Farm Health Planning: Sub Groups
Steering Group for Sheep FHP Initiative - Terms of reference
The Sheep FHP Awareness Raising Campaign Steering Group will perform the following roles:
- Work in partnership with NSA and Defra to deliver an effective initiative to promote farm health planning and encourage increased uptake in the sheep sector
- Act as the focus group to identify activities to promote wider, more active use of farm health planning in the sheep sector
- Agree the requirements for a project-managed awareness raising campaign (building on the features established in the sheep Better Returns Programme)
- Using the NSA Report, identify further key tools, including planning formats, to encourage more consistency in active farm health planning
- Advise the Project Manager on the production of a delivery plan to outline how and when each feature of the initiative will be delivered as part of the plan in such a way as to ensure English sheep producers feel they want to ‘own’ the work
- Defra participants will investigate funding for individual projects or elements of the programme as appropriate
- To steer as and when requested on the specifications for elements of the programme and on the practical detail of these (i.e. how these are to be delivered in practice)
- Give advice as required to the project manager on delivery activities and priorities
- Agree dissemination mechanisms and core messages in consultation with Defra’s FHP Communications Manager to ensure a consistent and coordinated approach
The group will use the following working methods:
- The Steering Group will consist of invited members, who will consult or seek wider views, as necessary in the course of its considerations.
- The Steering Group’s activities will be transparent to all interested parties.
- The Steering Group will provide steers, guidance, comments, decisions by e-mail where this is possible/appropriate, with face to face meetings or telephone conferences when necessary.
Project managers will be required to seek guidance from the steering group on the specifics of individual projects.
Objectives for Sheep Flock Health Planning Steering Group
The overall objective of the sheep flock health planning initiative is to increase uptake of health planning in the English sheep flock and by so doing improve their overall health. A consequence should be that the initiative plays its part in enhancing the profitability of English sheep farming. To achieve these objective the group will take account of the financial benefits of proactive health planning to help improve the health and welfare status of the English sheep flock.
Working in conjunction with Defra and NSA and with recognition given to commercial drivers, the steering group will seek to:
- Promote the principles and benefits of flock health planning within the English sheep sector and identify gaps in understanding.
- Promote the health and welfare benefits of using flock health plans as a vital business tool
- Improve access to and uptake of relevant existing sheep health and welfare information
- Ensure that the FHP work is complementary to other existing health and welfare work in the sheep sector identifying and promoting best practise and - amongst other means - publishing successful case studies
- Use a wide variety of methods for technology and information transfer to industry
- Work with the FHP Communications Manager to ensure linkage with the broader FHP communications strategy.
- Raise awareness of the benefits that can result from FHP to medium and long term breeding and genetic objectives
- Identify how to promote the use of FHP beyond the lifetime of the project
Page last modified: 5 July 2007
Page published: 25 May 2007