Dr Lyndell Stone took up the position with the Hunter Local Land Services (LLS) based at Scone this month and said she was looking forward to making a difference.

With a career history focused on agricultural and government scientific and technical roles associated with farming and agricultural industry development in Queensland and NSW including emergency animal disease response, she is well suited to the job.  

“Anything we can do to help farmers make more money and improve productivity is a good thing.

“As a district vet my job is to keep in touch with farmers and local vets to monitor livestock health and disease surveillance,” Dr Stone said. 

“We are authorised to sign stock movements interstate or overseas and receive lab results from livestock intended for export markets to ensure they meet export standards.

“We also implement policies designed to deal with any new or emerging bio-security or animal welfare issues,” she said.

Herself a former cattle farmer on the Mid North Coast, Dr Stone said she understood how critical it was for farmers to monitor their livestock health.

“If you had a sick cow, sheep or a horse then you would call your local veterinarian for advice.

“But if you noticed an unusual number of fatalities across your cattle herd or had dropped significantly in condition then you would call us. 

“We could then investigate possible causes such as toxic plants or diseases such as pulpy kidney or black leg, conduct a post mortem and collect samples for testing.

“We look at what is happening at the herd level rather than an                 individual animal,” she said.

Dr Stone said she was looking  forward to helping farmers across the Upper Hunter receive the latest information on drenches, vaccines, worm resistance and other topical and seasonal issues.

To contact the Scone LLS or find out more about animal health services call 6545 1311.