South West vet earns second place in DPIRD’s young professional of the year

A South West vet has been recognised as one of the State’s top young professionals for his research into cattle.

Collie Vet Jai Thomas has been awarded second place in the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development’s Young Professionals in Agriculture Forum’s Noel Fitzpatrick medal for his research into the application of nose rings on cattle.

Having only recently graduated from Murdoch University, Dr Thomas said it was great to have earned the award and have his research gain more attention outside the university.

“It’s really good that my research project, that I’ve obviously spent a lot of time and effort on, has been recognised and I’m able to show the broader public about it, and not just the uni assessors,” he said.

His research focused on minimising pain and discomfort felt by cattle when applying a nose ring, prioritising the self-piercing method over the hole punch method and the use of effective pain relief strategies.

“Being a veterinarian and as anyone with an agriculture or farm background would know, we’re well aware that our animals are our lives, and we always want to give them the best kind of gold standard treatment and their welfare is our top priority,” he said.

“Just knowing what kind of nose ring application methods cause the least pain-related behaviours is vital to our knowledge and obviously the animals as well.”

Dr Thomas is working across the Pets + Vets clinics in Collie and Narrogin, building on his experience with large animals so he can open a large animal practice in Collie and Harvey.

“The clientele around here, with the large animal side is really good and with Collie and Harvey, it’s something that I would definitely love to tap into,” he said.

Edith Cowan University graduate Ellie Simpson was the 2025 recipient of the annual Young Professionals in Agriculture Forum’s Noel Fitzpatrick medal for her research identifying soils susceptible to acidification in the WA Wheatbelt.

Coming in third was fellow Murdoch University veterinary graduate James Mettam for his research talk on the potential threat of microplastics and nanoplastics to livestock.

DPIRD chief primary industries scientist and former forum winner Ben Biddulph congratulated the students on their research and the high quality of their presentations.

“The Young Professionals in Agriculture Forum has been recognising the research efforts and passion of young scientists for more than 20 years,” Dr Biddulph said.

“Each year, the forum hears about new learnings, technologies and innovations that benefit agriculture, fisheries and land management.”