Two Men with a Dead Calf, number 3

Abstract

Roy Herrmann was a rancher in Caldwell, Tx., he also served as president of the Texas Hereford Association from 1975 to 1976. Dr. Robert W. Sprowls received the 2013 Diagnostic Services Award in Excellence from Texas A&M AgriLife. Starting his career as a pathologist, Dr. Sprowls has been in leadership positions at the Amarillo lab since 1975. He is nationally renowned as an astute diagnostician, helping to earn the lab’s reputation as the premier U.S. facility for feedlot disease diagnostics. His innovative approaches include promoting batch/pooled testing of clinical specimens for reproductive diseases such as Trichomoniasis. Using this method, beef producers have controlled the disease and saved 75 to 80 percent in costs over individual testing. Working with a range of clients that include some of the world’s largest feedlots, Dr. Sprowls shows great diplomacy in relating to animal owners and to veterinarians treating both large and small animals. He makes time to interact personally with clients each day, also responding to calls on nights, weekends, and holidays. He was instrumental in the development and success of the Academy of Veterinary Consultants, now a 900-member national group of beef cattle veterinarians. Dr. Sprowls is known as “the heart of the Amarillo laboratory.†His expertise, approachability, quiet dignity, and integrity have earned him the respect of the livestock industry, his staff, and his peers and colleagues throughout Texas A&M AgriLife.