Herd / Flock Health Plans
Health plans in the format required by the farm assurance scheme can be created for any farm enterprise. We will visit the farm and sit down to discuss all different aspects of health, welfare and productivity on the farm.
The plans are reviewed annually and we seek to regard the health plan not just as a necessary document but more so as a means to improve profitability and health of your enterprise.
We have now acquired a SAC on-line health planner system for beef and sheep farmers, enabling us to monitor disease levels and production targets in a new and exciting format. It is accessible through the SAC website to both us as vets, as well as you, the producer.
NFU Herd health Planning
In May 2010 NFU, with funding from SEEDA has started a new health planning project. They will pay for one and a half days of our time. This can be used to visit the farm and discuss health issues on the farm, write the report and review the plan in 6-12 months time. As well as funding for the plan, each farm will get £200 for any kind of sampling, based on what comes out of the discussions. This could for instance be for blood sampling for infectious diseases, worm egg counts or also spending time on computer programs like Interherd and Rumnut.
FRIP
As well as funding for health planning, SEEDA has also set aside money to allow people to apply for a grant in order to ‘help farmers in the south east to improve competitiveness through resource efficiency and animal health and welfare practices’ (SEEDA website).
This programme is called FRIP or Farm Resource Improvement Programme. Grants up to £25K are available, covering the following:
• Energy efficiency (50%, e.g. heat recovery devices)
• Nutrient management (50%, e.g. mechanical slurry separator systems)
• Water management (50%, e.g. fixed pumps, UV filtration systems, rainwater harvesting)
• Animal Health and Welfare (!) (40%)
• Renewable Energy (50%)
Animal Health and Welfare: the objective is to improve the health and welfare of farm animals.
• It cannot be used to meet legal requirements
• Must be ‘over and above’ standard farming practice
• Applications must be accompanied by a detailed Health Plan prepared by a vet
• Health Plan must include recommendation for capital investment
More information on FRIP can be found on: seeda
To arrange a visit for a health planning session on your farm please contact us
