Prince party to future farming trials
A GROUP of farmers from the Duchy Originals Future Farming programme have showcased trials into reducing antibiotic use to the Prince of Wales.
The event, which took place at the Royal Agricultural University, Cirencester, on on November 25, was a chance for the prince to hear about new approaches being trialled by farmers to dramatically reduce antibiotic use in dairy herds while maintaining herd welfare.
The farmers, including Soil Association chief executive Helen Browning, are involved in one of the programme’s "field labs", which bring farmers together to research and tackle a practical challenge.
Farmers involved in the field lab group have been trying new ways to improve the health of dairy cows with the aim of cutting down on antibiotic use, with benefits for animal welfare and farm profitability as well as contributing to efforts to preserve antibiotics for life or death situations, the association said.
The prince heard how the group came up with practical ideas to try to tackle the issues, including trialling uddermint, a herbal liniment cream that is thought to increase blood flow to the udder, thereby encouraging white blood cells to fight infection.
At field lab meetings the group shares herd data (including somatic cell counts, number of cases of mastitis, number of cows receiving antibiotic treatment and use of uddermint), discuss and learn about the management techniques on the host farm.
According to the association, the most recent data from three herds showed the average number of antibiotic treatments had halved since the beginning of the field lab process.
Speaking about the field lab project, Helen Browning, chief executive of the Soil Association, said:
“It has been fantastic to host a field lab on my farm, bringing together other farmers to share experiences. The farmers involved have said one of the highlights from the project has been meeting up and sharing ideas about how best to manage their herds for health and welfare.
"The use of farm records gives the discussions a firm foundation, and we are all monitoring the results of what we try more accurately now. This is work in progress – and very much action research rather than formal scientific trials – but the results so far are really encouraging.”
The Duchy Originals Future Farming programme is funded by the Prince of Wales’ Charitable Foundation and helps farmers work with each other and with researchers to produce healthier food in ways that are better for the environment and farm animals.
With Strangles Awareness Week just around the corner (5-11 May), vets are being encouraged to share a survey about the disease with their horse-owning clients.
