Feds Appoint New Chief Veterinary Officer

Jan 08, 2014

By Amanda Brodhagen, Farms.com

The Canadian government named a new chief veterinary officer who will lead the country’s animal and veterinary public health activities.

Dr. Harpeet S. Kochhar was announced Tuesday as Canada’s new chief veterinary officer, replacing Dr. Ian Alexandar, who will now serve in a new post as the Executive Director of Animal Health Science for the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA).

Kochhar has been with the CFIA since 2002 in various capacities, including senior Animal Biotechnology Policy Specialist and having worked in the CFIA’s Science Branch. He is a veterinarian by trade, and holds a Master’s degree in Veterinary Science and a PhD in biotechnology.

Prior to 2002, Kochhar worked as a veterinarian in private practice and was a professor at the University of Guelph’s Veterinary College. He also has experience working internationally with the World Organization for Animal Health and the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization.

Canada’s chief veterinary officer plays a pivotal role in providing advice to the government on animal and veterinary public health issues, which includes managing disease threats.

Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.