Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SATURDAY, October 9, 1993                   TAG: 9310090065
SECTION: CURRENT                    PAGE: NRV 3   EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG                                  LENGTH: Short

VET SCHOOL MEDICINE CENTER

The center, which opened last summer, centralizes the efforts of the Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine's production management medicine group, which works to promote the health of herds and flocks.

The program's premise lies in the idea that it's more cost effective to keep a herd of cattle or a flock of sheep healthy than to have to cure individual beasts after they fall ill, said Rep. Rick Boucher, D-Abingdon, who spoke at theribbon-cutting ceremony. "Production medicine is

preventive medicine for farm animals," said Peter Eyre, dean of the college.> The center cost approximately $600,000 to build, with about $291,000 provided by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

The final phase of veterinary college is expected to be completed in late 1994 at a cost of $28 million, with about $5 million of that coming from federalfunding, he said.

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