Clive Dalton: Farmers let down by scientists’ blinkered vision

I love saleyards, but I'm always haunted by what became of the past 40 years of research into animal health and husbandry.

With the mega millions invested in research, there is very little sign of it in the stock some farmers put forward for sale.
Auctioneers don't allow time to provide details of the stock's background.

All you get is "Now look these over, buyers, a drench will set them alight", and we are assured that some miserable stunted animals will shift well or even grow like mushrooms.

Wouldn't it be great if auctioneers could be totally honest?

"Look here, buyers, it would be hard to find a more miserable pen of stock in the yards today. They'll cost you a fortune in animal remedies, and expect a 5 per cent death rate into the bargain. Is there anybody silly enough to make an offer?"

That really would hasten greater internet marketing of stock and I look forward to it, when there is no limit on the information you could provide and with time to consider it.

The past 40 years have been the wonder age of antibiotics, so the real nasties should have been eliminated.

But because of scientists' narrow vision in not predicting antibiotic resistance, we now have a tiger by the tail in both animal and human medicine.

The worm drench resistance story is the other disaster. We are simply running out of worm killing power and there are no more drench families in the lab to save the day.

Dairy goat farmers are bringing their goats indoors at enormous cost to stay in business. The worm resistance problem was predicted, but it got lost in the drive to use and sell more drench.

I was discussing these issues with a Waikato homoeopath business that services animals and humans, and they have never been so busy as this spring.

Homoeopaths regularly remind me that farmers are not stupid. Frustrated scientists often believed they were, especially when they didn't take up our latest solutions to their problems.

Looking back, thank goodness they didn't, as so many of our solutions were not their solutions.

We scream, where is the published peer-reviewed science to show that homoeopathy works? We know there isn't much, but there are plenty of reasons for this. Before we scientists get too uppity, we should remember the times when we looked at things and missed the key point.

So back to the question of why so many farmers have resorted to homoeopathy this difficult spring.

Homoeopaths remind me that farmers don't pay their bills if products don't work, and they certainly don't reorder year after year if it's all bullswool.

So call in at your local saleyards and see what 40 years of conventional veterinary medicine has produced, and ponder if we really have made much progress.

- Dr Dalton is a former scientist and polytech tutor and is now technical editor of lifestyleblock.co.nz