Is abnormal your new normal?

The Healthy Calf Podcast series is designed to help Ontario dairy and veal producers make informed decisions about youngstock health and welfare, with a focus on taking a more proactive approach to reduce disease and improve performance.

All producers strive to provide the best care for their animals, but disease is inevitable. When outbreaks do occur, managing and providing the best care for all animals can be an overwhelming task that can have serious consequences on the mental health of herdspeople. Ensuring that protocol drift does not occur, and that all staff members are invested in calf health and welfare can have a huge impact on the overall health and performance of youngstock. Staff training and employing best management practices early on by establishing a high-quality workplace culture can help empower employees to continuously improve calf health on your farm. Learn more in this Podcast with Dr. Steve Roche, an epidemiologist and animal health and welfare researcher, as he discusses how farm staff attitude, perceptions, and motivation can influence animal health.

Steve is the Director and Principal Consultant for ACER Consulting, and has a vision for improving animal health through applied research and creative communication. His mission is to develop and deliver evidence-based solutions to motivate on-farm change and improve animal health and welfare. Steve earned his PhD in epidemiology from the Department of Population Medicine at the Ontario Veterinary College. He also holds a MSc in epidemiology and BSc in zoology from the University of Guelph.