Kreavet recently welcomed the AnimalhealthEurope team to Flanders for a visit centered on how European animal health priorities translate into real world practice on farms. The visit was designed to bring policy makers and researchers where animal health interventions ultimately take effect: at farm level.
The program began with a dairy farm visit to the De Cock family farm in Bazel-Kruibeke; a family run operation with about 150 dairy cows, managed across generations.
Guided by the local farm veterinarian (Denis Hendrickx), the team was introduced to the farm's approach to:
1. Herd health planning and preventive management at farm level
2. The farm's generational agricultural history and production system
3. The current nutrition, feeding practices and resource recycling in the farm
This show-cased a closely interlinked practice of how veterinarian–farmer collaboration work together in achieving sustainable livestock production.
Bridging Farm Practice and Applied Innovation
The afternoon focused on scientific exchanges, where both teams presented an overview of current projects and collaborations aimed at supporting veterinarians and farmers across the supply chain in managing animal health challenges. Examples from our ongoing work illustrated how applied research can help bridge gaps between farmers & veterinarians, policy objectives, and on-farm implementation. The specific projects focused particularly in areas on herd health management, disease prevention, decision support tools and sustainable worm control approaches.
This visit was a valuable opportunity to reflect together on how when animal health policies are interlinked with scientific innovation and farm practices, influence everyday farming realities. Additionally, this spark a discussion on continued dialogue across different livestock sector levels to ensure solutions remain practical, proportionate and effective.
We are very grateful to AnimalhealthEurope's team for their engagement and the opportunity to exchange perspectives to support innovation and resilient, livestock production across Europe. We also thank the De Cock family for their openness and hospitality, as well as the farm veterinarian (Denis Hendrickx) for the tour around the farm and explaining the farm management practices.
We look forward to continuing these kind of conversations because #AnimalHealthMatters.
#LivestockHealth#VeterinaryMedicine#SustainableLivestock #VeterinarianFarmerCollaboration #DiseasePrevention #AnimalhealthEurope #Kreavet #AnimalHealthMatters
Hannah Mwangi
