Sustainability to the fore as cattle vets gear up for conference

Sustainability, antimicrobial resistance, animal health and leadership are just some of the themes being discussed next week at the upcoming CAVI conference.

The Cattle Association of Veterinary Ireland (CAVI) will hold its 2018 annual conference in the Mullingar Park Hotel, Co. Westmeath from Friday to Sunday (October 12-14).

The conference programme will cover a spectrum of subjects including leadership with Dublin senior football manager Jim Gavin.

Sustainability, herd expansion, antimicrobial resistance (AMR), animal health, calf health, nutrition and fertility will be covered by international speakers.

These guests will include: Prof. Claire Wathes, Professor of Veterinary Reproduction from the Royal Veterinary Hospital; and Karin Mueller, senior lecturer in Animal Husbandry and Reproduction from the University of Liverpool, joined by a panel of Irish experts.

The conference opening address at 2:00pm on Friday, October 12, will be delivered by Conor Geraghty, chairman of CAVI, who will also deliver a presentation on the role of the vet in sustainable agriculture and AMR.

This will be followed by Friday sessions focusing on sustainability and AMR as well as the contribution of the beef and dairy sector to Ireland’s economic revival.

The talks will feature Bill Callanan, chief inspector at the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine; Michael Maloney, director of Origin Green and Quality Assurance with Bord Bia; and Prof. Martin Cormican, national clinical lead for HCAI and AMR with NUI Galway.

This year the conference will be complemented by a mini MBA series on Saturday afternoon, October 13, from 2:00pm to focus on: leadership; as well as corporate practice; antibiotic usage; and AMR and IBR.