Second-Gen Land-Grant Poultry Veteran Barton Takes Helm of Veterinary Diagnostic Lab
James Barton, DVM, named new director of Veterinary Diagnostic Lab
By John Lovett – Feb. 7, 2025
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — A veterinarian with deep experience in poultry science, animal welfare and disease prevention was recently named the director of the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture Veterinary Diagnostic Lab.
James Barton, DVM, took the helm of the lab in January following a 30-plus-year career with some of the biggest names in the poultry industry.
“Dr. Barton’s career experiences and knowledge in poultry production, sales, technical services and laboratory management make him a great fit and asset to the Veterinary Diagnostic Lab,” said Nathan Slaton, associate vice president for agriculture and assistant director of the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station. “His experience and leadership are welcomed to help grow laboratory services to support the poultry industry during the continued Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza outbreak.”
The experiment station is the research arm of the Division of Agriculture.
Now in its 17th year, the lab provides animal disease diagnostic services, health monitoring programs and authorized testing programs for the public and the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The lab processed over 250,000 serology samples and conducted over 7,500 molecular assays and nearly 15,000 microbial tests last year as a member of the National Animal Health Laboratory Network and National Poultry Improvement Plan. The lab is also an accredited satellite lab of the Arkansas Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory.
In addition to Barton, the UADA Veterinary Diagnostic Lab has a staff of six highly competent and dedicated laboratory technicians, Barton said.
“If you look at where the poultry industry is really centered and concentrated, it’s right here in this part of Arkansas, Missouri and Oklahoma,” Barton said. “So, we’re a preferred laboratory by the poultry industry from both convenience and operational perspectives because of the lab’s expedience and client confidence in our capability.”
In addition to providing essential data needed to contain the region’s suspected HPAI cases, the lab continues to perform routine monitoring and diagnostic testing for agricultural animals in the region.
Another emerging disease for poultry, Barton noted, is avian metapneumovirus.
“We’re playing a part in helping the industry understand where that virus has started to affect flocks,” Barton said. “There are vaccines that have become available recently and that’s going to be a big part of the control practice.”
Legacy in poultry
Barton is no stranger to the Division of Agriculture. His father, Lionel Barton, was an extension poultry specialist for the Division of Agriculture and professor emeritus. But the younger Barton is building his own legacy in the poultry industry.
Having grown up in Fayetteville and graduating from Fayetteville High School in 1983, he earned his bachelor’s degree in poultry science at the University of Arkansas and his Doctor of Veterinary Medicine at Louisiana State University.
After completing a two-year residency in avian diagnostic medicine at the University of California’s San Bernadino lab, Barton began a 33-year career that included private practice and roles as veterinarian, poultry welfare specialist, lab director and technical services director for some of the biggest names in the poultry industry such as Adisseo, Cargill, Novozymes, The Poultry Federation, and Tyson Foods. His most recent position was director of technical marketing for Ancera.
Barton has been a member of the American Veterinary Medical Association since 1989, serving as an expert on poultry euthanasia in crisis intervention and participating in U.S. legislative visits as a member of the American Association of Avian Pathologists. He is a charter diplomate of the American College of Animal Welfare and previously served on the American College of Poultry Veterinarians’ board of governors as the appointee to the American Board of Veterinary Specialties.
Barton has served as chairman of the Arkansas Livestock and Poultry Commission, the animal health advisory board to the state regulatory agency and the governor, and vice-chair of the National Poultry Improvement Plan General Conference Committee. He has also served as chairman of the Poultry Health Advisory Committee, formed by the Arkansas State Veterinarian to produce a tri-state action plan for responding to poultry disease outbreaks, and was a member of the Arkansas Department of Health Avian Influenza Interest Group from 2005-2010.
As a Fayetteville resident, Barton was also a member of the City of Fayetteville’s mayor-appointed Environmental Action Committee. In his spare time, Barton dabbles in photography, explores the outdoors and occasionally engages in amateur radio. He and his wife, Christina, have two adult children, Zoë and Eli.
To learn more about the Division of Agriculture research, visit the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station website. Follow us on 𝕏 at @ArkAgResearch, subscribe to the Food, Farms and Forests podcast and sign up for our monthly newsletter, the Arkansas Agricultural Research Report. To learn more about the Division of Agriculture, visit uada.edu. Follow us on 𝕏 at @AgInArk. To learn about extension programs in Arkansas, contact your local Cooperative Extension Service agent or visit uaex.uada.edu.
About the Division of Agriculture
The University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture’s mission is to strengthen agriculture, communities, and families by connecting trusted research to the adoption of best practices. Through the Agricultural Experiment Station and the Cooperative Extension Service, the Division of Agriculture conducts research and extension work within the nation’s historic land grant education system.
The Division of Agriculture is one of 20 entities within the University of Arkansas System. It has offices in all 75 counties in Arkansas and faculty on three campuses.
The University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture offers all its Extension and Research programs to all eligible persons without regard to race, color, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, religion, age, disability, marital or veteran status, genetic information, or any other legally protected status, and is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer.
More Recent News
