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The veterinary business received a $17 million investment from Main Street Capital.

Curt Arens, Editor, Nebraska Farmer

February 12, 2021

3 Min Read
Nebraska Vet Services, based in West Point
VET CLINIC: Nebraska Vet Services, based in West Point, recently gained a major investment from Main Street Capital to allow the company to expand its footprint and gain additional veterinary clinics. Courtesy of NVS

With locations in West Point, Howells and Wisner, Nebraska Vet Services is working to expand services and the footprint of the company’s veterinary clinics. Founded in 1985 in Dodge, today the company is headquartered in West Point and offers veterinary products and services to livestock production operations across the Midwest.

In early January, NVS announced a $17 million investment by Houston-based Main Street Capital Corp. into its business. Main Street partnered with NVS’ existing owners and senior management team to facilitate the transaction and provide growth capital.

Time to grow

The funds will be used to grow NVS by acquiring additional veterinary practices across the region. “We provide service to rural communities, so it is important that we provide veterinary care to all animals,” says David Gnad, NVS CEO. The growth in the company will focus initially on the Midwest. Nebraska is the bedrock of the entire company, Gnad adds.

“The production animal industry, as with all areas of agriculture, has rapidly improved and become much more sophisticated,” Gnad says. “We have found as we have grown that getting bright, energetic, focused veterinarians that are committed to production animal agriculture elevates, collectively, the group’s level of service to the customer.

"While the farmer or rancher may see only one veterinarian at a time, they have a number of them discussing current topics, research, better ways to improve health and performance. Our goal is to be able to bring the best information and service to our production animal customers, to be their trusted adviser in the area of animal health of production. As we look to expand in Nebraska, we will be searching for veterinarians that share that same philosophy, thereby expanding our collective partnership and value proposition to the farmers and ranchers of Nebraska.

“We have found in our own practices that if you can create a critical mass of veterinarians, that allows them to focus on areas in veterinary medicine that they have an interest in,” Gnad explains. “The scope of veterinary medicine has and will continue to expand rapidly. Giving veterinarians the opportunity to focus on specific areas, if they choose, allows them to serve their customers at a higher level, which is something we believe the customers want and deserve.”

Large service area

The service area for NVS can vary, depending on the livestock density and services being provided.

“For example, we have customers bringing animals from surrounding states to our embryo facility in West Point, and also have veterinarians that routinely travel hours away to provide reproductive work to dairies, spend the day consulting in feedyards or performing diagnostics and consulting in swine facilities,” Gnad says. “We also have veterinarians that may stay within 20 miles of West Point treating sick animals. The production animal industry is very diverse, so we need to meet them where they are with what they need.”

Finding the right investment partner was important to NVS. “In Main Street, we found a partner that has a very different approach than other potential partners,” Gnad says. “They have a long-term approach to investing, see their role as a strategic financial partner who is willing to provide us with the ongoing financing that we need, and support us strategically as we execute our objectives while we retained control of the business as both the majority owners and the day-to-day management team.”

NVS also found in Main Street a partner that believes in the company’s mission and has an understanding of the NVS passion for rural communities and the ag industries NVS serves, Gnad adds.

“We are close to our customer. We work hard to understand their needs and how we can best help them attain their goals,” Gnad says. “Those are decisions that need to remain local, and Main Street understands and believes that.”

“Dr. Gnad and his partners have a strong track record and a great vision for how they want to continue to build on their platform to provide exceptional service to their customers,” says Jesse Morris, chief operating officer and executive vice president, Main Street Capital Corp. “We are excited to partner with them and assist them in achieving their long-term objectives.”

Learn more about NVS at nebraskavetservices.com.

About the Author(s)

Curt Arens

Editor, Nebraska Farmer

Curt Arens began writing about Nebraska’s farm families when he was in high school. Before joining Farm Progress as a field editor in April 2010, he had worked as a freelance farm writer for 27 years, first for newspapers and then for farm magazines, including Nebraska Farmer.

His real full-time career, however, during that same period was farming his family’s fourth generation land in northeast Nebraska. He also operated his Christmas tree farm and grew black oil sunflowers for wild birdseed. Curt continues to raise corn, soybeans and alfalfa and runs a cow-calf herd.

Curt and his wife Donna have four children, Lauren, Taylor, Zachary and Benjamin. They are active in their church and St. Rose School in Crofton, where Donna teaches and their children attend classes.

Previously, the 1986 University of Nebraska animal science graduate wrote a weekly rural life column, developed a farm radio program and wrote books about farm direct marketing and farmers markets. He received media honors from the Nebraska Forest Service, Center for Rural Affairs and Northeast Nebraska Experimental Farm Association.

He wrote about the spiritual side of farming in his 2008 book, “Down to Earth: Celebrating a Blessed Life on the Land,” garnering a Catholic Press Association award.

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