A new video series is shining a light on building stronger rural communities and improve the wellbeing of calves.
Produced by MaxCare, the series — called Growing Stronger Every Day — covers a range of topics, including calf rearing.
In the latest episode, Sarah Bolton shares her thoughts on the future of calf rearing — discussing topics like calf rearing practices, animal welfare and the right to farm.
Dr Bolton said she had a passion for calves and dairy cattle, and had spent time managing a dairy farm.
“With rearing calves comes great responsibility and there are still a number of challenges that farmers face at either a farm, industry or even at a global level,” she said.
“We need to think about how we best meet these challenges.
“On farms we need to think about health and production ensuring we are rearing calves with low levels of disease, who exhibit great levels of health and grow up to be animals that fulfil their full potential.”
Dr Bolton is a qualified veterinarian, graduating from University of Melbourne in 2012.
She is currently participating in the university's Dairy Residency program and recently completed a Nuffield scholarship looking at how bull calves are managed.
“Our farmers continue to face challenging conditions; as an industry and community we need to rally together to support our farmers and help build stronger rural communities,” MaxCare business manager Tom Newton said.
“We are aware of the challenges and unpredictability of life on the land,” he said.
“Mental illness in the bush can be hard to detect, tough exteriors built by the harsh landscape we owe our livelihoods to, and the signature attitude of ‘she’ll be right’ can sometimes get us into strife.
“With this video series we want to help remove the stigma around mental health and help our farmers address the challenges."
For more information about the Growing Stronger Every Day video series, visit: maxumanimal.com.au/growing-stronger-every-day