Farm practice

The RUMA Alliance targets: an overview

The TTF group was conceived in spring 2016 in response to Lord Jim O'Neill's seminal AMR review (O'Neill, 2016). The report, commissioned by the UK government in 2014 to assess the global problem of...

Figure 1. Change in total veterinary spend over 3 years, LLM Farm Vets Vet Invest Report.

Antimicrobial resistance: how changes have improved practices in the UK dairy industry

AMR rarely causes clinical problems on dairy farms, so although AMR is causing increased global concern, it can be hard for the farmer-veterinary surgeon team to relate to this practically when...

Figure 3. Direct external access to the postmortem room to reduce cross-contamination of other practice facilities.

How to set up a postmortem facility in a farm animal practice

Clients should be able to deliver carcasses along with an appropriate history/submission form, directly to the postmortem facility without bringing them through the practice building/s. Carcasses (and...

Figure 1. Group housing of pigs, which allows for social interactions (courtesy of Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board Pork).

Livestock cognition: stimulating the minds of farm animals to improve welfare and productivity

The cognitive ability of farm animals has been studied with increasing prevalence and it has become evident that many species have more complex abilities than previously thought (Nawroth et al, 2019).

Figure 2. Midday January 4th, from the back of the hospital.

Surviving the Australian Black Summer bushfires: a veterinary perspective

The Bega Valley is a dairy area located on the far South Coast of New South Wales between Sydney and Melbourne. Bega and Cobargo Veterinary Hospital is a 10-veterinary surgeon mixed practice. The main...

VetIMPRESS secure data management platform provides veterinary insights into animal health and production data

Veterinary advocacy and advice: promoting farmer resilience with evidence-based decisions

Figure 2. Example of a ranking exercise using ping pong balls.

Getting more out of farmer meetings: a practical guide for advisors

Holding a meeting or workshop is a resource-heavy exercise; they take time to plan and organise, require materials, a venue, sometimes food, and usually persistent advertising and marketing. Engaging...

Figure 1. Levels of evidence in ascending order of reliability.

Evidence-based veterinary medicine: searching the evidence in practice

Evidence-based veterinary medicine techniques can be of enormous value to the general practitioner. There are some key processes to apply in order to search and find the science behind questions that...

Figure 1. Pie charts demonstrating number of selections under profession sector categories for (i) experienced (n = 147 examples from 110 individuals) and (ii) witnessed (n = 110 examples from 72 individuals) incidents.

Courageous Conversations: discrimination faced by students undertaking production animal clinical EMS

The problem of discrimination in the veterinary profession can seem like an insurmountable issue. At the recent Courageous Conversations conference Charlotte McCarroll discussed some of the research...

Figure 1. Pigs showing different expressive demeanours (images © Marianne Farish, SRUC).

Qualitative behaviour assessment as an indicator of animal emotional welfare in farm assurance

To date, attempts to monitor animals' emotional state have focused on physiological measures considered to be associated with emotion (e.g. heart rate variability, cortisol in blood/hair/dung, body...

Figure 3. Good design covered open ridge with upstands; creates negative pressure at ridge >90% time.

Youngstock housing design

Apart from the question of using the correct cleaning products at the correct dilution for the correct period of application, the ability to satisfactorily clean surfaces competently is a system...

Figure 1. Bluebells (Hyacinthoides spp.) are a common spring plant.

Spring poisoning hazards

Glyphosate is a broad spectrum herbicide and is the most widely used herbicide worldwide. It is commonly used before sowing and also just before harvesting crops. It is an organophosphate herbicide...