Adair County Vet Clinic named Friend of the Cattlemen

The Adair County Veterinary Clinic of Greenfield won the annual Friends of the Cattlemen Award during the 2025 Adair County Cattlemen Banquet.

The event, held Saturday, Jan. 18 at the 4-H/FFA Center on the fairgrounds, attracted a large crowd. Not only were awards given, a yearly update was shared by the organization, an auction was held and the band Red Dirt Renegade performed. The meal was catered by Chuckwagon Cafe of Adair.

In 1996, Dr. Gary Schulteis purchased the vet clinic and has enjoyed serving area farmers and pet owners ever since. Other doctors at the practice are Dr. Melissa Garcia Rodriguez and Dr. Kailey Clarke.

“Gary does a lot for a lot of us in here. Their clinic is very deserving of this,” said Adair County Cattlemen President Tyson Edwards. “The clinic staff puts in a lot of hours. A vet is worth their weight in gold to everybody here, so they’re very, very deserving of this.”

In her second year at Adair County Veterinary Clinic, Garcia Rodriguez said a fencing project was an important part of how the clinic gave back to the community during 2024. While they did a lot for the community in a lot of ways, it was a key reason they received the award.

“Ever since I have started working here, I have met some great people and I thoroughly enjoy my clients and the producers in the area,” Garcia Rodriguez said.

A client reached out to her asking how the clinic could help cattle' producers after the tornado as many had lost livestock and fencing. She reached out to multiple farm stores and secured donated fencing materials from Bomgaars in Creston and Theisen’s Home, Farm and Auto Supply of Indianola.

“The tornado was something terrible to experience. What amazed me was how quick this community came together, helped each other and looks forward to the future,” Garcia Rodriguez said. “Seeing this definitely made it worth all the time it took to get those donations together, without hesitation.”

The Cattlemen were extremely active around the county during 2024. Partnering with Fareway, Agriland FS and St. John’s Catholic Church, they grilled over 15,000 burgers in the two weeks following the tornado. They were helped by 11 other county Cattlemen groups, Chuckwagon Cafe, Wellman Dynamics and others.

The organization also played an integral part in serving RAGBRAI riders when they came through the area and grilled at many other community events throughout the year. A big initiative going forward for the group is updating the grill they use for these events.

Receiving recognition as scholarship recipients from the Adair County Cattlemen during the banquet were Charles Rudolf, Bailey Carstens, Belle Fagan, Hannah Muller and Shyann Young. Heifer project recipients were Alivia Maeder and Hayden Griffith. Retiring board members recognized were Chad Varley and Joe Maeder.