The most popular management change was to treat lame sheep earlier (51%), followed by culling repeatedly-lame ewes (45%). The events also prompted attendees to question their use of foot trimming, with those that routinely trim feet being more likely to stop as a result of attending the events.
The lameness meetings were part of the EBLEX focus farm initiative, which involves a network of sheep farms around England, funded by the Rural Development Programme for England (RDPE) Skills Framework. The first round of meetings attracted over 700 farmers and industry advisers to hear about the five-point lameness plan and see practical demonstrations on lesion identification and treatment.
When asked about their management practices, 18% of respondents believed that more than 5% of their flock was lame at any one time, however only 4% of those questioned would use their vet to diagnose lameness. Routine foot trimming was common, despite being shown to be counter-productive in many cases, with 35% doing it once or twice a year and 8% doing it more than three times a year.
For practical information on tackling lameness, download the EBLEX BRP manual Reducing Lameness for Better Returns. Presentations and other resources from the focus farm meetings can also be found here.