11/30/05 Greg Ledbetter named interim state vet

Doctor Greg Ledbetter has been named interim administrator and state veterinarian for the Idaho Department of Agriculture's Division of Animal Industries. Ledbetter and his wife Jane run a Jerome dairy with 12 hundred cows but he begins his new work with ISDA on Monday. The Division of Animal Industries includes nearly 50 employees, who handle everything from animal health issues to oversight of feedlots and dairies. I asked ISDA spokesman Wayne Hoffman how long the interim tag will apply to Doctor Ledbetter. HOFFMAN "We're talking about the next twelve months. There's a lot still up in the air as we have the legislature consider the legislation that would split apart those two positions, that of the state veterinarian and that of the division administrator for animal industries." Ledbetter could become fulltime state veterinarian, if and when that position is split from the administrator's job. HOFFMAN "We have a guy who has fantastic credentials and I think that the staff, the industry are going to be very happy with the person that we have selected for this job." Ledbetter says that after 28 years in the private sector, he's excited about the opportunity to work within state government to serve the livestock industry and the people of Idaho. He's replacing Doctor Clarence Siroky who was fired by ISDA director Pat Takasugi in early October. Today's Idaho Ag News Bill Scott