A new department created at Iowa State’s College of Veterinary Medicine combines three different areas of the college in an effort to improve the study of livestock health.

“The new department is a reorganization within the College of Veterinary Medicine,” said Dr. Nolan Hartwig, chair of the new veterinary diagnostic and production animal medicine department.

The veterinary diagnostic and production animal medicine department was officially formed Oct. 1.

It combines the diagnostic laboratory, production animal medicine and veterinary extension areas in the college.

These areas have always worked closely together, Hartwig said.

Students send specimens to the diagnostic lab to determine the health problem of animals.

Then the production animal medicine department studies the animals and tries to find the correct treatments.

Finally, the veterinary extension service informs livestock producers of various health problems and methods of treatment so they can protect their animals.

Hartwig said the merger of the three areas in the college will allow students to learn how to identify health problems, find remedies and provide valuable health information to livestock producers within the same program of study.

“Treating sick animals is just one thing we [in the department] do,” Hartwig said. “We can bring students into the problem-solving process. They learn real service in real time.”

The new department has more than 100 faculty and staff members who teach and conduct research and service programs.

Hartwig said several new faculty members are involved in the reorganized department.

“The merger brings all of us together to teach with a team approach … and with a team mission,” Hartwig said.

The diagnosis laboratory and the production animal medicine sections will still remain relatively separated from the newly merged department because of the specialized research performed in those areas, Hartwig said.

The resources for the new department were provided by the Healthy Livestock Initiative passed by the Iowa Legislation.

Hartwig said the purpose of the initiative is to better serve livestock producers by teaching health research and outreach.

Before being named chair of the department of veterinary diagnostic and production animal medicine, Hartwig was in charge of veterinary extension at ISU for 14 years.

He is an alumni of ISU’s College of Veterinary Medicine and currently works as the interim vice provost and director for the ISU Extension Service.