Your Health is your Wealth discussed at NFUS conference

Colin told delegates that managing animal health can be very challenging, particularly at pressured times of year such as calving and lambing and his advice was to manage disease through good immunity and control.

“Health planning for known risks offers huge opportunities to review where we are at, what we are doing well and what we can do better.

“A generic health plan, which might tick a few boxes, is a complete waste of time. Focus on one thing and one thing at a time. Have a regular conversation with your vet on where you are going and keep it relevant to your business.”

Turning to one of the big animal health challenges facing farmers, ovine abortion, he emphasised that it is something that farmers can do more to keep on top of.

“Two of the top causes of abortion are toxoplasmosis and enzootic abortion, however both are entirely preventable through vaccination. We need to look at how we can manage diseases better through immunity and control.”

With many farmers entering a busy lambing period he urged farmers not to let the stress build up and to talk to family and friends.

“Lambing time can be an extremely difficult time. Losses can build up and people can almost feel they are too embarrassed to admit what is going on. But as a vet, sometimes when you take time to sit down and speak to that person, you open the floodgates. It can often be a release and we need to make sure we take time to check in and have those conversations when we are out on farm.”

Delegates also heard about new mental wellbeing initiative Farmstrong Scotland which aims to strengthen mental resilience within the farming community by offering simple and practical tools and habits which can be applied day to day.

Chair of Farmstrong Scotland, John Scott, urged farmers to take time to listen to others and make sure they are okay.

“Ask someone if they are okay, then ask again, but give them a 20 second gap to respond. That gap is important. We need to get better at listening.”

Responding to a question about how to spot clinical signs that someone may be struggling, New Zealander Marc Gascoigne, who is currently touring around Scotland with Farmstrong, admitted that it can be very difficult to spot signs.

“I have three good friends of mine who I lost to suicide and there were no signs. We need to breakdown the stigma that admitting we are struggling is a weakness, that stigma stops people from showing signs of depression. Sometimes you can’t see signs but still take the time to ask someone if they are okay and even if they say yes, you have planted the seed and they may come back to you when they are ready.”

John Scott added: “Sometimes we can be guilty as an industry for judging others and instead of criticising someone’s farm for being in poor order, pause and think, maybe something else is at play here and go in and ask them for a coffee.”