lifestyle block programme
Tuesday 23 June 2026
| 7am | Registration opens | Level 3 |
| 8am | Welcome | Rob Mills (NZVA President) | Theatre A Level 5 |
| 8.10am | Plenary: Learning through times of disruption: navigating AI | Sir Ashley Bloomfield | Theatre A Level 5 |
| 9am | Morning tea | Exhibition Hall Level 3 |
| 9.30am | Practical alpaca nutrition | Jane Vaughan This lecture will provide some rules-of-thumb to assist with assessing alpaca nutrition in individuals and herds. Water, energy, protein and fiber requirements will be discussed, as well as vitamin D and selenium supplementation. Shared talk with Large Animal Veterinary Technician stream | Room 507 & 508 Level 5 |
| 10.30am | Best practice recommendations for disbudding dairy goat kids | Melissa Hempstead This presentation will synthesise current research and best-practice guidance on disbudding goat kids, with a focus on improving animal welfare and procedural outcomes in clinical and on-farm settings. Topics include the rationale for disbudding, relevant legislation and training considerations, kid-specific factors affecting pain and success (including age and sex), and equipment selection. Evidence-based recommendations will be discussed for iron application timing and associated risks of brain injury, horn regrowth and scur formation, wound healing, alternative disbudding approaches, and practical pain-mitigation strategies. Shared talk with Large Animal Veterinary Technician stream | Room 507 & 508 Level 5 |
| 11.30am | One Health approach to HPAI H5N1 and impacts for lifestyle block poultry
owners | Kerushini Govender A strategic overview of the collaborative pathway taken by MPI and One Health partners to prepare for and respond to an outbreak of HPAI H5N1. It will briefly highlight the roles and responsibilities of each partner. Technical content will include: • HPAI preventative measures for poultry owners. • Information on what veterinarians should do if faced with a suspect HPAI case. • Platforms where further HPAI information can be found for both poultry owners and veterinarians. • Potential impacts for poultry owners in an HPAI outbreak. | Room 507 & 508 Level 5 |
| 12pm | Lunch | Exhibition Hall Level 3 |
| 1pm | Alpaca worm control | Jane Vaughan This lecture will cover the important types of gastrointestinal parasites found in alpacas, and how to minimise their clinical effects through pasture management, monitoring of faecal egg counts and strategic implementation of de-wormers. Preventative measures including quarantine drenching will be discussed. | Room 507 & 508 Level 5 |
| 2pm | LSB parasite management | Victoria Chapman Victoria’s own experience of managing her 50-acre lifestyle block, gives her firsthand experience into the challenges faced by our ‘small farmers’, and she’s looking forward to sharing her experiences in this session. | Room 507 & 508 Level 5 |
| 3pm | Afternoon tea | Exhibition Hall Level 3 |
| 3.30pm | IV access in lifestyle block species: tips and techniques | Laura Schwerdtfeger Every veterinarian has faced the stress of needing IV access and not getting it—especially with an owner watching. This practical session covers techniques for achieving reliable IV access in lifestyle block species including sheep, goats, pigs, and camelids, in both healthy and compromised patients. We’ll explore sedation protocols, essential equipment, and must-know tips that improve success in the field. From blood collection in pigs to critical interventions, this talk is packed with real-world advice. Suitable for new graduates through to experienced clinicians, you’ll leave with skills you can use immediately. | Room 507 & 508 Level 5 |
| 3.55pm | General sedation/anaesthesia | Laura Schwerdtfeger | Room 507 & 508 Level 5 |
| 4.30pm | Uterine disease and a
successful hysterectomy in a Kunekune sow | Sarah Clews A six-year old Kunekune sow presents with Cystic endometrial hyperplasia. Diagnostics, differential diagnoses, surgical ovariohysterectomy and outcome. | Room 507 & 508 Level 5 |
| 4.55pm | Transfusions | Christie Balcomb | Room 507 & 508 Level 5 |
| 5.30pm | Happy hour | Exhibition Hall Level 3 |
| 7pm | NZVA Special Interest Branch Dinners and NZVNA Dinner |
Wednesday 24 June 2026
| 7am | Registration opens | Level 3 |
| 8am | Plenary: Thriving and striving at work - the ultimate win win |
Charlotte Cantley | Theatre A Level 5 |
| 8.45am | NZVA AGM | Theatre A Level 5 |
| 9.30am | Morning tea | Exhibition Hall Level 3 |
| 10am | Lifestyle block practice: small clients, big returns | Laura Schwerdtfeger Lifestyle block practice is often an overlooked but highly valuable income stream for veterinary clinics. This session explores how a proactive, preventative approach can generate consistent revenue, strengthen client relationships, and unlock new clinical opportunities. Learn how shifting from reactive care to regular, planned visits allows earlier intervention, ongoing case management, and year-round income—while still supporting emergency work when needed. Lifestyle block clients often view their animals as companions and are willing to pursue advanced diagnostics and treatments. Discover how changing mindset and offering these options can create a rewarding, sustainable, and profitable area of practice. | Room 507 & 508 Level 5 |
| 10.30am | Animal health plans | Laura Schwerdtfeger Practical, case-based session equipping participants to confidently interpret Fertility Focus Reports—concise, standardized summaries of dairy herd reproductive performance. Attendees learn to understand KPI calculations and their links to farm management, benchmark against industry targets, and diagnose data-quality issues. The session highlights common pitfalls and practical tricks to maximize report value, enabling LAVTs to explain results to farmers and support veterinarians in targeted, season-to-season reproductive improvement plans across herds. Shared talk with Large Animal Veterinary Technician stream | Room 507 & 508 Level 5 |
| 11.10am | From idea to impact:planning successful client education events | Ashleigh Taylor Planning a client education event can feel daunting—where do you begin, and how do you make it truly meaningful? Whether you're preparing your first session or looking to elevate your next one, this talk will walk you through the essential steps to design an engaging and effective client education event. You’ll gain practical tools, clear strategies, and fresh ideas to create sessions that strengthen client relationships and empower owners. These events can be incredibly rewarding for both your team and your clients, and you’ll leave ready to plan your next successful event. Shared talk with Large Animal Veterinary Technician stream | Room 507 & 508 Level 5 |
| 11.45am | Disasters in the trenches | VPIS Shared talk with Large Animal Veterinary Technician and Veterinary Nursing - Equine streams | Room 507 & 508 Level 5 |
| 12.30pm | Lunch | Exhibition Hall Level 3 |
| 1.30pm | Reproduction in alpacas | Jane Vaughan This lecture will cover the reproductive anatomy and physiology of female and male alpacas, mating protocols and pregnancy and parturition. A brief approach to infertility in females will be provided. | Room 507 & 508 Level 5 |
| 2.25pm | A practical guide to tackling obstructive urolithiasis in small ruminants
| Tristan Kamps This presentation will discuss the aetiology, presentation and different surgical approaches to resolve obstructive urolithiasis in small ruminants. The above will be highlighted while explaining how the Rangiora Vet Centre solved the presented problem of dealing with obstructive urolithiasis in clinical practice, the highs, lows, learnings and how we came up with our current protocol for diagnosis, patient selection and surgical treatment of obstructive urolithiasis. All while attempting to keep costs to owners at a minimum. At the end of this discussion attendants should feel comfortable with how, with the right equipment, they themselves could tackle this disease in clinical practice. | Room 507 & 508 Level 5 |
| 3.30pm | Afternoon tea | Exhibition Hall Level 3 |
| 4pm | Panel: Neonatal disease,
diagnostics and hospital management | Sarah Clews, Laura Schwerdtfeger and Christie Balcomb Our panel of three lifestyle block vets discuss neonatal diseases from three different angles - academia, in-field first line response , and through gold-standard hospitalisation. The panel will discuss presentations of common diseases, diagnostics (the heroic and the pitfalls) and treatment options. Learn tips and tricks for success and voice your own questions and comments to join in the discussion. | Room 507 & 508 Level 5 |
| 5.45pm | NZVA Awards | Theatre A Level 5 |
| 6.30pm | Networking dinner | Exhibition Hall Level 3 |
| Combined session with another stream. |
This programme was correct at the time of publication. Speakers and titles are subject to change. |