It’s 3:30 in the morning. The cow in the chute needs immediate help. Instead of loading her in the trailer and heading to the local veterinary clinic in a rush, the producer picks up his cell phone and checks his text messages to see the vet is on his way. A call for help was made when the owner found his cow in distress during his nightly check.
A relationship like the one between this owner and the vet was cultivated by years of stopping in for a chat while picking up medicine for the family dog or a conversation at the local sale barn. Often the vet and the owner would pick each other’s brains for information and other helpful ideas for certain situations. It grew into much more than a doctor-patient relationship—it was a trusted friendship that could be counted on in a time of need.
But because of the coronavirus pandemic some of these encounters have been prevented, and it’s not the same having a conversation while being social distanced and masked up. Extension educators and others as well have found other avenues for in-person learning by speaking at virtual events or producing videos for social media. The learning hasn’t stopped.
Kansas Veterinary Medical Association past-president Andy Hawkins said the pandemic has presented quite a few challenges to in-person learning opportunities.
“Kansans are resilient and have adapted to receiving and distributing information virtually,” Hawkins said. “But being able to attend an event live from the comfort of their own residence, or taking advantage of watching a pre-recorded event when their schedule allows, has shown to be quite advantageous.”
A.J. Tarpoff, Kansas State University assistant professor and Extension beef veterinarian, agrees.
“For livestock producers, their business is their passion,” he said. “So they are always trying to learn.”
Tarpoff said in a typical year, many producers seem to prefer the normal information flow by using things like articles (both print and online), newsletters, radio, and in-person visits or meetings to further their education.
“With many in-person events being postponed, either they relied on what they were comfortable with or decided to branch out,” he said. “Web learning is new to many producers, however, many have adapted to these online formats.”
In some areas, vet clinics haven’t been allowing clients into their facilities. Many veterinarians have managed to maintain relationships with their clientele despite restrictions.
“Communication has been key to maintaining relationships with clients,” Tarpoff said. “Veterinary clinics have done a tremendous job at communicating with their clientele as to how these changes would impact their visits—whether that be dropping off their pet, or changes to on-farm visits.”
Hawkins said the foundation of veterinary medicine is the client-patient relationship.
“Even though face to face interaction with clients has been limited, veterinarians have improvised by utilizing telephone or other virtual communication platforms,” he said. “Throughout it all, Kansas veterinarians have not wavered in their commitment to clients and the patients they serve.”
For many livestock veterinarians it has been business as usual, according to Tarpoff.
“Cattle production never stops, so it’s no different for our veterinarians,” he said. “I have spoken to many mixed animal veterinarians, and many of them have mentioned that their small animal business has been busier than ever, especially last summer.”
As well, many pet owners have been working from home during the pandemic, thus spending more time with their animals.
“Veterinary medicine definitely falls under the title essential business,” he said.
As an educator, Tarpoff has had to adapt and overcome restrictions when it came to meeting in person because of COVID-19. Some vets have taken to social media posts to educate about certain subjects with videos and other tools.
“Adapting to virtual technology was essential,” he said. “Early in 2020 the beef Extension team and myself put together and hosted a series of online webinars to cover the current state of affairs and to ensure producers had the most up to date information as possible.”
KVMA Executive Director Megan Kilgore said society continues to be driven by social media as an outlet of information.
“KVMA members are increasing their presence through Facebook posts, videos, etc.,” she said. “Our members are actively sharing important health information, interesting cases, and safety alerts focusing on the health, safety and welfare for all.”
During 2020, Tarpoff did numerous webinar events throughout the state, and apart from those events, K-State Beef Extension has increased its web presence through social media.
“We teamed up with our Ag Communications team to further the reach of the traditional materials we push out such as radio, newsletters, and other print articles,” he said. “I also teamed up with the Kansas Beef Council to create a video to show critical BQA Principles in Action.”
Those resources can be found on the BEEFHUB page on their website. www.kansasbeef.org/beefhub.
Tarpoff believes livestock owners can gain a lot from these types of learning opportunities.
“The point of all information and materials that we push out is to bring relevant material that will keep cattle producers at the cutting edge, while also focusing on the key aspects of production as reminders to help producers stay as effective and efficient as possible in raising, caring for, and ensuring the wellbeing of their herds,” he said.
These educational events can help producers find the information they’re looking for, Hawkins hopes.
“Veterinarians are dedicated to preventative medicine,” he said. “Client education is critical to prevent disease and improve the quality of life for all animals; big and small.”
And their involvement in the community has helped them remain engaged.
“Veterinarians continue to be leaders in their community and have remained engaged and served as a voice of reasoning for many clients as we joined together to navigate this unprecedented pandemic,” Hawkins said.
Virtual events haven’t been without their challenges.
“There are obvious limitations to virtual meetings,” Tarpoff said. “I think the biggest one is simply technology availability for some of our producers. Where they live, high speed internet most likely is not available. In many rural areas, even cell phone reception can be spotty at best.”
Another limitation is the understanding that not all people learn effectively in an online format.
“While difficult to overcome this, keeping attention is the key to its success,” he said. “To help with this, length of presentations may have to be limited.”
The most important limitation is probably the lack of personal connection and interaction when presenting online.
“Cattle producers want to ask questions specific to their operation,” he said. “Due to the impersonal nature of online presenting, I feel many folks choose not to ask questions.”
The ability to share information and knowledge has been strengthened because of the pandemic in a multitude of ways, but it’s not a permanent solution.
“However, the tools we have learned are not a replacement, but more of a crutch in this time of need,” Tarpoff said. “Moving forward, I think we will continue to use to the tools to reach a larger audience, while still focusing on our core teaching and training methods which is in-person.”
Kylene Scott can be reached at 620-227-1804 or [email protected].
