked together through a
computerized system, “Laboratory
Information Management System
(LIMS)so that staff at all three
institutions can work together on
projects and share information
simultaneously, die tripartite sys-
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