K-State professor named head of animal health organization

MANHATTAN (KSNT) – K-State professor of agricultural economics Dustin Pendell was named the head of the Americas region of the Collaborating Center for the Economics of Animal Health (CCEAH).

The project is supported by the World Organization for Animal Health (WOAH) which has 183 member countries, 33 within the Americas region, according to a press release from K-State.

“Our thought process is that we can start to work together across these 33 countries in the Americas region to develop a set of consistent methods and tools that everyone can use to estimate the economic impacts of animal health,” Pendell said. “Then we can take that knowledge that we generate and disseminate that information back to the decision-makers, whether that be animal health officials, producers or anybody throughout the supply chain, so they can make better management decisions.”

The CCEAH holds its operations at the K-State Manhattan Campus and involves partners with the University of Sao Paulo, University of Brasilia, Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico and Washington State University. The center focuses on animal health related to land animals and aquaculture, according to a press release from K-State.

“As an economist, I will focus my work in that area, but this center is much more than economics,” Pendell said. “It will take multiple disciplines, such as veterinarians, economists, epidemiologists, engineers and more, to make this a success.”