The last editorial I wrote towards the start of 2022 focused on sustainability (https://doi.org/10.12968/live.2022.27.1.5) and discussed global trends in eating habits, COP26 and what we as individuals might do personally and professionally across the wide sustainability agenda, but particularly when it comes to livestock-derived food production. Now, however, I think an even more fundamental interpretation of what it means to be sustainable has come to the fore, and many farming businesses here in the UK will struggle to survive.
While as consumers we might talk about food miles, buying local and supporting our local food producers, those of us that understand food production know it is a complex interconnected web of global trade, not just of human food but also of animals (or genetic material), animal feeds, medicines, fertiliser, equipment and machinery etc. With international trade comes risk, the risk of disease transmission for example, as we have seen so devastatingly in recent years with African swine fever and as many of us can remember all too well with foot and mouth disease in 2001. Global trade risks associated with animal disease are ever present and are exacerbated at times of conflict when uncontrolled movement of animals, animal products and people, with an associated lack of surveillance, increase the risks even further.
Currently, the war in Ukraine and the heart-breaking scenes of refugees fleeing Russian aggression are almost beyond comprehension. But as veterinary surgeons we need to look beyond the scenes of human catastrophe and immediate animal welfare concerns, to the potential risk of catastrophic disease spread. For most of us we are unable to affect directly what is happening on the ground in Ukraine, but what we can do is heighten our awareness of risk and use all our skills to look for disease incursions whether they be in production or companion animals. Keep your eyes open and expect the unexpected.
Another undoubted consequence of war in Ukraine is rising prices and shortages of cereal products, vegetable oils, and other commodities. This has been reported widely in the media regarding shortages of cooking oil in the shops, but less so the rising cost of animal feeds. The longer the conflict continues the greater the impact is likely to be. It is unclear at this stage what the Ukrainian harvest of 2022 will yield but it must be well below that of 2021. We are also struggling with a spring drought closer to home. First cut silage is coming in fairly well in the south of England as I write this, but what will yield and quality of our forage crops be like later in the year? Even now we need to start working with our clients to consider winter feeding plans and stocking rates for next winter with a view to a reduction of reliance on purchased feeds, perhaps drying cows off early, culling more heavily or adjusting calving patters where we can in the dairy sector for example. The pig sector is already in crisis and egg producers are predicting shortages as feed costs rise. I would hope the ruminant sectors can be more resilient, but this will only be possible if each individual producer plans well ahead. Start talking to your clients now about what their plans are.
Despite the possible need to undertake crisis management, the key to sustainability and with luck profitability will be, as always, efficiency of production. Let us not lose sight of the bigger long-term picture. One aspect of this is the need to continue to drive for more responsible medicine use, especially the reduction in antimicrobial use. Predictably the rate of reduction has levelled off in the last couple of years, making the need for accurate reporting of data from as big a sample size as possible across the industry ever more important. If you have not already done so, can I urge you to encourage your clients to enrol in the Medicine Hub https://ahdb.org.uk/medicine-hub