This July marks a significant milestone for Veterinary Agri-Health Services as we celebrate our 25th anniversary. Started as a one man practice by Mike in 1993 working out of the basement of his house, there have been many changes along the way.  As with many successful businesses, good timing helped in those early days.  The feeding industry in Alberta was in a growth phase at the time, fueled by a $0.75 Canadian dollar and the recent opening of the Cargill packing plant in High River.  Mike recognized there was an opportunity for a practice that focused exclusively on beef cattle and was encouraged by his initial three clients at that time; Highway 21 Feeders, Soderglen Farms and Independent Breeders, to pursue that dream.  Working closely with many industry experts from nutritionists to computer programmers the foundations for the practice were laid that focused on high quality veterinary services based on sound science.  From the beginning there was never a shortage of work and the business grew steadily, always with the focus on a herd health approach to practice.  Craig joined in 1998, sharing a similar vision and bringing a wealth of business and practice experience with him and the practice continued to grow from there.  There have been many challenges along the way, not the least of which was the BSE crisis in 2003, but our vision never changed.  Today the practice is proudly owned by Mike, Craig and Elizabeth and we are supported by our amazing staff: our 4 associate veterinarians, Sydney, Tommy, Brian and Matt, our animal health technicians Sandy, Shelby and Lauren our admin staff Corissa, Adele and Tricia.  In addition to providing feedlot and cow/calf veterinary services, the practice has an active research component and is a teaching affiliate for the University of Calgary, hosting students in their 3rd and 4th years for rotations in all aspects of beef cattle practice.  One of the things we are very proud of is our close collaboration with the many experts across the industry including the University of Calgary, the University of Saskatchewan, consulting nutritionists, pharmaceutical companies and several government agencies.  They have all contributed to our past success and we look forward to the next 25 years with great enthusiasm.