Development Officer
As part of the core-funded Advisory Service provided by SAC, SEERAD are funding a Development Officer to support the promotion of the AHWM Programme to farmers, to encourage its uptake and to support the veterinary profession in providing consistent delivery of related advice and services on farms across Scotland. As with other advisory activities, an annually agreed descriptor outlines the work being funded under the Animal Health and Welfare Management Programme. Key activities conducted under this remit include:
Vet induction meetings
In 2005 twenty five vet induction meetings were held, to which at least one representative of a veterinary practice had to attend for that practice to be SEERAD accredited for the purpose of producing AHWM Plans. For 2006, we asked that each individual veterinary surgeon who wishes to produce Plans attend an induction meeting to ensure they are fully up to date with the rules of the AHWM Programme.
The main induction meetings for 2006 took place on 6th June (Inverurie) and 8th June (Lanark). In addition to the opportunity for discussion and questions, delegates are given a CD-rom to take away, containing updated guidance, a suggested template for AHWM Plans and lists of all benchmarking measures for each enterprise type.
The induction meetings for 2007 are taking place:
Thursday 7th June 2007, Barn & Bushel, Thainstone - 0945 - 1300
Wednesday 27th June, Symington Suite, Lanark Mart - 0945 - 1300
To find out if your vet has attended an induction course and is therefore accredited for the purposes of producing AHWM Plans, please see the Accredited vet list.
Development of a promotional DVD: A healthy Future for Scottish Livestock
This DVD has been produced as a joint venture between the Development Officer at SAC, Quality Meat Scotland and SEERAD and was launched at the Winter Fair at Ingliston on 22nd November 2006. It is intended to promote the wider concept of animal health and welfare planning and to illustrate the benefits of the Animal Health and Welfare Management Programme. Free copies can be obtained from QMS or the Development officer at SAC.
Benchmarking booklets
A free 'taster' supply of 500 pocket-sized waterproof booklets has been donated by Pfizer for recording health/welfare/treatment details, potentially useful for the benchmarking option of the AHWM Programme. These are being distributed these to those farmers involved in the Benchmarking evaluation project for trialling, and to various veterinary practices, at shows etc. If the booklets prove popular and there is sufficient demand, Pfizer is willing to manufacture them for sale at a reasonable cost. To obtain a booklet, please contact the Development officer.
Health Plan software
The Development Officer is working with SAC IT professionals to develop a design for a web-based AHWM Plan for sheep that would facilitate a more consistent format and content.
Features proposed include:
- Facility to record annual discussion with vet.
- Facility to record proposed treatment/prophylactic regimes.
- Facility to record additional detail on enterprise location/type
- Facility to record performance on a range of production/health traits (including those for benchmarking).
- The facility to allow administrators to set national targets for specific diseases and for practice administrators to be able to set farm-specific targets. The software would then calculate how a farm is doing against these.
- The facility to flag up levels of disease above set thresholds for attention.
- A calendar showing when various medicines/treatments need to be applied.
- The facility to print off an easily referenced plan.
This system, which is aimed directly at supporting farmers and veterinary practices involved in SEERADs AHWM Programme, is due to be launched early in 2007. It will be made available, free, to all participants in the AHWM Programme, including those veterinary practices accredited for producing AHWM Plans under the Programme.
To contact the Development officer, please email linsay.eaglesham@sac.co.uk
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