ABOVE: More than two dozen people from Coonamble and beyond came to thank outgoing LLS District Vet Jillian Kelly for her work.
By OLIVER BROWN
AFTER MORE than a decade working as the district veterinarian for the area, Dr Jillian Kelly has stepped down from the local Central West Local Land Services (LLS) office.
She will be remaining in the region, however, and says she remains as determined as ever to support local producers and their animals.
Having been in her current role for the last 12 years (four of which were with the LLS’s predecessor the LHPA) Dr Kelly said there was a lot to look back on.
“The Coonamble producers are wonderful and have always been very supportive. We’ve been through a lot over these 12 years,” she said.
“When I first started, the main topic was Ovine Johne’s disease de-regulation, we’ve since been through Bovine Johne’s disease de-regulation and long periods of drought.
“And through it all, my farmers have just been excellent to deal with and just a really supportive network of people who are not only supportive of me, but they’re supportive of each other.
“We all learned a lot through this and they’re always happy to share their experiences and we all grow together. It’s been a wonderful ride.”
While she was slightly sad to be moving on from a career that she has known for so long, Dr Kelly was excited to be moving ahead to new opportunities while still servicing the area she loves.
“I love telling people how great Coonamble is. I love the landscape and the production systems out here, it’s a great place to be a vet and nutritionist,” she said.
“I’m really looking forward to operating a vet and nutrition business out here that focuses on proactive animal health.
“I want to try and stop the animals from getting sick or dying or suffering poor performance before it occurs and have the absolute freedom to service my clients to the best of my ability in an unfettered and unincumbered way.”
Dr Kelly’s new business, called Animal Health and Nutrition Consulting, is already seeing a lot of her former local LLS clients sign up as customers.
Meanwhile, a collection of Dr Kelly’s colleagues and clients gathered at the Coonamble LLS last Friday 29 July to thank her for her ongoing efforts wish her well into the future.
Among these was LLS Senior Biosecurity Officer at the Condobolin LLS branch Craig Ridley, who said he had really enjoyed working with Dr Kelly since 2014.
“We’ve been involved in a lot of emergency responses and also in management, Jill and I were team leaders for a while filling in for other positions so we got to share our thoughts on a lot of things and how things should be done,” Mr Ridley said.
“She leaves a very big hole to fill at the LLS, I don’t think there’s another vet out there like her, but she’ll still be in the district so these people will still benefit from her knowledge and her passion.”
Gulargambone farmer Colin Ryan also dropped by to congratulate Dr Kelly. He said she had been a great support over the years.
“She’s a really top lady, couldn’t ask for anything better,” Mr Ryan said.
“She really shone during the drought, going over and above what she had to do. So while it’s sorry she’s moving on, it’s a new start for us and it’s great that she’s still around.”
Dr Kelly, meanwhile, said she felt “touched” by the farewell, but also looked forward to the next chapter while continuing to support her local network of farmers.