This is according to Dr Brent Sirrals, technical veterinarian at MSD Animal Health. Sirrals spoke at the recent launch of the Beefmaster Group-led Farm to Fork initiative. He says having a healthy herd will materialise into dividends for farmers. OFM News’ Elsabé Richard spoke to him about this…

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The Farm to Fork initiative focuses on animal health, traceability and biosecurity. This initiative “aims to equip farmers to make viable yet simple changes at farm level, which will improve the overall health of the animal, and materialise into dividends for the farmer.  The initiative delivers value to all stakeholders in the cattle and beef industries, including veterinarians, cattle producers, feedlots and consumers.”

In light of this, Sirrals adds that farmers should invest in their cattle which will enable them to bear the fruits in the long run. He says this could be done by ensuring that cattle are vaccinated with the right products. He says this will ensure that immunity is transferred to the calf once it is born, through milk that it consumes within the first 24 hours. Sirrals adds that it has been proven that these calves produce better offspring themselves.

He says 2020 has been a tough year for cattle farmers as they not only faced diseases such as foot-and-mouth disease – which halted red meat exports and the moving around of animals from one place to another. He says farmers also felt the brunt when Covid-19 lockdown regulations banned livestock auctions, which forced farmers to find innovative ways to sell their animals.

Furthermore, cattle farmers should consider reducing the risk of infectious diseases as this poses a big threat. Sirrals says these infectious diseases are not always visible and therefore one would sometimes see “abortion storms where many cows can abort or… you might see plenty of animals at one time developing clinical symptoms”. He further explains that this is not always the case as there might sometimes be only one or two cows aborting or the conception percentage might only be down a few percentage points. Sirrals adds that when farmers fail to control infectious diseases effectively, these diseases will over time affect the bottom line and farmers will not be able to produce a certain amount of calves or have the right genetics for the next season.

Sirrals says farmers need to make certain changes in order for their herd to thrive. He explains that some of these changes include building relationships with the local veterinarians - large animal veterinarians specifically. This will enable farmers to seek professional advice on preventive medicine in order to prevent and manage certain diseases before they rear their ugly heads.

Building relationships with people who you’ll be trading with, is another important factor in ensuring that animal health is maintained. Sirrals means that building these relationships will hold farmers responsible for the quality of their products that they sell and this will also enable negotiations for getting product at a cheaper price.

Farmers who want to learn more about the Farm to Fork initiative can speak to their local veterinarian to find out if they are participating. Alternatively, they may contact Brent Sirrals at brent.sirrals@merck.com for more on the initiative. 

OFM News