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Comments on the dilemma in the November/December issue: ‘Delivering profit?’
Author(s) -
McCulloch Steven
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
in practice
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.211
H-Index - 25
eISSN - 2042-7689
pISSN - 0263-841X
DOI - 10.1136/inp.h6402
Subject(s) - dilemma , vendor , biosecurity , profit (economics) , business , marketing , value (mathematics) , animal welfare , agricultural science , economics , medicine , computer science , microeconomics , mathematics , biology , pathology , machine learning , ecology , geometry
In the dilemma discussed in the November/December issue of In Practice , a client had asked you to accompany him to see a tup that he considered to be an excellent buy in terms of its potential production value. However, you were aware that the client's farm had a history of caesarians and vet‐assisted lambings and were concerned that this tup might add to the problem ( IP , November/December 2015, vol 37, pp 550‐551). Richard Brown suggested that it was not a lost cause to try and reduce the amount of vet‐assisted lambings. However, simply telling the client that the purchase was not a good idea could create a problem for the farmer and you should take time to find alternative solutions. It would be advisable to check with the farmer on his estimate of income, as he might have overestimated this. If you decided to go to the vendor's farm to see the tup, biosecurity should be a priority. You should also make it clear that your focus would be on animal health and welfare, not on the conformation or genetic merits of the animal.