Summer/Fall 2013 PDF - University of Minnesota College of ...

FOUR GENERATIONS
animals. And I loved seeing the
respect his clients had for him.”
When Ed graduated from the
University of Minnesota in
1955, he opened a new branch of
the family practice in Melrose.
Unlike his father, though, Ed
kept a furious pace, answering
calls at all hours, even holidays.
“I think the first five, six, seven
years we never took a day off,”
says Ed. “We had no help. You
couldn’t beg, borrow, or steal a
young vet back then.”
Ed’s son Daniel recalls those
days, too: “When I was little,
my dad was gone when we got up in the
morning and was rarely home when we
went to bed at night. On weekends my
mother shoved us in his vet truck, and we
would ride around with him. I probably
grew up knowing what I wanted to do
my whole life. I just loved working with
livestock.”
Three decades later, Daniel and his
younger brother, David, joined the family
practice, one right after the other, in 1981
and 1983. Daniel moved back to Albany,
his grandfather Emil’s former territory.
“I was a little bit afraid of being Ed’s son,”
says Daniel. “I didn’t want to get lost
Dr. Ed Tomsche worked with a cow on a family farm.
The Tomsche family veterinary
tradition began in 1929 with Dr.
Emil Tomsche.
An early introduction to the family business.
Dr. Ed Tomsche held his baby son, Daniel,
who would become a veterinarian in 1981.
in his shadow. I felt Albany was a good
place for me to spread my wings.” He
soon purchased a building, expanding the
family practice.
David also knew from an early age
that he wanted to be a vet. And like his
older brother, David pushed the practice
forward, focusing on herd health rather
than individual animals. But David wanted
to push the boundaries even further.
“One thing led to another,” David says.
“We created a small animal component.
We brought more people on.
And we opened our retail
business.”
In 1988, Ed pulled his sons
aside.
“I could tell we were
stretching his comfort zone,”
says David. “He said, ‘I think
you guys need to buy this
clinic. You’re taking it in a
different direction. I don’t
disagree, but it’s way different
from what I know.’”
When clients began asking
to purchase animal health
products at catalog prices,
brothers Daniel and David
Dr. Ed Tomsche,
class of 1955
Dr. Grant
Tomsche
graduated
on May 11.
expanded into retail sales in 1994,
founding Melrose-based Leedstone,
formerly Stearns Veterinary Outlet and
Pharmacy.
“We figured we had to get into the retail
business or lose the sales we were making,
even if it meant lower margins,” says
David. Today, Leedstone sells more than
1,500 animal care products, including
pharmaceuticals, to consumers, farms,
and veterinarians. The company employs
80 people and exports animal health care
products and feed additives to Japan.
The Tomsches have seen many changes
over the span of the practice. Tractors
have replaced horses. Local creameries
have come and gone. Pipelines eliminated
the need for hand milking and are now
being supplanted by milking parlors. And
dairy farms and other livestock operations
continue to consolidate. Larger farms—
some with 7,000 milk cows—and new
technologies have changed the role of
large animal veterinarians, who now travel
farther to fewer farms but find the work
just as rewarding.
“I believe veterinary medicine is a noble
pursuit,” says Grant. “Not only do I get
to be in agriculture, but I get to practice
medicine. So, I guess that makes it pretty
easy for me to get up in the morning.”
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