SIG in the Spotlight: Australian Cattle Veterinarians

In this edition of SIG in the Spotlight, Australian Cattle Veterinarians (ACV) President Dr Stacey Rae shares what’s ahead for the special interest group, including a new app to help vets access information and data without mobile reception. Dr Rae is a mixed practice vet in Queensland, who joined the AVA and subsequently the ACV in 2005, before becoming President last year.

What motivated you to be the ACV President?  

My motivation to become the ACV President stemmed from a deep passion for both service and community building. I’ve always believed in the power of collective action and the impact that volunteering can have, not only on the community but also on the volunteers themselves. As an active member of ACV, I saw firsthand the difference we could make, and I wanted to take on a leadership role to amplify that impact. I also recognise the opportunity to create a more inclusive environment, where everyone’s voice can be heard, and where we work together to develop solutions to the challenges we face. As a rural vet practice owner, I understand the challenges that our industry is facing, and I want to lead with a vision of expanding our reach and creating meaningful, lasting change in the cattle vet community.

Why is ACV one of the AVA's largest special interest groups?

 ACV is one of the most popular SIGs of the AVA because it has a strong network that fosters a collaborative and inclusive community which provides vital support and resources to its members, many of whom are regional and rural practitioners who face unique challenges.  

The majority of us are actually mixed practice vets, there’s not a lot of members who are cattle only. Being in rural mixed practice, a big part of our workload is the cattle industry, but it's very much seasonal, so to tide us all year round and keep a sustainable practice, we often dabble a little bit in small animals or equine, whatever is needed.

Australia's cattle industry is one of the largest in the world, contributing significantly to the economy. By focusing on cattle health and welfare, the ACV plays a vital role in supporting this key sector. Our members contribute directly to the productivity, sustainability, and biosecurity of Australia's cattle industry, which is vital for national and global markets. The ACV offers PREGCHECK, BULLCHECK, BIOCHECK and WELFARECHECK, programs that are essential to the day-to-day running of an Australian veterinary practice.

What are you most excited about for the future of ACV?

There are so many exciting projects happening in the ACV space, but mostly I am excited about our growing membership. We have an increasing number of enthusiastic young members coming through the ranks and it is great to be a part of the collegial and collaborative approach that the ACV is taking to support our members and encourage them to stay in cattle practice, the cattle industry and the broader rural veterinary sector.  I can see a slight shift in our membership model, which is something that we keep an eye on month by month at the ACV. With a changing membership, our members needs change and we have a great exec that are listening and focusing the ACV strategies to meet those needs.  

I am also excited about the upcoming launch of the BULLCHECK app and our own Podcast. The ACV have been working on the BULLCHECK upgrade, starting with an update to the bullbook and we are now almost finished the app which will allow our members to complete, store and certify their bull testing records crush side.

^{ACV Delegates 2023}

How will the app be beneficial?

It's going to make our program so much more accessible to our members. Currently, we're using a program that is only downloadable onto a specific computer meaning records are stored locally. The app will allow BULLCHECK information to be stored in one central location, and our members will be able to use it offline, out of mobile reception and then that data will be there and available in the cloud to generate certificates.

We’ll also be able to keep data on not only sale balls, but herd bulls as well. We will be able to capture information and data from all across Australia.

What are the key focus areas for 2025?

ACV’s Key Focus Areas for 2025 are:

• To champion the priorities of members with stakeholder organisations, the cattle industry and the public. ACV will continue to promote the products and services of our members to industry as well as identify and understand the key priorities of our stakeholders and strengthen our partnerships with them.
• Provide members with practical, relevant and evidence-based CPD opportunities. In addition to our combined conference with VBG, ACV are holding another standalone BULLCHECK workshop in 2025, plus 3 webinars and we are excited to be launching our very own Podcast!
• Increase the efficiency of our current member programs. ACV will also be finalising our rewrite of the PREGCHECK Rules and completing the digitisation process of BULLCHECK with the release of the BULLCHECK App later this year.
• Recognition and support of our members. We are re-establishing ACV state reps and ACV student reps at each of the universities to ensure we are reaching our membership far and wide. Members will continue to be recognised with our annual awards and we hope to recognise the diversity of our SIG by adding in a few additional ones.  

In 2025 we are wanting to ensure that ACV can achieve strong consultation from our membership regarding AVA policies that are of interest to our members.

How will you achieve that strong consultation?

We have such a broad membership, not only within the veterinary profession, but even just within our SIG. Our member’s perspectives and experiences range from Northern to Southern Beef, Dairy, government, corporate and industry.

We have an executive officer role that represents ACV at Policy Council and we are considering adding a sub-committee to that role, who can assist in gathering expertise, information and feedback from the membership. When it comes to policy, I think it's important that we're consultative of the membership. It can be quite challenging to capture feedback in the current formal way through the AVA website.

How is everything going ahead of the ACV/VBG Conference? I am really looking forward to the upcoming conference and joining with VBG to deliver it. I believe the collaborative program has a lot of benefits for our members. We have had an overwhelming response to our awards nomination and our registration numbers are on track to hit our targets.

What can new or prospective members expect to gain from joining the ACV? By joining ACV members will gain access to a wealth of resources including the following ACV programs – BULLCHECK, PREGCHECK, BIOCHECK, WELFARECHECK. But more importantly the networking opportunities are endless and you can expect to become a member of a collaborative community that loves all things cattle: health, medicine, surgery and industry.

Want to know more about the Australian Cattle Veterinarians? Reach out to our Member Services team via members@ava.com.au.