The Wifery Livestock Skills Consortium

Commodities

Practices

The Wifery targets 2 urgent needs: 1) a severe shortage of vets. In the last 5 years, two vet clinics in Rice & Goodhue counties have discontinued offering vet services for large animals, switching to just pets, leaving livestock farmers scrambling for vet services. This trend is seen throughout MN, as evidenced by the expansion of the roles of vet technicians via HF 1228 passed in the 2024 MN Legislative session. 2) in order for small scale farmers to be profitable, they must be able to know & perform many vet tech skills themselves. As emerging farmers enter livestock farming, they often have never performed basic tasks like ear tagging, hoof trimming, giving shots, dressing wounds. Nor do they know where to access accurate curriculum on raising livestock; not everything on the Internet is reliable or accurate. Additionally, very few available trainings offer complete solutions: certified organic to pharmaceuticals. The Wifery includes all solutions.

We surveyed our area farmer e-list in March 2024 to assess this need: 23 farmers from 6 counties replied with needs for cattle, sheep, goat, pigs, horses, rabbits, alpacas, all classes of poultry. Since that survey, 78 more farmers have expressed their need to participate. 

1. Compile curriculum on livestock
   care skills on all the species available: certified organic to
   pharmaceutical 
2. Collaborate with UMN Extension
   and retired veterinarians to assess the practicable livestock
   vet tech skills farmers can perform themselves
3. Conduct up to 4 hands-on
   workshops, complete with tools + curriculum
   1. Fecal floats for worm egg ID; prevention +
      treatment 
   2. Basic care + emergencies: hoof trim, giving shots, IVs,
      wounds, setting legs, drawing blood, etc.
   3. Birthing + newborn care: pulling babies, tubing, ear
      tagging, dehorning, castrating, milking, treating mastitis,
      etc.
   4. Nutrition + facilities as prevention before treatment
4. Establish record keeping systems for health + financial
   profitability