FARMERS can now access veterinary training courses online thanks to Synergy Farm Health. 

The vets have launched a new online training platform to cater for those who struggle to attend physical workshops. 

The courses are Red Tractor accredited, and farmers and staff can complete them in their own time and gain Dairy Pro points at the same time. 

Pete O'Malley, vet at Synergy Farm Health, said farm staff sometimes struggle to attend courses in person. 

"But there is an ever-increasing demand for quality training to meet milk buyer/Red Tractor requirements," he said. 

"There is a lack of quality online training available for the production animal industry - but there is definite demand for training farm staff in subjects like youngstock health, medicine training, and downer cows. This doesn't necessarily have to be delivered one-to-one, they can be studied at the individual's convenience.

"We know that farmers have difficult working hours and limited travelling time. Hopefully this online training overcomes those obstacles."

The online courses are videos followed by a test at the end. The first course to become available is the Safe Use of Veterinary Medicines in Cattle, which will be followed by Safe Use of Veterinary Medicines in Sheep, care of the downer cow, cattle handling, lameness management, and youngstock health management.

“We have carefully designed our learning platform to be video-based, accessible from either a computer or your phone, incorporating subtitles and translation tools to ensure our training is accessible to as many people as possible," Pete added.

Once the courses are completed, trainees will receive a certificate and Dairy Pro points, which can be used for their Red Tractor assurance. 

Rhian Baker at FAW Bakers, Rushywood Farm in Somerset, has already been using the system. 

“The Synergy Farm training platform creates an easy way to train our staff and keep a record of their progress, using the MCQ assessments to assess operator knowledge,” she said. 

“We use it both as a part of an induction process and for refresher training. Since rolling the training out it has received positive feedback from our team.”

The online training will be officially launched at the Dairy Show on October 4. Staff will be around to give live demonstrations and answer any questions.