Behind the Burger
Created by the New Mexico Beef Council, we are telling the stories behind the beef in New Mexico.
Behind the Burger
Screwworm, TB, and Beyond: Protecting New Mexico's Livestock
Dive into the world of veterinary medicine and food safety with Dr. Samantha Holeck, New Mexico's State Veterinarian, as she shares her remarkable journey from growing up on a small Carlsbad cattle ranch to safeguarding the health of livestock across the entire state.
Dr. Holeck pulls back the curtain on the critical yet often unseen work of protecting our food supply, revealing how her 15 years as a mobile livestock veterinarian prepared her for monitoring and managing animal health on a statewide scale. With candor and expertise, she addresses the most pressing challenges facing New Mexico's livestock industries today, including the looming threat of New World screwworm – a devastating parasitic fly that can kill animals within days if untreated.
The conversation takes us through the fascinating science behind screwworm eradication efforts, including the release of millions of sterile flies weekly in Mexico and the rigorous border inspection protocols designed to prevent its reintroduction to the United States. Dr. Holeck also discusses other significant health concerns, from tuberculosis to avian influenza, and shares how the state's Ag Livestock Incident Response Team (ALIRT) stands ready to identify and address foreign animal disease outbreaks.
Beyond disease management, Dr. Holeck highlights recent legislative successes in addressing rural veterinarian shortages and explains how her role extends to modernizing decades-old regulations to meet current agricultural needs. Her passion for supporting the hardworking producers who feed the world shines through, especially when she confesses her love for that quintessential New Mexican favorite – the green chile cheeseburger.
Whether you're involved in agriculture or simply curious about where your food comes from, this episode offers valuable insights into the dedicated professionals working behind the scenes to ensure a safe, sustainable food supply for generations to come. Listen now to gain a deeper appreciation for the complex systems that bring beef from pasture to plate.
Dion's is has a new menu item! Try their Green Chile Bacon Cheeseburger Pizza today.
Welcome back to another episode of Behind the Burger. I am Carol Ann Romo, the Executive Director of the New Mexico Beef Council, and we're here in Ria Doso for the Dairy Producers of New Mexico Annual Meeting, and I'm here with Dr Sammy Hullock. She is our New Mexico State Veterinarian. Thank you so much for joining me for a podcast. I guess, first off, will you just introduce yourself and tell us about your background.
Speaker 2:Sure, yeah, so I'm Sammy Hollick. I am a native New Mexican. I was born and raised in Carlsbad, grew up on a small cattle ranch there, and we also raised sheep and a few other animals for 4-H. I was an active participant in 4-H. My folks were in the Farm Bureau for as long as I can remember, my dad also worked at the post office as a letter carrier to support his cattle habit. Because you know as many have to, I kind of have that full-time job. But yeah, so I grew up in Carlsbad and then I went to school at Colorado State University, got my bachelor's degree in wildlife biology and stayed there to go to veterinary school and I did some graduate work as well, but I mostly focused on livestock medicine when I was in vet school.
Speaker 2:And I came back to Carlsbad in 2006, and I opened my own mobile vet practice and I did that for about 15 years and then I shifted a little bit more into shelter medicine. I was trying to slow down a little bit as far as being on call 24-7. So that last year and a half I was mostly at the shelter but I was still picking up a little cattle work and other stuff on the side. And then, about a year and a half ago, I applied for the position of state veterinarian, a job I thought I would never ever apply for. At the behest of the previous state veterinarian, dr Zimmerman, he called me and encouraged me to throw my hat in the ring, and so you know, I have also been a part of the Ag Livestock Incident Response Team in New Mexico since it began almost 20 years ago now, and a lot of the work that I did, a lot of the training I had with that program, I think, prepared me pretty well for what I do now.
Speaker 1:Oh, absolutely that makes a lot of sense and I think, as far as everyone talks about in the New Mexico beef industry and agriculture industries, we're really glad that a year and a half ago somebody convinced you, because I know you've done some great work for us already. So well, tell me. So you kind of already talked about your career and kind of what led you to this role, but I don't know that everybody knows that we have a state veterinary, necessarily, and obviously it's a full-time job managing all the things that you do and paying attention to that. So we'll kind of talk about. I want to ask you about your love for agriculture, or you know what makes you kind of choose that agriculture route. Right, you could be. There's a lot of animals out there. Why was a lot of your time in beef and yeah, well, I mean, that's how I grew up.
Speaker 2:You know we raised beef that.
Speaker 2:You know we ate some of our own beef that we produced.
Speaker 2:I think being in 4 as a veterinarian and I began to see other sides of agriculture that I didn't get exposed to as a kid. You know, I didn't really have a lot of exposure to the dairy industry or to larger sheep operations or you know, even the larger cattle operations. I mean ours was very small scale and so understanding what happens after we take calves to the sale, where do they go and why is it important to vaccinate your animals and do you know properly manage them and you know what does that product look like on the other end, and so getting a bigger, better idea, start to finish what that looks like and then dealing with other types of industries too. I mean I had no exposure to poultry when I was growing up other than what we raised at home, and so large-scale poultry operations and all the different types of poultry operations, swine, you know, you name it. There were a lot of things that I've learned just in the last year and a half too, so it's been really an interesting adventure so far.
Speaker 1:Yeah, quite the adventure. I know I grew up in 4-H too, and I feel like it's such a great starting point and such a great inspiration to want for more. Right, I had no idea about commercial agriculture, but I understood. You know where our food came from in some ways, and the more I learn, the more I love, I feel like. Well, so what do you think is the most rewarding part being in the agriculture industry?
Speaker 2:Oh, you know, I think, reinforcing the security of our food supply really, you know, you hear so much bad media, bad press about agriculture and the misconceptions that are out there.
Speaker 2:But going firsthand into a facility that is, you know, raising animals that are going, that are destined for food production, and then actually going into those, you know, like a slaughter plant, you watch that whole process and how meticulous it is and how careful they are about the product and all the different things that are in place to ensure that it's a good, safe product that comes out.
Speaker 2:The other side, Milk production too, I mean, that was something when I was in school. You know we did a lot of dairy work at Colorado State and you know, start to finish seeing what that production looks like and how careful we are with milk supply, and I think all of those things are really important. And to me I feel like my role, going from private practitioner to state veterinarian. I'm helping different parts of the industry with that but bringing all of that experience along the way so that as state veterinarian, hopefully, I'm doing an adequate job of supporting our industry and keeping that momentum going forward and helping the veterinarian with the private practice understand what's coming or how you can help them, because you have that personal experience.
Speaker 2:Yeah, being able to answer their questions because I was in their shoes makes a big difference.
Speaker 1:Oh, absolutely, absolutely. So let's talk about kind of New Mexico and the landscape. How does New Mexico's landscape and climate, you know, shape what you do and maybe shape disease management and all of that? Because we think we're unique, right?
Speaker 2:Oh, we are, we are. We have got such a wide variety across the state too. You know, you look at each corner of our state is a little bit different the geography, the way that livestock are managed, and even just you know, if you take beef cattle, for example, and grazing leases versus private land versus, you know, you've got community allotments and all the different factors that go into that. It really we do have a lot of variety around the state, and so it creates some challenges, but it also creates good opportunities for our producers. And when it comes to managing diseases, sometimes it's almost easier if we have things that are more isolated or separated, but then we've got some very ag-dense areas that can make it challenging, so, especially when we get a disease that crosses species, and so now we've got more than just one industry affected. Yeah, absolutely.
Speaker 1:I think it's surprising how different New Mexico is and how it can cater to certain agriculture industries in different areas. So what so? Um? What is something you're proud of that you've accomplished recently?
Speaker 2:Oh uh or maybe you're still working on it. Um gosh, uh, I feel like I'm still digging out. Well, one thing, yeah, right.
Speaker 1:You're still. Yeah, but one thing I was thinking uh, not to speak for you that I think is really neat is in the last legislative session with the veterinarian student loans. That was a really great thing. Livestock Board helped pass right.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, we supported that actively and that was carried pretty heavily, of course, by our higher education department and our cattle growers, cattle growers and, of course, our New Mexico Extension veterinarian. We wouldn't be able to do without Dr Wenzel, but I was happy to be there and support that and to be part of the process as we develop that committee and begin to review applications and help veterinarians. And I think the timing of that bill being passed was perfect because we are still waiting on the federal program, which that federal program has been in place for almost 20 years but, like a lot of other federal funding, it's kind of been on hold this year and so it was very timely that New Mexico stepped up and offered that support, because then we can continue to help those veterinarians.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and because we we're underserved as far as veterinarians go in our state, right.
Speaker 2:Yeah, well, all states pretty much are underserved. Yeah, we need more veterinarians, those rural communities especially. Yeah, it's hard to incentivize them.
Speaker 1:When we get more veterinarians, those rural communities especially. Yeah, it's hard to incentivize them. Yeah, when what is one of the biggest challenges or maybe there's a couple challenges that New Mexico is facing with animal health?
Speaker 2:Well, you know, the one I think that's on everybody's mind, of course is screwworm. It's not here yet, but we're preparing for that because our industry has been through that before. You know, we were dealing with that clear into the early 80s. You know, my experience was pretty limited because I was just little back then, but my family dealt with it. My sisters can tell you stories about it and my dad, when he was still alive, you know, he, he was very familiar with it and so that is pressing um, closer and closer all the time, and so it's not just livestock that it'll affect it, it can affect anything, and so wildlife and in people and pets, and so that really has a far-reaching consequence if it makes it back into the United States. So that one, of course, is there.
Speaker 2:We still are dealing with TB. You know it seems like we can't get away from it. Throughout this area we were, we are TB free, but you know it just it, it keeps knocking at the door. Yes, we're dealing with those traces, but of course avian influenza made a big impression on the state last year when it came through and affected both dairy cattle and poultry in our state, and I think we've recovered really well and I'm hoping that we stay clear of it. You know we've had some backyard detections this year, but so far it seems to be settling down. We'll see what happens when fall migration comes back around.
Speaker 1:Right, right, when the birds come back. Yeah Well, if you don't mind diving into the New World screwworm a little bit more, can you tell me what that? It's a parasite? Right, tell me a little bit more about the parasite and then what it does and maybe what's going on with that.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so it's actually a fly that is attracted to any sort of wound or sensitive area on animals and so even something as small as a tick bite, just a little bit of blood from that, can attract those female flies. They'll lay two or three hundred eggs at a time, some, you know, and they'll do that several times in their lifespan. Up to two to three thousand eggs in their lifetime, and those eggs will hatch, usually within 12 to 24 hours, and then they burrow into the flesh and they don't just stop at the edges of a wound. So most fly larvae that feed on decaying flesh. They'll just eat the rotten dead flesh and that's it.
Speaker 2:Screwworm larvae will actually burrow into live, healthy tissue and that makes the wound painful. It causes the wound to grow in size. You get this really foul smelling discharge from the wound. Untreated it can actually kill an animal within seven to ten days. And so it'll burrow in through things like the navel on a newborn calf, and those babies are going to be the most susceptible to it because they, you know they can't really fight that off. That navel is a great access right into the abdomen and you know they'll. Yeah, it's really tragic when that strikes, but a lot of common management practices dehorning castration. But a lot of common management practices dehorning castration. Even an injection site from giving a vaccine, any places where you've got like discharge or drainage in the skin, is just weak. It's damaged right and so they'll get into the eyes, you know, up into the sinuses.
Speaker 1:I mean it can be pretty extensive and it is not in the US right now, but it was, and it was eradicated by use of sterile flies to end the breeding and life cycle.
Speaker 2:And that was back in the 80s, right Well so technically it was eliminated from the United States in 1966, but we had incursions, so they talk about 1966 because that was the last indigenous population of flies, and so everything that happened after that was re-infestations or re-incursions from outside of the United States along that southern border. And so screwworm collection kits were distributed from USDA to all the producers and it literally was a cardboard tube with a little vial that already had some fluid in it, and so if they were riding out through the pasture and they found something with larvae, all they had to do was they actually had a little maggot bag in there. So you could carry that in your saddle, carry your maggot bag, wear a maggot bag and then take that back and take the larvae out of that and put them into the vial and ship it to USDA. And if they confirmed that it was screwworm, then there were going to be planes flying over and dropping boxes of sterile flies, so that whole sterile fly or sterile insect technique.
Speaker 2:The reason that it worked is because female screwworm flies only mate once in their lifetime, and so they would raise these screwworms and irradiate them just enough to make them sterile. So they're not glowing in the dark, they're not radioactive, but they're not productive either, so they go out and the males will mate with those females, and then the eggs that she lays are not fertile, and so that ends her life cycle, and over time it will slowly push those flies further south, and that's how over the 80s and early 90s it was pushed down through Mexico, central America all the way down to Panama, and it was held there until about two, two and a half years ago, about two, two and a half years ago.
Speaker 1:Okay, and so we are. That's why the borders are closed, right? So right now, no, no animals or no livestock are coming through the Mexican border into US to prevent this, and they're working on eradicating it in Mexico before we can open up the borders, kind of right. Is that a good?
Speaker 2:summary yeah, they're setting up additional control measures and surveillance and trying to hold it south of the isthmus of Tehuantepec.
Speaker 2:Look at the map of Mexico and geographically, where it narrows down there towards the Yucatan, there's that last little narrow place that it's the isthmus of Tawantipik. And so that is kind of the hard line for us, because if the flies get past that, then geographically it becomes much harder for us to control them, because there's only one plant in the entire world that produces sterile flies right now and it's the one in Panama, and they are at maximum capacity, producing roughly 100 million to 110 million flies per week. All of those are being distributed in mexico right now and, uh, so they're having to, uh, they're, the goal is 44 flights a week. Okay, drop flies there and keep it from moving past that, because that's that's when the border shut down. It's because it had made it past. That there were three or four cases that were confirmed, and so they were able to get those cases under control no more active cases up there and now they're trying to keep it back south of there.
Speaker 1:Okay, and that's USDA that.
Speaker 2:Panama. Usda funds about 95% of that facility in Panama.
Speaker 1:Okay, and so the the intention is we keep it stopped there and then and there I think the USDA is re-evaluating every 30 days whether or not the border will be opened again. Right, and there were, there were extra. Or I mean, when an animal comes across the border, there are lots of inspections, right. Right, when an animal comes across the border.
Speaker 2:There are lots of inspections, right?
Speaker 2:Right, there's a whole process, at least three inspections, right? So they've got these facilities where they'll make a lot and they'll inspect them and make sure there's no open wounds, no drainage, no, anything that's going to indicate a problem, a problem so then, and they'll treat them with ivermectin, and then they move from there to a pre-import or pre-export inspection facility, and so that is where they'll be inspected again by Senececa and they go through a dip at one of those and then they'll move from there within 24 hours, I think, they move from there to the APHIS inspection facility and so they'll undergo one additional inspection there before they're allowed to cross. And so you know, they're inspected three times, they're treated with ivermectin, they're dipped at least once, if not twice, before they actually cross Well, when they were crossing Right and then into the US, and then, of course, on the US side, we have veterinarians at, you know, the sail barns and the ports on the US side, who are inspecting them again before they go on to whatever their destination is across the country.
Speaker 1:So we have lots of security protocols and all that. And then when you say dip too because I guess the intention of the podcast is that we're talking to people that maybe don't understand agriculture, A dip is another treatment for.
Speaker 2:That is more for ticks. Okay, so we don't. Obviously we don't want cattle fever tick introduced. We're already dealing with that across the surface. Another problem we don't want any more.
Speaker 2:But so that dip they go through a dipping vat so the cattle actually swim through and the dipping vat come out the other side and that dipping vat has coumaphos in it, which is one of the things to treat screwworm. So the dipping vat takes care of superficial things but it's not going to penetrate deep into a wound and that's the reason USDA requires the ivermectin injection, because it's going to get things that are deep in the tissue so that we're the larvae burrow in.
Speaker 1:Okay, so tons of steps and attempts to keep it. So is there anything that we need to know or you want people to know about this effort? I mean, I think it's important to know that, the attention to detail and the efforts to keep it out of the United States, I think that's evident. But yeah, is there anything else?
Speaker 2:Well, I mean, I think that it's important to understand that there are stray cattle that cross and the Texas tick riders are paying a lot of attention to that and isolating and treating those animals. We have wildlife moving back and forth across the border all the time. Pets, of course, are at risk. Any sort of warm-blooded animals are at risk. Even humans can be infested with screwworm, and so you know, I think that we have a lot of bigger risk factors besides. You know cattle are pretty well inspected before they come across if they're crossing through the ports. But there's a lot of other animals that aren't.
Speaker 1:Yeah, absolutely we're not going to be able to stop wildlife. Yeah, and yeah, so well, I thank you for your work on that. And then, I don't know, maybe mentioning you I don't know the acronym or the name, but the incident management that you kind of mentioned earlier oh, alert, yeah you guys have that too, right?
Speaker 2:Yeah, so you know Ag Livestock Incident Response Team, the ALERT members so there's about 20 to 25 veterinarians scattered all around New Mexico who are part of this team, and so they receive specialized training on recognizing foreign animal diseases, responding to things like screwworm, and they can actually be called up or deployed if we have a response, and so we'll probably we'll utilize our alert veterinarians, as well as extension offices, to get information out and then also have sampling kits available, so if they have a detection, they can go ahead and get that sample collected and then we'll get those to our NMSU entomologist.
Speaker 1:Perfect, and if anyone has questions they can contact you guys at the Livestock Board.
Speaker 2:Yep, it is a reportable disease. So if people suspect it, yeah, they need to give us a call, yeah absolutely Please.
Speaker 1:What is one thing maybe people don't know about your role, or about agriculture in New Mexico, or just, yeah, anything that you find that people don't know.
Speaker 2:I mean, I think one of the things about my role that is probably not well known is the participating in legislation activities like what you mentioned, and policy making, rule making. You know, having to act on those or even change some of those policies to meet the the times right, because some of these laws and things were written decades ago and are outdated, so we've got to bring that language up to date. I can't think of, I mean as far as New Mexico I think, just the variety within our industry. We may not have a lot of large scale commercial like poultry and well, we've got one large scale commercial poultry but swine things like that but we do have a lot of backyard sort of niche markets and smaller facilities and so I think that there are things we're vulnerable to that people maybe underestimate yeah, yeah, no doubt.
Speaker 1:I know there's a lot of even direct-to-consumer farmers and ranchers. I think it's a neat opportunity for consumers in New Mexico, but then also a unique challenge for management of disease and illness. So what is your favorite part of the agriculture industry, maybe even the favorite part of your job?
Speaker 2:I mean I've got gotta say beef industry is near and dear to my heart because that's what I grew up in. That you know. Really I love all different aspects of agriculture but, yeah, working with cows, that's probably where I'm happiest. Whether it's beef or dairy, either one, I enjoy it that's perfect, we're, we're glad we have you.
Speaker 1:Um, it's hard what you do, right you've got. You have to deal with so many things, so many aspects that maybe you didn't know about, and and then you know, trying to manage herd health for a whole state, basically right. What makes you keep going? Why do you do what you do?
Speaker 2:I mean that's it. You know healthy industry. You know I look at our kids, I look at our future generations, and you know, sustaining agriculture, keeping it feeding the world. I mean we are such a small percentage of people who feed a huge percentage of the world, absolutely.
Speaker 2:So yeah, I think you know being able to just support that any way that I can. You know there's a lot of really wonderful people in agriculture that if it wasn't for them, I mean we would all starve, that if it wasn't for them I mean we would all starve, but no, it just I don't know. It's a very fulfilling thing to help support the producers in the industry.
Speaker 1:Absolutely, I say every podcast that someone says something like that is. I agree. What an honor to be able to serve an industry that's feeding the world and that cares so much about the attention to detail. So here's the most important question. We joke, or I think I'm funny, so I joke what is your favorite way to eat beef?
Speaker 2:Well, so my favorite way is when my husband cooks a steak. He's got me spoiled. It's hard to eat steak anywhere else other than at home. But also, I mean, green chili cheeseburger is my all-time hands down, that's.
Speaker 1:The best, the best, it is the best. Yep, it's a true New Mexican favorite, and you support a lot of industries. You're supporting dairy and beef and green chili and then even onion farmers. There's a lot of industries. You're supporting dairy and beef and green chili and then even onion farmers. There's a lot of onions on, so you're supporting a lot of New Mexico favorites. So that's perfect. Well, we love a green chili cheeseburger. Well, thank you so much for all you do for our industry. And then thank you for your time. Hopefully, listeners won't hear all the times that my podcast equipment died, but thank you for your patience. And again, thank you for what you do and thanks for your time today.
Speaker 2:Oh, thanks for having me.
Speaker 1:Behind the Burger is a podcast produced by the New Mexico Beef Council with the goal of telling the stories of the cattlemen and cattlewomen of the New Mexico beef industry. Thank you for joining us for today's episode. If you'd like more information, please visit nmbeefcom. Whether it be a burger, a steak or another beef dish, we hope you're enjoying beef at your next meal.
