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X LVETS NEWS
SPRING 2014 ISSUE
LIVESTOCK MATTERS
6
By Neil Fox,
Endell Veterinary Group.
On Wednesday 11th December
Endell Veterinary Group hosted a client meeting with an exciting new format.
The idea came from two of our vets, Neil Fox and Jim Willshire. Neil organised
the evening with the help of our new Livestock Technician, Barry Ewens.
Based on the popular BBC 'Question Time'
show, a panel of six agricultural experts
were invited to answer questions from Endell
Veterinary Group's farm clients. The evening
was chaired by Endell's vet Jim Willshire at
the Salisbury Livestock Market. The panel
was as follows:
l
Keith Cutler
MRCVS (Farm Animal
Partner, Endell Vet Group)
l
Richard Young
(The Sustainable
Food Trust)
l
Dr Andrew Paterson
(AHVLA South
East Regional Veterinary Lead)
l
John Elliot
(NFU Mutual Non-executive
Director)
l
Alan Wight
(Pathologist at AHVLA
Winchester)
l
Minette Batters
(NFU County Chair
and founder of Ladies in Beef)
Following, a mulled wine and Christmas
buffet reception the audience made their
way into the main meeting hall. There was
lively discussion all evening as the panel
debated questions on multiple subjects
including Bovine TB, encouraging
young people to work in farming and
antibiotic resistance.
In particular, Andrew Paterson (AHVLA) and
Richard Young (Sustainable Food Trust) both
impressed by answering a number of
difficult questions from the floor. Richard on
many occasions offered an alternative
viewpoint and managed to get his opinions
across with both passion and empathy.
Andrew's discussion on the holistic
approach of the AHVLA to control and
eradication of Bovine TB by working with
all aspects of disease control was well
received by the audience, despite initial
scepticism. There were also a number of
positive opinions on the future of farming
and the opportunities available to the
livestock industry. Minette Batters suggested
that English farms should follow the lead of
Scottish and Irish farms and brand their
products collectively to gain a premium.
John Elliot spoke of the increased standards
of living across the world and how this will
lead to greater consumption of meat and
dairy products providing an opportunity for
British farms.
Farmer's question time
In summary, the meeting was
extremely successful and our
clients who attended had a great
evening. The practice intends to
build on the success of the evening
with a second ‘Question Time’
event next year.