With at least three pages dedicated to livestock coverage each week and numerous other livestock related stories in each issue, this newspaper has more news about livestock than any other Canadian publication – even those with cattle or livestock in their names.
And for 20 years, that coverage has been anchored by Dr. Jeff Grognet, a veterinarian in Qualicum Beach, B.C. This month will bring the final instalments of Grognet’s column. He is stepping down as one of our veterinarian columnists so he can devote more time to writing an internet-delivered veterinary assistant course.
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Back in 1990, Grognet noticed there was no veterinary column in theProducer. He approached then-editor Keith Dryden, who asked him to send in a few samples. Reader response was excellent, and Grognet provided a weekly column for many years, until theProduceradded other veterinarians to its roster.
Today, the veterinary column remains one of the most popular among readers, according to our surveys. Though topics most often concern cattle, they also deal with horses, bison, pigs, sheep, goats and other animals. If there’s a livestock-related disease that remains unexplored in our veterinary columns, it just hasn’t been discovered yet.
Grognet kept his columns relevant to reader interests and also had a special quality that endeared him to editors: he met deadlines.
Our long-time columnist has become an institution at the paper, and we told him so. Writes Grognet: “With that in mind, the institution will stop now, while things are going well. I will miss the clients who retire here and remark that they’ve been reading myWPcolumn forever and ask ‘it is you?’ as they put their dog on the table. They know me already.”
Dr. Roy Lewis, who has been alternating with Grognet, will continue to write for the paper. He will be joined in the new year by other veterinary columnists.
Dr. John Campbell, head of the large animal clinic at the Western College of Veterinary Medicine in Saskatoon, will soon be writing for us, and so might some of his colleagues.
As well, Dr. Jamie Rothenburger, a recent vet school grad now practicing at Nagel and Co. Veterinary Service in Crossfield, Alta., will provide columns periodically.
Our thanks to Dr. Jeff Grognet for his work for the benefit ofWestern Producer readers. He will be missed.
