It’s good to talk: Bridging the gap between vet and farmer for improved flock health

FARM vets are being advised to build stronger relationships with sheep farmers by instigating conversations and showing an interest in their businesses and the problems they face. That was the key message from a recent webinar called Breaking barriers: case studies on farmer engagement for effective parasite control, organised by Elanco Animal Health. Independent sheep consultant Nerys Wright, chaired a panel of four practising sheep vets to discuss the common challenges vets and farmers face when connecting and collaborating effectively. Dawn Bowness, farm clinical director at North Yorkshire-based Clevedale Farm Vets, said very little had changed since a study was conducted in 2013 to understand why only a fifth of sheep farmers were engaging with vets. She added: “Common reasons for a lack of vet engagement were a perceived lack of knowledge from sheep vets about the industry, a lack of continuity and time from vets, and the economics of sheep farming. "As a profession, we need to work to bridge this mismatch between what sheep farmers perceive and need, and what’s currently being delivered in practice.” Kaz Strycharczyk, from Black Sheep Farm Health in Northumberland, advised other vets to engage in ‘listening mode’ more with their sheep farmer clients. “Never turn down the offer of a cup of tea; the time you spend chatting away is really valuable and it’s a brilliant way to learn about your clients and their businesses,” he said.

Breaking Barriers: Nerys Wright, Kaz Strycharczyk, Will Allman, Dawn Bowness and John Hemingway

John Hemingway, from Shropshire Farm Vets, agreed and said taking the time to listen to farmers and understand their concerns – such as the price of feed – would enable vets to tailor their advice to the needs of each individual farm business. He added: “The rate of change you can expect to see on a sheep farm is slow, especially when you compare it to a dairy, where a change in ration can result in a different milk yield the next day, so continual dialogue is really important.” Will Allman, director at Herefordshire-based Belmont Farm and Equine Vets, explained that understanding a farmer’s main challenges is key to communicating the cost savings of certain flock health management advice – such as parasite control. He said: “To engage more with sheep farmers, we need to demonstrate the positive outcomes that come from paying us for advice.” All four vets answered questions about parasite control – including the use of faecal egg count (FEC) tests to monitor for gastrointestinal worm burdens and the best timing for break doses in the latter part of the grazing season – during a live question and answer session at the end of the webinar. The general consensus was that break doses with the newer classes of wormers, such as Group 4 wormer Zolvix, should be timed to act as the final dose of the season. Mr Strycharczyk added: “I used to view a break dose as a weaning dose, but for some of our clients weaning is in the middle of summer, and some of the biggest worm egg counts we see are later in the season; reserving that break dose until it’s genuinely the last dose of the season is more effective.” To watch back the webinar and question and answer session, click here.