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CASE STUDY
NAN J A V E RKU I J L
The SAC Health Planning Programme encourages
a more disciplined approach, and makes you
look harder at your performance figures.
On the South Downs, Jeremy runs 800
north country mules which are put to a Suffolk
or Charollais ram. This year the flock was
divided to lamb down at three separate
times: January, February and April.
‘This is going to be a useful management
tool,’ says Jeremy. ‘It will enable my vet
and I to evaluate which period gave the
best results. I tend to keep the lambing
percentages in my head, but having this
programme will make sure it is recorded,
and will also show how many survived
through to weaning and were actually sold.’
Jeremy's vet is Nanja Verkuijl of Cliffe Vets
in Lewes, she adds: ‘It encourages a more
disciplined approach, and makes you look
harder at your performance figures. At the
Cliffe practice we start up new users by
giving them a sheet of information to fill in,
and then we provide a bureau service to
upload it onto the programme. Then we
just ask our farmers to fill in the additional
numbers as the year progresses. So there is
a bit of work to enter the initial data, but
then after that, the programme copies it
forward each year and you need only
make small adjustments.’
Jeremy's flock is vaccinated against foot rot
before tupping, and he records the date and
treatment details on the system. The dates and
product details of the pre-lambing anti-clostridial
vaccine and fly prevention pour-on are
also recorded.
The programme includes a product reference
section in which technical specifications - such
as withdrawal times - are kept constantly
updated, so users can guarantee that the
information is up-to-date. Jeremy adds: ‘I'm not
a “computer person” but it's better to log it on
this programme than be writing it on a piece
of paper.
‘We're lambing 800 ewes
now and plan to increase to
1000. This programme will
help provide information as
we go forward.’
‘It will become even more useful as the years
go by - especially on our worming strategy.
We'll be able to look back and see what
animals had which wormers, and when. Any
of the vets from the Cliffe practice will also
be able to see the same information, when
they visit.’
Jeremy West
SUMMER 2011 ISSUE
LIVESTOCK MATTERS
8