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Virtual VetJohn Troost
goodGround’s ‘virtual vet’, John Troost has a wealth of experience to share with you! Born and raised in Holland, he set off at the age of 19 to Canada, where he went to veterinary college, graduated, and practiced for 3 years. His journey to New Zealand began when he met up with a past sweetheart, married, and attempted to take her to live with him at his practice in Manitoba! Following their Christmas wedding, the couple landed at Winnipeg airport, where they promptly had to set about locating and digging out John’s car from a snow drift… a temperature of –30° and a wind chill factor of 20 combined to make John’s new bride determined to find another location for their new life together! A vet’s party in Alberta provided an answer, when a Kiwi vet suggested to John that New Zealand was ‘screaming out’ for vets. John’s memory of arriving here was of trees in bloom in winter – for a vet who was used to having to deal with thawing out his vaccinations before he could treat cattle, New Zealand proved very welcoming indeed… …That was in July 1968, and John is here still. He practiced here as a farm and lifestyle block vet until 1993, when he began work for MAF, which he still does on a part-time basis. His practice days were spent caring for Dairy cattle, sheep, beef herds, goats, horses and even deer. For MAF, John is a Veterinary Technical Supervisor of meat works, which means that it is his responsibility to ensure that the animals that arrive for processing at Northland’s abattoirs are healthy, and well-treated, and that the meat that is processed is fit for human consumption, and meets all the New Zealand and over sea’s regulations surrounding the use of drugs and growth promoters, such as hormones. Even in the 1980s, John was meeting a growing number of ‘small farmers’, those that had just a few sheep, horses and cows. They were often new to farming, many had never kept animals before – John says that he misses these day to day interactions with such a diverse group of people, and so it’s very exciting for him to join goodGround and again have contact with the lifestyle blocker’s of New Zealand! John keeps 350 cows, using a combination of his own 40 acres, his son’s 50 acres and another 260 acres that he leases. He recommends steers as the ideal lifestyle block livestock, they don’t need very much work, in his words, “all they do is grow’! However, he understands that lifestyle blockers are often interested in animals, and in differing breeds, and for this reason he’s looking forward to once again providing advice and information on sheep, goats, lamas and calves, to name just a few! He’s expecting a lot of questions regarding vaccinations and disease, best practice, and specific birthing issues… but he’s also expecting the unexpected! There are other issues too, that he’d like to spread knowledge of – the importance of vaccinations not only for animal health, but for you and your families health as well. John well remembers the days, when he first started out in practice, when leptospirosis was a real health hazard for New Zealand’s farmers. A nasty disease that causes severe liver and kidney disease in cattle, sheep AND humans, leptospirosis is spread via animals urine – although thankfully the use of vaccines has meant that it is comparatively rare nowadays. Simply being rigid about cleanliness, and always washing your own and your children’s hands after handling your livestock is the most important thing that you can do to protect your own and your animal’s health. John has this advice for those of you looking to find a good ‘non-virtual’ vet:
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