Upcoming Women in Dairy meetings, taking place on 26 April, will look at how lean management can be used in calf health processes in a practical and transferrable way.
Kath Aplin and Becca Cavill, from national sponsor Boehringer Ingelheim, will discuss calf scour CPD and look at how the Gemba walk – a philosophy that improves efficiency and productivity – can be used to enhance processes that impact this on farm.
Becca Cavill, veterinary adviser, Boehringer Ingelheim Animal Health, expands: “We’ll be looking at how to make processes around calf health more streamlined, specifically, in the case of scour and neonatal calves, around colostrum, calving and newborn calf management.
“The Gemba walk takes us through the processes currently used on farm, starting with the calving pen and following the calf’s journey from here until it is established within its group and environment, whether that be at a couple of weeks of age or weaning.”
Once completed, value stream mapping can be used to chronologically map out farm processes, being examined in small steps. These processes are then broken down into sub-processes, observations, responsibilities, waste and possible improvements. To ensure everyone is in agreement this should be carried out with all team members present, allowing input and investment in decisions.
Completing these steps allows a tangible solution such as SOP (Standard Operating Procedure) or 5S, a five-step methodology, that can be generated to standardise how the job is done on farm to ensure consistency and attention to detail which is key to giving calves the best possible start, making them resilient, strong and productive.
The events will run concurrently with one held in South Gloucestershire and the other in North Shropshire.
Each session will be chaired by a Women in Dairy facilitator who play an integral role within the initiative.
Caroline Groves, principal consultant, Promar International, who chairs one of the Midlands group, will be facilitating the day in Gloucestershire. “We have a wide variety of people from different backgrounds that attend the meetings and it’s important to remember everyone is welcome. The initiative creates a great networking group, not only through face-to-face meetings, but with email and social media, where anyone can ask questions and enjoy the support from others within similar situations.
She continues: “I’d encourage anyone unsure of attending to come along, not only for an informative session, but for an insight into Women in Dairy meetings and what it has to offer.”
Please visit www.womenindairy.co.uk/events to book your place. Tickets are free for Women in Dairy and RABDF members and cost £15 for non-members. The sessions will start at 10:00am and lunch and refreshments will be provided.