Introducing the new committee 2022-23!

We’re very excited to introduce the new committee for 2022-23! We have some great talks and events lined up for Michaelmas. Keep an eye on our Facebook or Instagram to make sure you don’t miss anything!

President – Lucy Steele

I’m Lucy, a 4th/5th year at Girton. I’ve been involved with farming for as long as I can remember and am looking forward to being the new CFAVS president for 2022/23. We’re aiming to do plenty of talks and practicals this year and (hopefully) a few socials too. Let us know what you want and we’ll try and do it!

Vice President – Chloe Todd

“Hi, I’m Chloe and I’m an incoming 5th year at Fitz. I didn’t grow up in farming but a part-time job just before coming to vet school piqued my interest and my love for farm has grown ever since! I’m looking forward to getting some cool talks and practicals organised this year – especially if we can run a lambing practical in Lent term.”

Secretary – Beccy Pickering

I’m Beccy and I’m a third-year vet at St John’s. I love working with all species of animal, shown by my increasing collection of animals I look after, so I’m thinking of going into mixed practice in the future!

Publicity officer- Rebekah Knights

Hi, I’m Rebekah, a third-year vet at Sidney and the new CFAVS publicity officer. My love of farm animals has been sparked during my preclinical EMS. I particularly enjoyed my dairy placement and would like to go into farm animal practice in the future. In my spare time, I enjoy baking, reading, and taking Layla my Old English Sheepdog on walks.

Treasurer- Imogen Duncalf

My name’s Imogen and I’m a 4th year at Girton. I’m from North Wales (land of the sheep) and my family have a dairy farm so I have grown up with cows and am planning to specialise in large animals. I’m really looking forward to all the CAFVS talks!

Pre-clinical rep- Ellie Hardy

“Hi, I’m Ellie, a second-year vet from Sidney Sussex. I’m really looking forwards to working with CFAVS as the preclinical rep this year, and I can’t wait to get involved in lots of fun farm activities! I’m also hoping to go into farm animal practice in the future. Outside of Vet Med, I enjoy climbing, swimming, and lacrosse (even though I can’t really catch!), as well as spoiling my two cats.”

Introducing the 2021-2022 CFAVS committee…

Last year was a tough one with the pandemic disrupting so much for so many people. The CFAVS committee did a great job of keeping our members in touch, with online quizzes and interactive talks which we hope you’ve all enjoyed!

Before introducing ourselves, we’d like to thank last year’s committee for all their hard work and determination. We look forward to following in their footsteps and bringing our members together for another year of CFAVS

President

I’m Josh, a 5th year at Selwyn, and your new CFAVS President. I love all things farm related, especially anything to do with managing and looking after cows and sheep. During most of my holidays, I will end up working on a farm of some description – helping with dairy block calving and breeding seasons, lambing, even driving tractors at harvest time! In my spare time I enjoy a good game of cricket and walks in the countryside. I’m looking forward to organising some great talks and practicals for you all this year!

Vice President

Hi, I’m Katie, a 5th year vet at Clare and your new CFAVS Vice President. Having grown up on a dairy farm in Lancashire, I’ve always had a keen interest in cattle and everything farm. I’m really excited to be part of the CFAVS committee this year and to help organise some amazing talks and practicals for you all. In my spare time, I enjoy playing netball with the vet ladies’ team, pub quizzes at The Mitre and grabbing Jack’s gelato with friends (if you haven’t tried their coconut and passion fruit ripple ice cream then you’re missing out!

Secretary

“Hi! I’m Livi, a third year at Medwards, and I’m the new CFAVS secretary. In my spare time I enjoy rowing with MECBC and going on walks, especially when they involve ice cream. I am really looking forward to working with the CFAVS committee and hopefully helping to organise some interesting talks and practicals this year!”

Publicity officer

“Hi, I’m Lucy, a 4th year vet at Girton and your new publicity officer. I’ve lived on our family farm nearly my whole life, so I’ve grown up surrounded by pigs, sheep and cattle and, when I can, I work on a nearby farrowing unit- I have a real passion for pigs! In my spare time, I’m a member of CURC and ride (and fall off) friend’s horses at home when I can. I’m really looking forward to getting stuck into the CFAVS committee this year and look forward to meeting our new members. “

Treasurer

“Hi, I’m Amy a 3rd year vet at medwards and the new CFAVS treasurer. I live on a beef farm in Lancashire so I have a real soft spot for cows! I am really looking forward to another year of great talks with CFAVS”

Pre-clinical rep

“Hi, I’m Ellie, a second year vet from Sidney Sussex. I’m really looking forwards to working with CFAVS as the preclinical rep this year, and can’t wait to get involved in lots of fun farm activities! I’m also hoping to go into farm animal practice in future.
Outside of Vet Med, I enjoy climbing, swimming and lacrosse (even though I can’t really catch!), as well as spoiling my two cats.”

We look forward to seeing all of our current and future members soon!

FAVS CONGRESS 2020

The National FAVS congress for 2020 is to be held in Nottingham on the 1st and 2nd February.

This is sure to be a fun and educational weekend!

Tickets for Cambridge students are to be released on the 7th October 2019.  A ticket will cost £70.

If would would like a ticket, please email us on cfavsociety@gmail.com when they are released.

FAVS Congress 2019!

Six of our CFAVS members attended FAVS congress at Bristol’s Langford campus last weekend (16th and 17th February 2019). The weekend was really enjoyable; all of the morning lectures were engaging and the afternoon practicals were very useful.

In my opinion, the most memorable talk was ‘Camelid Diseases’ where the speaker converted his lecture into a competitive quiz using a website called ‘Kahoot!’. We accessed the quiz on our phones and played against each other for an Easter egg prize. My downfall however was due to a lack of internet connection. Suffice to say, the eggs went to winners with more reliable phones! (They were very deserving of it too, of course).

To give you a flavour of the practicals available, they included:
– Stock judging.
– Sheep MOT.
– Goat disbudding.
– Nutrition workshop.
– Antimicrobial workshop.

The Saturday night was a chance to let loose. Everyone partook in a 3 course meal at a fancy Hilton hotel (would definitely recommend the profiteroles!) followed by a slightly tipsy ceilidh.

I’d just like to thank BFAVS for organising the whole event as well as our very accommodating hosts.

If you’re a vet student, then I’d definitely encourage you to partake in Congress in future, whether it be farm, small animal, exotic or otherwise.

Introducing the new 2018-19 CFAVS Committee!

Before we introduce ourselves as the CFAVS committee for 2018-2019, we’d like to thank the outgoing committee for all they’ve done over the past year. We hope this next year will be just as successful!

Our new committee!

President:

Hi, I’m Koren a 4th year vet and your new CFAVS president! I’ve always had an interest in all things farm and can’t wait to organise lots of fun farmy talks and activities for you. Aside from vetty interests, I enjoy cake and running (but mainly so I can eat more cake…) as well as a good film. Don’t hesitate to get in contact with us if there is anything you’d like us to organise!

 

Vice president:

I’m Kirsty, a fourth year vet from Girton and your new CFAVS Vice President. I love all things farm and am really excited to help the society become even bigger and better! When I’m not doing vet stuff, I like hanging out with my friends (who tease me mercilessly for my Scottish accent) and enjoy going out running.

 

Secretary:

Hi, I’m Daisy, a fourth year from Queens’ and I’m the new secretary of CFAVS. In my spare time I enjoy exercising and beer.I’m really excited to be part of the committee and I can’t wait to help organise some exciting talks and practicals!

 

Publicity officer:

Hello! I’m Emma, a 3^rdyear from Queens’. I started off being convinced that I wanted to specialise in exotics but the more I progress, the more I realise I have no idea what area I want to focus on. I’m excited to explore the farming side of things a lot more! Aside from vetmed, I took up both pole vaulting and trampolining this year, both of which involve jumping in the air and hoping for the best.

 

Treasurer:

Hey Everyone! I’m Jess and am in my 4^thyear at Gonville and Caius. I’m super excited to be the CFAVS treasurer this year; a role I’ve never had before but am ready to throw everything into and hopefully learn some new skills along the way! Lucky for you all I’m a super foodie so will be pushing to fund the yummiest things we can at all the talks and events! In my free time, I have a 9 month old puppy who takes up most of my attention (as I’m typing this he’s got upset by my the lack of love and decided to lick all the suncream off my legs instead!) and love nothing more than taking him out on our long countryside walks… But I also do love a good old natter, so please do come say hi at out next event!

Pre-clinical rep:

Hi! I’m Josh, a first year at Selwyn, and I’m really excited to be involved with the CFAVS committee this year. As pre-clin rep, I’m really looking forward to helping to organise more great events for pre-clins and increase the involvement of pre-clins in CFAVS. I’ve been pretty set on farm animal practice for a while and in recent years it seems I’ve spent much more of my holiday time on farms than, well, on holiday!

BCVA Rep:

Hi, I’m Callum, the BCVA rep for this year, and I’m looking forward to being Cambridge’s contact with the BCVA, including linking with congress and promoting the association within the department. I enjoy spending time with my local farm practice, and have a personal interest in sustainable agriculture and animal welfare which I hope to develop.

We’re looking forward to putting on some fun farm-filled  events in the next academic year!

CFAVS New Committee 2017-18!

Wishing a big congratulations to our fabulous new committee!

President: Hannah Rhodes-Cheong
Vice-President: Lauren Mort
Secretary: Emma Simpson
Treasurer: Jenny Blackburn
Publicity: Tess Hopkins
BCVA Rep: Ben Haythornthwaite
Pre-clin Rep: Lottie Thompson

We’re looking forward to handing over to you next term and are sure you’ll do an amazing job!

CFAVS Lent Term 2017 Summary

It’s been another busy and farm-related-fun-filled term for CFAVS!

We’ve been lucky to have lots of great speakers and interesting talks. The term got off to a great start with the first talk ‘Sheep are not stupid: their behaviour is subtle and they shouldn’t be left to suffer’, given by Katie Hovers from the Animal Welfare Foundation.

The theme of welfare continued with a talk from the vet school’s very own ophthalmologist and welfare advocate, David Williams: ‘Sorry sows, crippled cows and hungry hens – what can we do about animal welfare?’ This was a look at just some of the welfare problems we may be faced with when out on farm, and the best way of raising these issues with the farmer.

We also welcomed Will Garton from Minister Poultry & Gamebird Vets who came to share his experiences in ‘A day in the life of a poultry vet.’ He shed light on what work as a poultry vet is like, as well as offering some handy new-grad tips for dealing with that occasional ‘backyard poultry’ call! Many thanks to ELANCO who kindly sponsored lots of yummy pizza for the talk.

Our talk term-card was rounded off by David Stockton from Chapelfield Veterinary Partnership, who gave us an ‘Interactive tour through a breeder/finisher pig unit – from a vet’s perspective.’ This was a great case-based approach to looking at pig management, health and welfare.

In addition to the talks, we were also lucky to be able to organise a practical session on farm suturing. This was a student-led practical which aimed to teach people the common suturing patterns encountered in farm animal practice and when they should be used. We had great feedback from everyone who attended the practical and we hope to run more of these peer-assisted learning practicals in the future!

One of the highlights of our term-card was the CFAVS Charity Formal and Ceilidh. This event was held in aid of the charity RABI (Royal Agricultural Benefit Institute) which offers support to farming families in particular need. Guests enjoyed a formal three course dinner held in the great hall at Clare College followed by an energetic ceilidh courtesy of the fabulous Cambridge University Ceilidh Band. Great fun was had by all and we also managed to raise a fantastic £472.60 for RABI, so a huge thank you to everyone who came along!

We’re looking forward to holding another ever-popular Scanning Day at the university farm in association with VetSonic at the start of next term, before handing over to the new committee.

A big thank you to everyone who has come along to our talks and events this term – you’re the ones who make all the organisation worthwhile, and we hope you’ve enjoyed!

 

CFAVS/CUVZS Alpaca Practical Day!

Earlier this term we were very lucky to welcome Pauline and David from Woodbine Farm Alpacas, for a joint CFAVS/CUVZS Practical Day!

The day began with a interesting talk from Pauline, which covered everything from diet and management to common conditions seen in alpacas.

The talk was followed by a handling session, where we were able to meet the alpacas and practice some of the skills that Pauline had discussed in her talk, such as body condition scoring and picking up feet to check the hooves.

The day was a great success and was really enjoyed by everyone who attended. Many thanks again to Pauline and David for a fantastic day, and we look forward to welcoming them again in the future!

CFAVS Michaelmas 2016 Termcard!

We’re very pleased to share our exciting Michaelmas termcard with you all! We have four excellent speakers lined up for talks, as well as some fun practical days in the pipeline, so keep a look out for further updates. You can join our Facebook group https://www.facebook.com/groups/CFAVS/ or just keep an eye on this website to stay in the loop!

New FAVS Newsletter!

We have some very exciting news for you  – FAVS now has its very own newsletter! FAVS is the national farm animal veterinary society, with a committee made up of students from each of the UK vet schools. The current FAVS president is Cambridge vet school’s own Alec Kemp, who has put in a lot of hard work to collate all the articles and create this excellent first edition of the newsletter. The finished result is 18 pages full of interesting, useful and entertaining articles, written by students as well as qualified vets. The articles cover a whole host of farm-related topics so there should be something for everyone – it’s definitely worth a read if you get a chance!

If anyone is interested in contributing to future editions of the newsletter, then email any ideas to Alec (atk24@cam.ac.uk). It could be an article on anything from thoughts on current farming issues, to sharing something exciting that you’ve been up to on EMS this summer – whatever it is, FAVS would love to hear from you!

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