Amy Wilkinson, beef and arable farmer
Farmers in the UK adhere to some of the highest standards of animal husbandry and care in the world, whether that is part of a farm assurance scheme or herd health plan developed with their vet.
This year, the makers of Metacam®, Boehringer Ingelheim Animal Health, is running a ‘Cattle Well-being Pledge' and is encouraging farmers, vets and advisers to sign up and support cow and calf welfare.
As part of the campaign, familiar farming faces have created social media videos, to showcase their role on farm and how they are taking a proactive approach to animal welfare, with the aim to educate and support the pledge.
The first in the series is by Amy Wilkinson (@amygingewilkinson), Lancashire beef and arable farmer, where she discusses pneumonia in cattle, the key facts and figures and how she looks to combat the disease on her own farm.
How does pneumonia impact cattle?
The video follows Amy on farm as she shares the statistics behind the disease and how this can impact livestock performance.
"Pneumonia is the most common reason for poor performance and deaths in growing calves" she says.
"14.5% of dairy heifers fail to reach their first lactation. If affected by pneumonia, their first lactation milk production will be down 150 kilos."
Following the breakdown of stats, Amy explains how creating a stress-free environment is a useful preventative against pneumonia and in her second video, further explains why a proactive approach is important to cattle wellbeing.
Why be more proactive rather than just reactive ?
In the second part of the video, Amy discusses just why taking proactive measures on farm are needed.
"Cattle are quite stoic creatures. Obviously in the past, they would have been hunted.
"They try not to show any weakness or when their ill so it can be hard to spot signs of pneumonia."
"Many farmers, just like us, are becoming more proactive than reactive when it comes to pneumonia"
Amy's videos are the first in a short series, supporting the Boehringer Ingelheim Animal Health's 'Cattle Wellbeing Pledge', with more being released in the coming weeks.
Join the campaign and take the pledge
Farmers, vets and advisers are encouraged to sign up to the pledge to optimise cow and calf well-being.
By signing up with your email, you will receive best practice information and you can support the UK cattle sector's continued drive for high standards and outstanding animal husbandry.
You will also have the chance of winning one of five Calfmatters Calf Care kits*, which include a Cosy Calf jacket, Brix refractometer, weigh tape and a hook-over feed bucket.
*Terms and conditions apply. For more information, visit calfmatters.co.uk/takethepledge.
This post and videos are funded by Metacam.
