SHEEP health and nutrition in Queensland are in good hands thanks to awareness-raising excursions conducted by James Cook University's veterinary school.
For seven years now, JCU has been bringing its third-year veterinary science degree students to the central west in order to put their theory into practice and to find out what it takes to be a practising vet in a remote area.
The visits have encompassed some very wet years and challenges of fly strike, worms and fleece rot, but this year students were exposed to management systems needed to raise healthy, productive animals in some of the harshest weather ever encountered in the region.
Third-year co-ordinator and lecturer in nutrition, Dr Glen Walker, said JCU was training vets to work in regional environments, so it was important for them to experience some of the issues they'd be presented with if they chose to practice in an environment that supported sheep.
About two-thirds of their graduates worked in regional areas, and Dr Walker said the exposure to sheep husbandry meant they were more likely to consider going to areas such as Longreach. "The bulk of vet schools concentrate on urban areas and deal with small animals, but our degree is designed to train vets to service regional Queensland," he said.
As well as speaking with vets already working in the state's west and hearing about how they made their money and fitted into a rural environment, a variety of production strategies were examined.
They included Andrew and Maree King's organic Dorper operation south of Longreach, Pat and Sue Hegarty's Colanya Merino Stud north-west of Longreach with its emphasis on soft rolling skin selection techniques, and a Dohne operation at the Webb family's Weewondilla property north of Longreach.
Topics covered land types and how they affect production, seasonality, genetic selection, condition scoring, mulesing and wild dog management.
One of those taking part was Chloe Trompf from Cairns. Despite her urban address she grew up on a beef cattle property in Victoria and helps her uncle Jason Trompf on his mixed-sheep enterprise in the north-east of that state on uni holidays.
Dr Trompf co-authored the AWI/MLA Bred Well Fed Well workshops designed to improve ewe profitability. Chloe said it had been fascinating to see how it had been adapted to suit needs in western Queensland.
"It wasn't a vet experience as much as students from this world experiencing a grazier's world," she said.
"Some vets are very good at their job but they're a hazard in sheepyards - this gives us empathy."
Roma vet Will Nason agreed, saying that any exposure to the coalface was a benefit for students.
"A good vet understands a system and what its cost drivers are," he said.
"Everyone has the knowledge when they leave uni but the ones that succeed in our areas are the ones who understand margins. They might be taught that X, Y and Z have to be done, but sometimes X and Y are sufficient, depending on the situation."
He said his practice was "flat out" and there was plenty of work for vets who gave service and helped graziers with their profitability. This was a signal JCU students were receiving from Sheep Week, Dr Walker said.
"Clearly there's still a need for vets in that part of the world. The vet who spoke to us said they had to do a range of things to have a profitable business but said there were still opportunities there.
"In past years the week has included toxic plant identification and collection but there wasn't much evidence of any plants this time round.
"We moved Sheep Week to May so students would see some standing pasture but the drought beat us."