UK veterinary sector changes with industry

Fewer, larger practices are good news for producers, Ken Sibley tells Chris Lyddon

The dairy sector has changed and continues to change. There are bigger units and fewer of them. Meanwhile, the supermarkets and food processors are putting more and more emphasis on animal health and welfare.

Over a coffee at the Dairy Event, I asked Ken Sibley MRCVS, business development manager of veterinary pharmaceutical company Virbac, how the animal health industry, and veterinary practice in particular, was changing to meet the new circumstances.

“What is happening at the moment is that farm animal veterinary practices are increasingly amalgamating into larger practices,” he stated.

“The number of specialist vets is not going down, but they are to be found in fewer practices now; they are creating specialist cattle practices,” explained Mr Sibley.

Welcome development
That change is, in his view, a development to be welcomed: “I think it’s a positive thing because it means these larger groups have the skills and ability to provide the veterinary input for larger farms. The management skills required for a farm of 500-plus cows are totally different from those required for a herd of 150 cows.

“These specialist cattle practices become involved as part of the management team on the farm and not only offer advice on disease prevention and control, but also on other areas of the food chain, including food safety and meeting the requirements of the animal welfare policies of the supermarket chains and milk processors.”

These specialist practices are certainly better placed to deal with the greater attention coming from the retailers.

“Supermarket chains and food processors are taking an increasing interest in animal health and welfare of farm livestock,” said Mr Sibley.

“At the moment, they are creating a focus on a few areas including mastitis control, lameness and Johne’s disease, but in the future more diseases and welfare issues will be added.

“These are likely to include further welfare issues such as dry cow and calf management as well as disease prevention, particularly those diseases that could be passed on to humans.

“Producers who do not match the required standards will have milk contracts cancelled or find it impossible to find a market for their milk.”

Animal health advice
Mr Sibley believes the animal health medicine industry, including companies such as
Virbac, is well-placed to offer advice and assistance on the responsible use of medicines to prevent and control diseases.

“The old cliché that prevention is better than cure has never been more true,” he said.

The industry has to pay much more attention to biosecurity, he added, although he doesn’t like the word itself.

“The general public hate that word – it conjures up all sorts of images of people in white coats and chemicals,” he pointed out.

“Basically, what you are doing is trying to keep disease out of your herd as you would with your family.

“You wouldn’t invite people with a ghastly infectious disease into your house without taking some kind of precautions first.”

• Ken Sibley is business development manager of veterinary pharmaceutical company Virbac.