As Dr. Delbert (Del) Miles looks back over his distinguished veterinary career, he has little interest in discussing the many well-deserved awards and accolades he’s received over the years.
Instead, he wants to talk about the importance of people – the clients and colleagues and everyone in between – and how much they mean to him.
“It’s always been about the people; that’s what’s meant the most to me throughout my career,” says Miles, DVM, M.S. “I’ve enjoyed everyone in the feedlot industry, from the cowboys working cattle and washing water tanks to the individuals with MBAs from Harvard and Stanford.”
For his dedicated commitment and compassion for both people and cattle, the Cattle Feeders Hall of Fame has named Miles the recipient of its 2024 Cattle Feeders Hall of Fame Industry Leadership Award.
Unwavering Dedication
Miles is well-known in the industry for building relationships and rapport with the people as he worked with their cattle. One of his veterinary associates, Dr. Bob Smith, once described Miles as “tenacious, stoic and consistent, with a strong code of ethics, transparency, fairness and a well-honed sense of humor.”
With more than 30 years in feedyard medicine and consulting, Miles is also known in the beef industry for innovation, advocacy and applying scientific methods to evaluate, adopt and monitor products and practices.
His veterinary philosophy was known as being one of “management over medicine.”
In naming him as the award recipient, the Cattle Feeders Hall of Fame said Miles has “shown unwavering dedication to the world of feedlot veterinary medicine and groundbreaking research in beef cattle production.”
A Missouri native, Miles says he knew early on he wanted to work with cattle as a veterinarian. “Midway through high school, my dad bought two loads of cattle that ended up requiring veterinary care,” he recalls. “In those days, veterinarians did all the treating of livestock, and that’s when I first thought this could be an exciting career.”
Data-Focused Pioneer
After earning his doctorate of veterinary medicine from the University of Missouri, working in private practice, then completing a master’s program in veterinary pathology at Kansas State University, Miles took a research veterinarian position with what was Bayer Animal Health, now Elanco. During that time, he oversaw trials for approval of new products and collaborated with leading scientists, gaining an appreciation for the value of rigorous scientific methods in feedyard research.
In 1984, Miles founded Veterinary Research and Consulting Services LLC (VRCS) based in Greeley, Colo., where he still resides today with his wife, Marlene.
From the beginning, Miles decided his practice would not sell animal-health products, but would instead review research data, conduct internal research as needed and rely on research results to help his clients make decisions. He and his partner and co-owner, Dr. Karen Rogers, eventually built VRCS to include six associates before they sold the practice to Dr. Trent Fox.
Miles has a long history with veterinary medicine organizations. He is a past president of the Academy of Veterinary Consultants and a former recipient of the Consultant of the Year for AVC. He has been an AABP director and has been recognized with several awards from the association, including the AABP Award of Excellence in Preventive Veterinary Medicine and Bovine Practitioner of the Year. He also was inducted into the Cattle Production Veterinarian Hall of Fame.
Miles is a member of several state veterinary associations as well as the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association and the Colorado Cattle Feeders.
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