SAC Symposium - What I need from my vet - Jim Logan: Transcript
Ken Rundle: You are listening to an SAC podcast from SAC’s Herd Health Symposium held as part of the VET Trust’s CPD event at Stirling. This event was funded by the Scottish Government under its Veterinary and Advisory Programme or VAS.
Producing quality breeding stock from commercially run herds has been central to the objectives of a business run by Borders farmer Jim Logan. He runs 160 head of cows and 1,400 ewes over 630 hectares. Success has required constant analysis of productivity and with input from his local vet.
Jim, how important is that input?
Jim Logan: I think the input from our vets over time has been very very important. We have seen our system change over the last 20 years. I suppose sorting out all the problems that we come across every day so involvement from the vet and advice on how easy it is probably starting off with different management practices has been central to the development of business.
KR: It is a regular contact.
JL: Yes, very regular. Not as regular as having a date in the diary although I know there are farms in the Borders and within our own practice where that already is the case and I think that that is not something I would rule out in the future but certainly keeping in contact if there is any problem or anything that we see routinely going to be done we try and have a word or a conversation with the vet beforehand.
KR: And the vet knows your farm.
JL: Oh yes. We have been very lucky with the vets in the practice. We have had the same core of vets within the practice for the last 20 years and I think the type of open relationship we have had with them any one of those vets is able to give us sound advice on our business.
KR: You don’t feel inhibited by admitting a mistake or admitting a problem.
JL: Not at all. I think that’s maybe one of the most important things in life and in business is to realise that you are never going to get it right all the time and these guys, there are none of them you feel awkward admitting mistakes and they are as keen as I am to see mistakes don’t happen again.
KR: On the other hand, vet bills are the kind of things that farmers when they are told to reduce costs starting thinking about. How do you square that circle?
JL: I think that’s absolutely right and vet bills depending on how they are made up can be quite galling but I think I would far rather our vets bills were made up of advisory time or vaccination programmes, things like that, rather than the fire engine stuff where we have maybe been in the past.
KR: So you go into preventative medicine or trying to avoid the emergency material.
JL: Yes. Preventative medicine and putting systems in place that try and cut down on the need for the out of hours call to the vet.
KR: Key to your system is the system you operate. You set the bar quite high but not too high.
JL: Yes, I think quality-wise and hopefully profit-wise most years we set the bar as high as we can. I think we have been through the stage of trying to produce the biggest or the most of what we produce and now I think the system over time has changed to trying to find the kind of optimal level of production both individual animal weight-wise and the stocking rate for the climate and the land that we farm.
KR: And your own time and effort.
JL: Absolutely. I think as time goes on I am probably less willing to want to be at home absolutely 24/7 and also allied to that we can’t expect hired men to be willing to work 365 days of the year as well. I think that little bit of free time for stockmen is very very important.
KR: That free time is also thinking time, it’s also monitoring statistics time, it’s not that you are not working, it’s giving yourself a bit more time.
JL: Yes, absolutely. I think absolutely right. There is a drastic downward spiral if you have never time to stop to think. It is so easy just banging away at the same old problem whereas if you had had an hour or two to just to just think about what was causing the problem in the first place it could all come to an end very quickly.