EUROTIER REPORT - Managing On-Farm Health
GERMANY - The modern farm vet is called upon not just to diagnose and treat individual animals, but increasingly to assume the tasks of a "health manager" on the farm, whose job lies in conserving and improving the health status by caring for stocks and herds according to plan, according to Hans-Joachim Götz, President of the German Association of Veterinary Practitioners speaking at EuroTier in Hanover.
13 November 2008
2 minute read
He said that avoiding diseases among farm animals and achieving a definable health status in stocks and herds is a vital prerequisite for producing healthy foods of animal origin.
European legislation especially has led to a series of policy requirements and changes in national legal frameworks that have driven this development ahead.
Both the extension of expanded product liability to include primary agricultural production and the so-called "stable to table" concept are of particular importance in this connection.
The latter pursues the goal of ensuring uninterrupted traceability within vertical production chains and thus attaining quality assurance from the very start of original production right through to the end consumer.
Dr Götz said the integration of veterinarian herd and stock care in farm production processes is of elementary importance for the safety and quality of foods of animal origin.
It ensures health care, health conservation and consequently the production performance of the animals.
Regular and scheduled diagnoses, analyses of the health-relevant parameters determined, advisory services, prophylactics, preparation of vaccination and disease eradication concepts and QA-compatible documentations guarantee farm animal husbandry with assured quality in line with scientific findings.
This herd and stock care geared to animal health represents practical animal welfare and makes an important contribution to husbandry in keeping with animal requirements that is indispensable for society's acceptance of animal husbandry methods. Care for herds and stocks in a spirit of trust and partnership cooperation between farmers and vets serve consumer protection, guarantees healthy foods and helps to reduce the use of antibiotics.
