Will Balhatchet Crowned Young Dairy Vet Of The Year 2024
6 days ago 
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The 2024 annual Cream Awards, presented by British Dairying magazine, held at the Chesford Grange in Warwickshire yet again proved to be a sell-out event highlighting the very best the British Dairy Industry has to offer.
Virbac has been supporting dairy vets with products and services for over 50 years and is proud to continue to support these awards to champion bright new veterinary talent within the industry with its sponsorship of The Young Dairy Vet of the Year.
‘Once again, the standard of nominations into this category was outstanding, with the winner and highly commended nominees both set to make a hugely positive contribution to the veterinary care of dairy herds in the future,’ said Sabrina Jordan, Farm Product Manager at Virbac. ‘It’s so encouraging to see the quality of nominees coming through for these awards, this was a tightly fought category of outstanding young diary vets’
The 2024 Young Dairy Vet of the Year Award was awarded to Will Balhatchet of The George Farm Vets, based in Malmesbury, North Wiltshire. Nominated by a colleague, Will graduated and joined the practice in 2021, having previously worked as a dairy herdsperson. Within his nomination, his clients describe Will as having an excellent understanding of the practicalities of running a herd, and testified that he provides realistic and achievable advice.
The judging panel was impressed by Will’s dedication to improving health, welfare, and productivity on dairy farms with his clear advice and workable action plans. In addition, Will set up an embryo transfer service, bringing a new service to his practice, along with a robot discussion group, all of which have made a significant and positive impact to his dairy farming clients.
“It was a real privilege to be awarded the Young Dairy Vet of the Year award amongst so many talented and dedicated farm vets in our line of work” said Will. ‘Above all it is a testimony to the farmers I work with day to day and the proactive attitude they take to improving their systems which has given me so many opportunities to develop my career”.
This year’s runner up was another outstanding young dairy vet, Hana Ward of Torch Vets in Barnstaple, Devon. Also nominated by a colleague, Hana graduated from the Royal Veterinary College, London, in 2020 and joined Torch Farm Vets on the RVC internship program.
The judging panel found that Hana has had impactful career since graduating from the Royal Veterinary College, making remarkable strides balancing client training, student mentoring, and proactive herd management. Hana excels in delivering critical training, including Milksure and RAFT courses, and has been a driving force in sustainable practices and lameness prevention.
‘Being awarded Highly Commended Young Dairy Vet at the 2024 Cream Awards is a privilege,’ added Hana. “I thoroughly enjoyed seeing British Dairying get the recognition it deserves and was interested to learn about new innovations in the industry. I hope to continue supporting the next generation of young vets within the Torch Farm team, and to develop my knowledge and skills to contribute to the health and welfare of the national dairy herd’
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