Animal Health

Lee’s Summit Advantage

Located within the most concentrated area of animal health companies in the world, Lee’s Summit’s geographical location gives it access to a broad range of animal health resources. Lee’s Summit is located in the center of the major Missouri animal health hubs of Kansas City, St. Joseph and Columbia. The Kansas City area represents 56 percent of the $88 billion global animal health industry. [Source: Missouri Partnership] Missouri is an agriculture powerhouse with world-class research facilities, highly-educated workforce, ample agricultural resources and a strong transportation network. With easy access to I-470, I-70, U.S. 50, U.S. 71 and 291 Hwy, Lee’s Summit can ship to most regions within 2 days. The city also owns two rail spurs, which are serviced by Union Pacific. Top industry companies and resources located in the Kansas City region include the American Angus Association, The U.S. Animal Health Association, Mars Petcare U.S., Ameri-Pac, Inc, SCD Probiotics and AgriLabs.

Workforce Education

Lee’s Summit strives to create a competitive, highly-trained workforce beginning from post-secondary education through a four-year degree. Nearly 44 percent of Lee’s Summit residents 25 or older hold a bachelor’s degree or higher, substantially higher than the surrounding county, state and region. Lee’s Summit is located in the same region as numerous educational institutions, which offer advanced training for animal health professionals.

  • The University of Central Missouri - Lee’s Summit offers a variety of degrees in subjects relating to animal health such as Bioinformatics.
  • Metropolitan Community College - Longview is located in Lee’s Summit. Longview offers a range of animal science degrees and programs available in fields such as Pre-Veterinary, Veterinary Hospital Manager and Veterinary Technology.
  • The University of Missouri Kansas City offers degrees in Bioinformatics and Biotechnology.
  • The University of Missouri, located in Columbia, MO, offers schools of medicine, agriculture and veterinary medicine at its Columbia campus. Degree programs include Animal Science, Biochemistry, Veterinary Medicine and Veterinary Pathobiology.
  • Kansas State University  in Manhattan, KS offers 16 undergraduate majors, 15 minors, 5 certificates, and a general agriculture program through its College of Agriculture. Its extension campus in nearby Olathe offers a Master of Science in Veterinary Medicine and a Master of Science in Agribusiness.
Research

Lee's Summit is conveniently located in the same region as some of the industry's top research entities.

  • MRIGlobal in Kansas City has more than 55 years of experience in animal health research including Target Animal Safety Studies, Specialty Animal Models, Bioanalytical, Animal Diagnostics and Bioequivalence.
  • The University of Missouri has a variety of animal research facilities including IDEXX BioAnalytics, the Christopher S. Bond Life Sciences Center, Mutant Mouse Resource and Research Center, Metagenomics Center, National Swine Resource and Research Center and Rat Resource and Research Center.
Location

Lee’s Summit is 16 miles southeast of downtown Kansas City and is one of the fastest-growing communities in the state of Missouri. With a current population of 99,290, the city offers companies and residents a thriving local economy, award-winning schools, nimble workforce and training programs, plentiful public and private investment, diverse housing stock and coveted community lifestyle amenities.

At 65 square miles, the fifth-largest in the state, the city has room to grow with recently-annexed properties in strategic, highway-served locations. The ease of access to nearby highways provides Lee’s Summit with a broad workforce. Lee’s Summit has access to a pool of approximately 905,800 workers within a 45-minute drive. 80% of workers in Lee’s Summit drive fewer than 24 miles to work.