MSD Animal Health has launched a new checklist-based tool to help veterinary surgeons engage productively with farmers over calf rearing issues.

The interactive checklist is designed to help practitioner and farmer to work closely together to draw up a workable action plan to improve youngstock health.

MSD Animal Health ruminant veterinary adviser Kat Baxter said: "This new checklist-based tool explores, records and scores calf health performance across five core areas to identify the strengths and weaknesses of any rearing unit’s environment and processes.

"Working through a series of 10 questions within each core area – designed to tease out where a rearing unit is in terms of accepted best management practice – allows vet and farmer to quickly pinpoint any areas needing attention. What’s more, repeating the checklist every six or 12 months is a great way to keep things on track, allowing both parties to monitor progress against agreed targets. Vets can also use the scores to benchmark their clients’ farms against each other."

Vets interested in using the new checklist-based tool on farm should contact their local MSD Animal Health account manager for further information.

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