In June and July this year Iechyd Da hosted a series of roadshows in three venues across mid and south Wales to highlight the work of the Pembrokeshire Project.
A big thanks to our hosts, The International Pavilion of the RWAS on the showground in Builth, The Monmouthshire Livestock auctioneers mart in Raglan and the Carmarthen livestock mart.
The only downside of these evenings was the weather, which was glorious, meaning that a lot of our potential audience were either out on the harvest or shearing. But having said that, we had good turnouts at all venues and the interactions with the audiences were all interesting and varied from night to night.
If you haven’t seen the enthusiasm of the team involved with the Pembrokeshire TB project team, then you are missing out. The energy and vigour that has gone into setting up the project comes across in their presentations. Farmers and vets alike have bought into this collaborative way of working.
JFK once said in a speech
“For the great enemy of the truth is very often not the lie….. but the myth”
The Pembrokeshire Project has challenged preconceived opinions, has brought facts and data to the table to think about and act upon; dispelling myths.
Main takeaways:
The skin tests have more false negatives than false positives, meaning that there is potentially residual disease left in a herd after a test. It’s a good test for finding an infected herd but not at clearing out all the cases.
The measurements of each lump tell a story; they are all worth measuring. Measure and record them accurately and precisely.
Each TB test provides a snapshot in time, that if looked at in a series, provides a moving, rolling picture to be analysed in greater depth. The Risk Rate algorithm helps do this for us.
The HerdSafe app, if used in conjunction, leads to a discussion about biosecurity and highlights opportunities to improve matters.
Wildlife is a part of the picture on some farms but not on all, and highlights the need for the data from the All Wales Badger Found Dead survey.
The collaborative approach between a team of farmers, vets, scientists and social scientists meant that people weren’t alone in dealing with this problem. The project gives management tools that help farmers be proactive in managing the disease on their own farms, enabling business planning and avoiding risky situations.
It’s an inspirational project and it inspired vets in the audiences to see whether they could start off similar projects with their clients.
A big thank you to all the people involved, especially Roger, Michael, Rhiannon and Brendan.
We then had a brief presentation about the work of the team doing the work for the Badger Found Dead survey.
Finishing the night with a talk about the new disease on our doorstep, Bluetongue.
There were also stands on show highlighting the Arwain DGC project, the work of the WVSC and opportunities to discuss BVD control.
