2020 has certainly been original. World events appear to have superceeded domestic ones, and despite discussing them ad nauseum at times, we still aren't sure of the long-term impact of some of these events. It would be a brave person to predict 2021. But that is what many of our clients are having to do at the moment; plan for the next year without knowing what it will hold. We are not aware of the actual impact of COVID-19 and its implications, we are not sure what Brexit is, we are not sure just what straw will cost over the next year, but farmers are having to decide what to grow where, and how many ewes to put to the ram as a sort of guesswork, and hope that 2021 will work out well.
In many ways, this edition of Livestock magazine is very 2020 in it's relevance as it discusses so many of the issues that we as vets question and want answers to, namely welfare and behaviour. It also proves that at the end of the day, pandemic or no pandemic, we still need to know the strongyle lifecycles. Some things will never change! The worry is that as clients face uncertain times, they will look to make savings and cost cuttings, and for me that often translates to ‘will welfare be affected?’ as it is preventable treatments that are often first to be looked at. When looking at bills clients spot the big costs, such as vaccinations. I am hoping that in the current climate vaccinations are demonstrating their relevance but I would be lying if I didn't say that sheep abortion vaccines are a hard sell this year. Maybe it is just that my marketing banter isn't up to scratch?
This edition does prove though that economical decisions and welfare can go hand in hand and increasingly our job as a vet is to prove this. Knowing all of the information is so important if we are to make informed decisions and therefore increase our efficiencies as Alice Miller discusses in her article on which animals to send to the bull. We all know that a tight calving pattern makes economical sense and helps to reduce disease in a herd, and keeping and rearing unnecessary animals is an added expense. I am always surprised at how many people, including vets, equate welfare with length of life and not what happens to the animal when it is alive. By only having an animal on a farm which serves an economic purpose it helps to ensure that the welfare of that animal is paramount.
James Breen deals with a subject which has such obvious cost and welfare implications and that is mastitis. In the article he mentions technology and how it can helps us make efficiencies and improved decision making. We as a profession have a bit of a reputation for being technology averse at times, and best not mention the clientele. But in adversity comes change and at some point we may have look at positive things that have come out of 2020, and one of them may be more of us embracing technology as an acceptable way to communicate and go about our jobs in an economical manner.
Lastly, and sorry to end on another weighty subject, we have an article on diversity within the profession and discrimination faced by those when out on EMS. Discrimination is never acceptable but we are all guilty of it. The Black Lives Matter campaign has made me think about what I am prejudiced against if it isn't the colour of somebodies skin and I have definitely found some answers and things to act upon. This is probably why of all of the events of 2020, the BLM campaign will have the longer lasting effect because it has provoked so many to think. All of the farmers that I see on a regular basis have commented on it which is so important. The agricultural industry may be seen as being behind the times at times, but it is thinking. We all need time to adjust and to question things so allow this to happen and it will. Shooting somebody down on social media because they don't have the same thoughts as you is not the way forward.