When Dr. Peter Poss, ’57 DVM, cared about something, it received nothing less than fierce dedication. Whether it was working as a veterinarian and business leader in the poultry industry, volunteering for the Minnesota Veterinary Historical Museum, or advocating for his alma mater, his tireless commitment earned accolades and admiration.

The legacy that Poss leaves behind following his death on July 31, 2024, is one that will not be easily forgotten. His 40-plus-year career spans military service, private rural practice, poultry companies, consultant work, and time spent at the College of Veterinary Medicine as chair of the Dean’s Advisory Council and assistant to the dean. His impact on the poultry industry has been called immeasurable. Tom Molitor, professor and former chair of the Department of Veterinary Population Medicine, summed it up for a nomination letter. 

“Peter Poss is one of the leaders who have made Minnesota the No. 1 turkey-producing state in the USA,” he wrote. “In the Mount Rushmore of turkey health and production, Peter Poss’s image would be a face carved in stone.”  

A veterinary career seemed like an inevitability for Poss, who grew up caring for animals of all kinds on his family farm. Though he came to be known around CVM as the “Turkey Man,” poultry medicine didn’t become his full-time career until after he had worked for the USDA, U.S. Army, and in private practice following his veterinary school graduation in 1957. 

In 1965, Poss was offered his first full-time poultry job, joining Earl B. Olson Farms, which would become Jenni-O Turkey Foods. He started as a flock service technician before moving up to general manager and eventually into a vice president position before retiring in 1990.

Poss is credited as being among a handful of veterinarians who grew Minnesota’s turkey industry to be the most successful in the nation. His leadership in the poultry industry is lauded for improving facilities, disease management and eradication, and food safety and biosecurity measures, which, as a result, stabilized food production through the prevention of turkey deaths.

“As a manager, you need to learn and work at it every day,” Poss wrote in an autobiography for the American Association of Avian Pathologists. “In addition to disease problems, bird losses and production time with barn fires and winter building snow collapse all need planning and prevention.” 

Following his retirement from Jennie-O, Poss became a poultry veterinary consultant and also took on part-time roles at CVM from 1993–1999, first as coordinator of admissions and student affairs and then as assistant to the dean. He also served as volunteer chair of the Dean Advisory Council from 1988–1989.

His love for CVM fueled advocacy efforts to bolster and protect the College. In 1987, a blue-ribbon panel recommendation was made to close CVM. Poss worked with alumni, stakeholders, legislators, and university leadership to reverse this proposal and to ensure CVM prospered into the future. 

“The reversal of this recommendation, based on the outpouring of support that resulted from Peter’s tireless work on behalf of the veterinary college, was a pivotal event in the College’s history,” former CVM Dean Dr. Tevor Ames wrote in an award nomination letter. 

Award nomination letters for Poss are plentiful as he received numerous honors, including the UMN Outstanding Achievement Award, the Minnesota Veterinary Medical Association Veterinarian of the Year award, and the Siehl Prize in Agriculture Business from the UMN College of Food, Agricultural, and Natural Resource Sciences. 

Throughout his career and retirement, Poss remained active in professional organizations such as the Minnesota Turkey Growers Association, Minnesota Turkey Research and Promotion Council, and the Midwest and national turkey federations. 

A passion Poss pursued since 2006 was supporting the Minnesota Veterinary Historical Museum housed at CVM through volunteer, fundraising, and leadership efforts. He spent countless hours preserving historical items and promoting the museum. 

“His tireless dedication to the museum and his vision in leading it forward has been a great aid to the museum’s substantial progress and increased public visibility,” wrote Paul Maravelas, one of the museum’s former curators. 

While he dedicated time to preserving veterinary history in Minnesota, Poss also became a part of it and will be remembered for the impact of his leadership, advocacy, and innovation in poultry medicine and beyond.