Top Tips to make JD consultancy pay
If JD becomes established in a herd the economic consequences can be severe. You won’t find out your plan is substandard until 3 years’ time so you don’t short circuit your risk assessments. Remember risks predict the future, test results measure history!
Using MHH to support your consultancy adds a degree of both confidence and gravitas to the review.
Top tips from users are:
- Populate the risk assessment with what you know about the farm.
- Ask open questions about what the farmer does with the calves, purchasing, culling, breeding, calf to calf and adult segregation
- Take the farm team round the key risk points on the farm and discuss how the key control points of segregation, identification, breeding and culling can be managed effectively
- Focus on the key areas and “walk the walk” rather than make this a tick box exercise.
- Charge for your time. Remember a farmer on quarterly testing will be paying several thousand pounds for testing. You have to sell the benefit of your advice and decision support so that the farmer gets the results the farmer deserves
- Use the Johne’s Tracker tool to motivate and engage the farmer
- Focus on the positives. “What is the farmer doing well and what could be done even better” rather than zoning in on the areas of weakness.
- Ultimately the farmer has to own the JD plan and the whole farm and vet team needs to engage for results to be achieved
