Report gives a glimpse of the new world

01-06-2010 | Not Specified

It seems that events away from the farm often dominate attention now.

Animal health can look like a bit player in a movie about farming in which the news media, the public and the regulators are the stars. What set the last month off for me was being at a meeting where I sat next to a person whose job it is to care for the survival of critters out there in the wild. These are insects, eels and birds on one hand and the trees and wetlands etc, where they live, on the other.

At a break in proceedings we engaged in a short conversation about the state of hill-country farming. My suggestion that the precarious financial situation of many was of big concern and that survival of many of these businesses was probably on the line was met by a disturbing response: That these farming systems not being there was a good thing, the implication being that their environmental cost was too high.

I scrambled to respond with anything of substance that reflected how much of his and everyone else's living standards depended on these farming businesses being there. It is frightening that probably a broad section of the community fails to see the connection between farming and household wealth.

Soon after this encounter came that awesome report from a bunch of accountants who accurately painted a picture of the industry and where it had to be. While on the surface it appeared a harsh criticism, in fact it gave a glimpse of the new world. What is more, the stirrings are out there that make such a new world possible and not a fantasy. It is an exciting report.

Animal health is a critical player in this change. Protecting or advancing productivity is a cornerstone of any farming system, but animal health has a bigger role than that. The new world must add value to our products better than the present world does. Much of that value will be in the environment that the product comes from, the total care package that the product comes from, and the type or quantity of inputs that the product has been exposed to. Animal health is a critical component of each of these.

As is the case with so many things these days, retaining the capability to deliver the service to the new world is today's challenge. In this case it is the veterinary capability. There is no truer example of the necessary vital link between customer and service provider in that a vibrant rural veterinary industry is dependent on a vibrant farming industry.

Another meeting was in keeping with the off-farm focus of the month, this time of concerned persons to brainstorm the long-term funding of animal health research. The old funding models cannot be relied upon any more, the need to know more is just as urgent as it has always been, and a declining research capability (baldness or grey hair being a symptom) all combine, or even conspire, to cause much angst. What impressed me was that no self-interest was evident at that meeting. While all of those there would gain from better funding outcomes, clearly it was the heartfelt concern about the future that was the driver.

A long list of research topics in the animal health arena will bring value to farming. Many of them are already seeded in that they do not have to be discovered. The research required is developing the proven concept to be a useable product or tool. Much of this research can potentially add value to product rather than just supporting productivity. Whichever way you look at it, animal health research is an essential driver of the future.

Equally there is a lack of funding for the betterment of farming alongside the research needs. The apparent demise of Wormwise is a good example and one close to my heart. Publicly it appears as though Wormwise has ceased to exist, certainly from the comments that get directed at me, but this is not the case. The framework is still in place, the committed people are still available, and the sentiment and need still exists. Funding is the obstacle.

Meat and Wool NZ are still behind Wormwise and in time will reactivate its profile. It is just a huge shame that the Wormwise presence has faded as new drench options become available.

Certainly a new level of complacency is developing, partly because the prodding to behave sustainably - that Wormwise was providing - has ceased. The arrival of new drench families fuels the sense that new drenches will always be found to fall back on. The reality is that these new products are just as susceptible to selecting for resistant worms as the old ones. It is the way that we use them that is vital for their survival. All these new products can do is to create a buffer, not eliminate the threat.

New trial work showing how much production is lost through using even a slightly failing drench is a huge warning of the need in the first instance to use only a fully effective drench and secondly, to use any drench in the most sustainable way possible. The situation and the rules have not changed. It would be dangerous to get a false sense of security from new products coming to the market.

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