The Rural Voice, 1992-01, Page 28IS YOUR VET AN ALLY?
"If the vet's visit isn't cost-effective, then there wasn't much point
in calling him in the first place." — swine producer Chris Cockle
Veterinarian and farmer can work together for the good of the farm. Here, Dr. Thiel of the South Huron Veterinary Clinic in
Zurich works with Jim (right) and Don Weigand (not shown) at their farm west of Dashwood. (Photo: D. Yavorsky)
When Chris Cockle first started pig
farming, he purchased animals from
"good health sources." During his 10
years in swine production, his animals
suffered various outbreaks of disease
which he eventually overcame.
"Production records are above
average and, economically, it's still a
viable unit," said Cockle, but there
have been times when he has called in
a veterinarian to attend to a sick
animal and ended up thinking he knew
as much about the case as the vet did.
Cockle came to Canada from
England in 1970 to teach agricultural
engineering. He talks about problems
commercial farmers experience with
their operations and what the veterin-
arian can do to progress from being
simply "the vet" to being an
invaluable ally.
Cockle believes a veterinarian
should help — on an on-going basis
— to set up vaccination, health and
feeding programs, and improve
existing ones. "This would include
the type of animals you should be
using in your herd, sanitation, and
personnel on the operation," he said.
"I work with a consulting vet and
an emergency vet who are working
two different programs," Cockle
explained. During a recent two-year
period, suggestions from his
veterinarians helped him to expand his
herd of 300 commercial sows to an
additional herd of 300 sows, certified
as a "minimal disease herd."
It was thanks to his veterinarians
that Cockle discovered he must be out
of the commercial herd for two days
before entering the minimal disease
herd. If he had not observed this
by Dorothy Smith
restriction, he would have put the
certified herd — and his profits — at
great risk.
Minimal disease herds can be pur-
chased through government health -
approved programs or through
breeding companies from which their
status is certified. Cockle's new herd
came from a location with an
"excellent" health status. "They're
free of respiratory diseases and they'll
also be free of mange and [similar]
problems," he noted.
Although the original purchase
price of such an animal is greater than
those of lower status, he pointed out
that "the growth rate and feed
conversions are also greater. The
animal's daily gains should be about
10 per cent better, which means the
animal is going to get fatter with less
food."
It also means greater profits. But
those profits can quickly dissipate
when fighting disease or poor manage-
ment. If the producer's average cost
of $10 a head for herd health visits
and vaccinations suddenly jumps to
$50 a head for disease treatment, via-
ble operations can quickly disappear.
24 THE RURAL VOICE