Vet Matthew Dobbs wins Nuffield’s Bullock Award

Vet and Nuffield scholar Matthew Dobbs has won the 2010 Steven and Gill Bullock Award for excellence in using the learning from his scholarship to grow a £7.5m animal health business, to innovate and to contribute to the industry.

The co-founder and chairman of Westpoint Veterinary Group was presented with a £1000 prize at the Nuffield Conference last week. He was competing against four other farming finalists for the prestigious award, which honours Steven Bullock who managed Farmers Weekly‘s own farms from 1963 to 1988 and went on to become director of the Nuffield Farming Scholarships Trust.

Matthew Dobbs completed his Nuffield study in 2001 in the USA and Australia and looked at the role of the specialist vet in animal production advice, monitoring performance and welfare. He came to the conclusion that the traditional vet bill should be an investment in animal health, with the responsibility on the vet to demonstrate value to the farmer.

With this philosophy in mind, Mr Dobbs then joined with another vet to create the Westpoint Veterinary Group and later, the UK’s largest farm animal online pharmacy www.farmacy.co.uk. He employs over 80 people in 12 branches across the country and is pioneering a new approach to animal health data, which could revolutionise advice services to farmers in the future.

The judges were impressed by his commitment to the livestock industry. Mr Dobbs is veterinary adviser to Tesco and the National Beef Association, and is involved with DEFRA’s animal health and welfare planning group.

The other 2010 finalists for the Stephen and Gill Bullock Award were dairy entrepreneur Michael McGirr, estate manager Philip Hughes and commercial and garden director Jonathon Jones. The judges were former banker Norman Coward, farmer Stephen Fell and Farmers Weekly editor Jane King.