Livestock and Climate Change - Course Feedback

Livestock and Climate Change - A Veterinary Perspective, the self-directed eLearning course from VetSalus, officially launched in December 2023. The course has been designed to equip farm veterinary professionals with knowledge on the key issues of our time – climate change and animal health and welfare, and leverage our unique role as trusted advisors to the food and farming businesses around the world. 

With the course approaching the end of its first year, VetSalus spoke with participants to understand how they found their learning experience, and what impact this has had on their approach to sustainability conversations with their clients.

Jack Rust, livestock vet at Otautau Vets Limited in Southland, New Zealand, first heard about the course through the New Zealand Veterinary Association. We asked Jack what his learning objectives were for taking the course:

I wanted to be better equipped to work alongside our farmers in the strive for sustainable farming practices and management systems. 

Climate change is worsening, and we see the impacts of this globally. We know livestock contribute to greenhouse gas emissions and are therefore one of the many drivers of climate change. Farmers are progressive people, and want to improve their farming practices to improve efficiency and sustainability, in a manner that protects the beautiful corner of Southland we find ourselves in. I wanted to be as well informed, with peer-reviewed, evidence-based, resources to hand, so that I could draw alongside farmers and help with this journey towards sustainability as best I can.

The course is hosted through an online learning platform with images, videos and other interactive elements interspersed throughout the text. Each module has a module champion who guides the participants through the content with quotes and comments through the text. There are also quizzes, tasks and deep dives allowing participants the opportunity to explore areas of interest.

The course was great. Really informative and flexible, split into chapters that were very easy to manage alongside working full time. The course was easy to navigate, it is easy to come back to different chapters as and when applicable, and very clearly laid out in a usable format.

The course is designed to equip participants with the knowledge and confidence to make changes in their own work, and the tools to support farming clients to meet their goals. We asked Jack how the course had developed him professionally:

I think this course has given me a greater appreciation for the sheer breadth and depth that ‘sustainability’ encompasses’. Discussing sustainable practices with farmers is no longer a 10 minute conversation on the farm, but an extensive farm visit. I feel enthused to listen to farmers' ideas more to see what they come up with themselves, since they know their set up and land much better than myself, and steer this conversation rather than lead it. 

I also think I have a greater appreciation for the progression of sustainability, it’s not going to be a short term fix, but a constant journey of shaping our farms differently in accordance with our climate – and this doesn’t have to be daunting, but an exciting prospect that can help boost every area of the farm. 

Within the course, participants discuss our spheres of influence as veterinary professionals and our ability to influence change. We asked Jack if he felt the course had improved his understanding of and ability to practice sustainably:

I feel better equipped to accurately discuss livestock emissions with farmers, and how this contributes to climate change. I can see how pasture management, nutrition and slurry management play day-to-day roles in sustainability, and how little changes can make a huge difference over time. I have resources now at hand to be able to send through to farmers to fuel discussion and suggestions for how we can turn papers into practical implementations and interventions on farm. 

To find out more about the course itself, please visit our dedicated Learn website: https://learn.vetsalus.com/pages/livestock-and-climate-change-a-veterinary-perspective . Registration for our e-learning course is available year-round and at a price of £495.00 +VAT (other currencies also available).

We have also developed the course to be delivered in person, and will be delivering our UK in person course in summer 2025. If you are interested in face-to-face training opportunities, please let us know