Impact of Flock Health Clubs

Nicola Noble,Marion Johnson,Jasmeet Kaler,Wendy Jones,Francesca Occhiuto,Fiona Lovatt

doi:10.12968/live.2020.25.6.301

Nicola Noble, Marion Johnson + Show 4 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.12968/live.2020.25.6.301

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Abstract

Sheep farming is an important part of UK agriculture with significantly more breeding females than either the pig or cattle sectors. Whether grazing alongside arable rotations or utilising the marginal uplands, sheep farms arguably play a key role that is embedded within UK rural society. However, research led by University of Nottingham has identified various challenges and barriers that have affected relationships between UK sheep farmers and the veterinary profession. In response to these findings, Flock Health Clubs were developed as an initiative that aimed for improved and cost-effective sheep farmer–veterinary interaction. We report quantitative and qualitative data that assess the impact of Flock Health Clubs and indeed show tangible improvements in both farmer–veterinary surgeon relationships and measures of flock health and welfare.

Highlights

Changes in the farming industry including an overall increase in farm size, consumer demand for high health status of products and lower profit margins have impacted sheep farming and caused the need for changes in flock management (Lowe, 2009)
The Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (DEFRA) of the UK government issued a report stating the importance of farm animal veterinary surgeons providing preventative advice about disease rather than focusing solely on treating individual animals (Lowe, 2009)
Vets reported being unable to lever sufficient organisational or business skills to support the provision of an acceptable advisory service and felt the pressure of competition from outside the profession. These studies highlighted the need for more proactive and regular contact between sheep farmers and vets, identified key barriers to delivering preventative advice on flock health on farms and suggested that vets needed to improve expertise on the sheep related topics and develop confidence in delivering them, and needed to find business models to offer these services to farmers and effectively market these services in order to improve the productivity and health of the national flock (Kaler and Green, 2013)

Summary

Introduction

Changes in the farming industry including an overall increase in farm size, consumer demand for high health status of products and lower profit margins have impacted sheep farming and caused the need for changes in flock management (Lowe, 2009). Vets reported being unable to lever sufficient organisational or business skills to support the provision of an acceptable advisory service and felt the pressure of competition from outside the profession These studies highlighted the need for more proactive and regular contact between sheep farmers and vets, identified key barriers to delivering preventative advice on flock health on farms and suggested that vets needed to improve expertise on the sheep related topics and develop confidence in delivering them, and needed to find business models to offer these services to farmers and effectively market these services in order to improve the productivity and health of the national flock (Kaler and Green, 2013)

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