Antimicrobial resistance in swine and its interconnections to animal welfare and the sustainability of pork operations has fascinated Carissa Odland, DVM, for years. A farm's performance on these factors can be the difference between profitability and loss. Yet, not enough is known to give producers a reliable recipe for success. Odland aims to change that.

Her drive to learn and apply science to understand and solve problems in swine production is a key reason why Odland will be recognized with the 2022 Allen D. Leman Science in Practice Award in September at the annual Allen D. Leman Swine Conference in St. Paul, Minnesota.

"The key is to identify the real problems that need to be investigated," Odland says, "to ensure proper trials are conducted, and then translate the results into actions at the farm level. This requires a team effort in order to accomplish this and I have been blessed to work with amazing teams."

"For more than 20 years this award has honored veterinarians like Carissa who are leading our swine industry toward an exciting future," says Montse Torremorell, DVM, PhD, and professor in the Department of Veterinary Population Medicine at the University of Minnesota. "We are excited to recognize her and to have the support of Zoetis in supporting this award."

"We applaud Dr. Odland's efforts to understand the drivers of antimicrobial resistance," says Lucina Galina, DVM, PhD and director of pork technical services at Zoetis. "Her knowledge and expertise helped build the foundation that supports antimicrobial stewardship in pig production today." Zoetis will sponsor the reception at this year's Leman Swine Conference in St. Paul, where Odland will be honored. 

Odland earned a DVM in 2009 from the University of Minnesota College of Veterinary Medicine. She worked for 13 years at Pipestone Veterinary Services as director of Animal Welfare. A desire to keep learning sparked her interest to earn a master's degree in epidemiology while working at Pipestone. Her work focused on antimicrobial resistance in swine. Odland recently started working with the Wholestone Farms team as manager of sustainability The Fremont, Nebraska company is owned by more than 200 pork producing families in seven states, and is the nation's tenth largest pork producer. 

Originally from Saint Peter, Minnesota, Odland grew up on a sheep farm. She currently resides in rural Trent, South Dakota with her husband and three kids.

Odland will receive her award Sept. 19 at the annual Leman Swine Conference in St. Paul. The conference is the industry's premier health and production management conference.

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