“We want to prompt students to actively consider their own role in the livestock industry”
Veterinarians of the future learn about sustainable agriculture
Society is calling for greater sustainability in the agricultural sector. How can the veterinarians of the future learn to recognise sustainability-related opportunities? And how can they aid the transition to more sustainable systems of food production? Lecturers Gerrit Koop and Adriaan Antonis and Master’s student Yoni Veldhuis talk about the new challenge-based assignment during the basic internship in the revised Master’s programme, a project which focuses on making the transition in livestock farming.
“We are really trying to open a dialogue with students about the livestock industry,” says Gerrit Koop, head of the Sustainable Ruminant Health team. “They have different worldviews; some of them have preconceived notions of what goes on in livestock farming.” Koop teaches classes in epidemiology and ruminant healthcare, with special attention for preventative veterinary medicine. He is the course leader for the basic internship in Farm Animals. “Many students ask critical questions about issues of animal health, animal welfare and the impact on the living environment. This offers a great starting point for more in-depth conversations with them about future prospects and getting them to think about the role they – as veterinarians – might play in the agricultural transition. I really enjoy that process. At the end of the course, some students say that the livestock sector is much more appealing than they thought.”
Students shape their own visions
“The sector must become more sustainable and veterinarians have a part to play in this. That role can either a supporting or a leading one,” says Adriaan Antonis. He designed the assignment that deals with the transition of livestock farming. Antonis spends half the week researching the transition to sustainable food systems at Wageningen Bioveterinary Research (WBVR), while in the other half, he works as a lecturer within the Sustainable Ruminant Health team at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine. “Based on their own values and standards, students think about how to implement this transition in the livestock industry: they shape their own visions of the changes that are (or will be) taking place in livestock farming. After that, they're in a much better position to identify what role they might play as a veterinarian.”
Rainwater for the cows
The UU teaching farm, De Tolakker, plays a vital role in the course. The farm offers opportunities for increasing sustainability, too, and the students work in small groups to consider the issue and present their ideas. Antonis continues: “Together with the students, we elaborate the ideas for increasing sustainability at De Tolakker in greater detail. Recently, a group presented the idea of making De Tolakker 100% water-neutral by capturing rainwater and giving it to the cows to drink. They collected water from the roof gutters and tested it in the Infectious Diseases and Immunology department at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine. They analysed the presence of bacteria in rainwater and speculated on the potential risks to the cows’ health. The conclusion was that there are more possibilities for using rainwater on a circular farm.”
Master’s student Yoni Veldhuis also took part in the basic internship on Farm Animals. Together with classmates, she examined the circular processes in which De Tolakker played a role. “We spent a week observing and working on the farm and wanted to explore a relatively new method for manure disposal. We investigated what we could do with the manure at the teaching farm if we separated it into thick and thin fractions, looking at the difference in the nitrogen levels and so on between the two. And what happens to the soil if we spread the fractions on the fields at De Tolakker?”
Ambassadors for nature
Veldhuis and her fellow students spent a day shadowing soil expert Jorn Vernooij, who showed them what goes on underground and how soil affects the biodiversity in the area around De Tolakker. Veldhuis continues: “We looked at how dry the soil was, where water was being retained and how many worms were in the soil. After that, we talked about our role as humans, as ‘ambassadors of nature’. And what we can do to ensure optimum soil quality, so that roots can burrow deeper into the ground. This will aerate the soil and allow us to create sustainable land that is self-replenishing.”
After that day, Veldhuis decided she wants to learn more about sustainability. “As a veterinarian, I think I’d enjoy helping farms make the transition to sustainable agriculture. It’s great when farmers are motivated to become ‘greener’, but we also need to pay attention to animal health and animal welfare. I want to prevent farmers from becoming discouraged along the way. My goal is to play a part in that later on, as a vet.”
Redesigning the system
Lecturers Koop and Antonis both see the results in their course evaluations: like them, students are enthusiastic about the assignment. The lecturers challenge, transform and strengthen the students’ perspectives, giving them new insights that they will ultimately take with them into the professional field. According to Koop: “Rather than trying to preserve the current system, we try to use our knowledge and expertise to actively advance sustainability within the industry.”
Challenge-based learning
In challenge-based learning, students take on real issues from professional practice, such as how to make a livestock farm more sustainable. This is a complex undertaking and it takes multiple disciplines to design a solution. The assignment is open-ended, with plenty of scope for creativity and discovering and exploring new ideas. The client supplies the basic conditions and requirements, if any, which the plan must meet.
During the challenge, students may consult experts from academia, the business community and the government. The students work together with the client in interdisciplinary teams, each led by a coach. As a result, the students gain not only subject-matter knowledge but also the professional skills they will need later on in their working lives.