A report on the AVC International Smallholder Dairy Health Management Rotation 2020
On January 24th, 2020, a “vet team,” including three senior AVC students, Angelina Gorrill, Krystina Lewis, and Ashley Kroyer, and me, left for Kenya with suitcases and boxes full of veterinary medicine for our annual international smallholder dairy health management rotation. The team was accompanied by a couple of Kenyan senior veterinary students during each of the three weeks to provide the Kenyans with additional practical training, and to share experiences with the Canadian vet students professionally and socially. As part of a Farmers Helping Farmers project, the “Kenyadian” vet team worked with primarily women farmers belonging to three dairy groups.
“It was an honour to meet so many groups of strong, hard-working women who really want to improve their farm productivity to help improve their family quality of life,” said Angelina.
The team gave over 700 cattle dewormer and checked more than 170 animals from over 120 farms during the three weeks—a new record. At each farm, numerous neighbouring farmers congregated, sometimes with a cow or calf in tow, to observe and ask questions about their animals. It was estimated that over 650 farmers received health management information and/or services from the efforts—also a new record. The major health problems observed included infectious diseases, parasite infestations, udder infections, and insufficient nutrition, leading to low milk production, poor reproduction, and inadequate growth. Two walk-in clinics were held for cattle that were not zero-grazed. The team was also occasionally joined by other Kenyan animal health professionals who also benefited from the knowledge and technical skills of the Canadian veterinary team, including pharmaceutical company employees, veterinary technicians, veterinarians, and livestock extension officers.
The Kenyan farmers really enjoyed having the three Canadian vet students around, so much so that the students were dubbed with “special names” in the local language of Kimeru. Ashley became known as “Kendi,” which means “someone who makes others happy.” Krystina was given the name “Karimi,” which means “an active farmer.” Angelina was given the name “Mwendwa,” which means “someone who is loved.”
“It was very special for us to receive these names,” said the students.
Prior to our departure, various veterinary pharmaceutical companies (Bimeda, Boehringer, Merck, and Vetoquinol) provided product support for the project. These products were greatly appreciated by the veterinary team, which enabled them to provide suitable treatments for the animals that they encountered. Previous AVC students who went to Kenya also donated funds to support the students, including Drs. Julia Kenny, Stephanie Hatayama, Alden West, Matt MacFarlane, and Amanda Alexandre. The following regional veterinary clinics and/or veterinarians also donated funds: Drs. Marc Verschoor and Susan Purdy, Downsview Veterinary Hospital, Berwick Animal Hospital, Ross Veterinary Services, Antigonish Veterinary Clinic, and West Prince Veterinary Services. Thank you to all our supporters for their assistance in making this all possible.
