A YOUNG farm vet who travelled to the other side of the world to learn more about the dairy industry has been made a divisional partner for an independently-owned veterinary group.

Jonny Duncan spent five months in New Zealand to learn more about the techniques and practices employed by the country’s successful dairy industry and its vets.

His growing knowledge and obvious dedication to his work has not gone unnoticed and he has been appointed as a divisional partner for Willows Veterinary Group which owns Willows Farm Vets in Chester Road, Hartford, Cheshire, where Jonny is a member of the team.

He has also been identified as ‘a key opinion leader of the future’ by global pharmaceutical company Boehringer Ingelheim which meant he was invited to Holland last year to be part of a Milk Quality Academy set up to train specialist vets about the latest developments in the mastitis and milk quality world.

The 28-year-old said: “I spent eight weeks working in New Zealand on the South Island in a place called Ashburton. The second job I had was on the North Island for 12 weeks in the Waikato region.

“In New Zealand, 98 per cent of herds graze outside all year round which is a similar system to some of my clients in Cheshire but others in the UK keep their herds in all year round so it was interesting for me to see the New Zealand system in operation and to see how the vets over there work with it.

“They also have different breeds of cattle and often much larger herds which brought a fresh perspective to my learning too.

“This is important knowledge for my job and one of the things I really enjoy about being a farm vet is the fact that I work with a variety of farms with a variety of systems and it is vital that I learn about and understand this so I can make the best possible decisions and judgements for the best welfare of their animals.

“There is no right or wrong. The system is directed to by the farm buildings and land available, and the breed of cow is chosen to suit the system. It is up to me to up skill myself in dealing with all types of system, as there is a wide variety of types of dairy business in the UK. Other parts of the world don't have such diversity."