Help for vets working with pasture-based producers

A veterinary group is highlighting ways which better grazing management can promote better herd and flock health.

Vet Sustain supports veterinary professionals working towards a more sustainable future. It is working with Pasture for Life, which champions pasture-based meat and dairy products from 900 farmers.

Many of the techniques and practices employed by these farmers differ from mainstream ruminant livestock production. Now a new document sets out how elements such as how weaning, grazing, lambing and calving and parasite control should be managed.

“There is no one single approach that all Pasture for Life farmers use to ensure their cattle and sheep have a 100% pasture-based diet,” says Vet Sustain farming group member Alexandra Tomlinson.

“But there are several principles that many adopt and adapt to fit their own farming system. This document outlines these and offers useful links to further resources covering these aspects in more detail.”

The guide aims to help minimise the risk of health and welfare problems – such as poor fertility or increasing parasite burdens through reducing treatments – as farmers transition to a more pasture-based system

The ‘Vet Sustain and Pasture for Life Support Document’ has been written by a dedicated group of vets and Pasture for Life members, who are passionate about enabling more farmers to undertake sustainable farming.