Veterinary: Livestock Farmers

| 13 minutes

Overview

Livestock farmers are a major distribution channel for AdvaCare Pharma’s veterinary product range. Farmers have a very unique position compared to other channels, being both the end consumer of our veterinary products and also perhaps the most important channel. Among all the distribution channels, no end consumers play such an important role for the related product range as do farmers for our veterinary product range. Their positioning is different than any other channel for a few important reasons:

1. Livestock farmers are more fluid in the supply chain, meaning they can buy from vendors in different stages of the supply chain. For example, farmers can buy directly from our distributors, from sub-distributors, from vet clinics or from vet supply stores.
2. A farmer is to our veterinary product range what a patient is to our pharmaceutical product range. However, a patient has more limited buying and service options as a patient can only get medical services at a hospital/clinic, prescription medications at a pharmacy and OTC and medical devices products at a pharmacy or other retail store. On the other hand, a farmer can provide medical services by a veterinarian or by themselves and can buy many medications through different channels.
3. A patient will buy only for themselves or at most their family, while a farmer will buy for his farm and a much larger volume of medications, making the average transaction of a farmer significantly higher value than a patient.

Gaining the trust of the other channels in our products of course is crucial. Vet clinics and veterinarians need to buy and use our products and vet supply stores need to be convinced to buy and sell our products, but ultimately it is the farmer that owns the animals that our products will be used for. This is one major reason we must have our veterinary product range, promotional materials and overall appeal to be farmer focused.

AdvaCare Pharma is well positioned to fill the needs of any farmer given our very wide range of over 250 veterinary treatments across 16 different dosage forms.

Our distributors will approach farmers and attempt to convince them to accept AdvaCare Pharma products, and therefore need to know how to present AdvaCare and the advantages of our veterinary products. It is in our interest that our distributors successfully convince farmers that our products can be trusted, so in addition to the price offered by our distributor, credibility of our brands is an equally important deciding factor.

Product Range: Which products apply to this channel and why?

Our entire veterinary range is positioned for farmer use. Some dosage forms are more common than others in specific countries, or even regions within countries, or even preference of farmers based on their past experiences of one medication versus another.

The following dosage forms in our veterinary range are distributed through the farmer/livestock owner channel:

VETERINARY IN THE FARMER / LIVESTOCK OWNER CHANNEL

INJECTIONS

  • Injections for livestock are similar to pharmaceutical injections for humans, except the volume is larger as the body weight is also considerably more than a human.
  • Vials containing the medication to be injected are often in 50ml and 100ml vials, opposed to those for humans which are usually 7ml, 10ml, 15ml, 20ml vials. However, some smaller vials are also used for veterinary, such as vaccines.
  • Depends on country if injections are available as prescription or over-the-counter , meaning if farmer can buy directly or veterinarian has to prescribe or administer .
  • Injections are often administered to livestock on-site , on the farm by the veterinarian, and more commonly in low/middle income countries might be administered by the livestock owner (farmer) or his staff.

Liquid Injections

  • Solutions that are already in a liquid state, ready to be administered directly into the animal.
  • Contains one or more active ingredients dissolved in a liquid carrier such as water or oil.
  • May be preferred for medications that are not stable in dry or powder form, or for medications that need to be quickly absorbed into the animal’s bloodstream.

Suspension Injection

  • Liquid injections that contain particles of the medication that are not completely dissolved in the liquid carrier.
  • These particles may settle at the bottom of the vial over time, and need to be shaken or agitated prior to use.
  • May be preferred for medications that are not easily soluble in a liquid carrier, or for medications that need to be released slowly over time.

Powder for Injection

  • Dry, powdered medications that need to be reconstituted with a liquid carrier prior to use, usually sterile water or saline.
  • To reconstitute, the sterile water or saline is drawn from a separate vial with a syringe, and injected into the vial with the powder, then shaken to create a liquid solution.
  • May be preferred for medications that are more stable in a dry or solid form, or for medications that need to be stored for longer periods of time.

Vaccines

  • Vaccines are available in vials in liquid, suspension and powder forms, but most common in liquid form .
  • Each vaccine is for a specific strain of virus or bacteria, and specific to the animal(s) it treats.
  • Contain active (live) or inactivated pathogens or antigens that stimulate the animal’s immune system to produce antibodies against the targeted disease.
  • Depends on country if vaccines are available as over-the-counter or must be administered only by a prescription and/or a veterinarian.

SOLUTIONS & SUSPENSIONS

  • Medications in a liquid form that given to animals orally and need to be absorbed through the digestive system, or topically to target an affected area.
  • Can be easier to administer to animals than other dosage forms and can target specific areas to avoid more side effects. Ease of administration is preferred by farmers.
  • As this dosage form is in liquid form, stability of product is always a concern and weight will be considered for transport as shipping containers and trucks have a weight limit.

Oral Suspensions

  • Liquid form of medications that are administered orally to animals.
  • Oral suspensions contain undissolved particles of the medication, preferred for medications that are not easily dissolved in liquid carriers.
  • Available in different sized bottles ranging from small 50 or 100ml up to large 1 or 5L.

Oral Solutions

  • Liquid form of medications that are administered orally to animals.
  • Oral solutions are completely dissolved in the liquid carrier, preferred for medications that easily dissolve.
  • Available in different sized bottles ranging from small 50 or 100ml up to large 1 or 5L.

Pour-on Solutions

  • Liquid formulations applied topically to the skin or hair of the animal.
  • Commonly used to treat external parasites such as ticks and lice. May contain other medications, such as antibiotics or anti-inflammatory drugs.
  • May be preferred over oral medications because these are more targeted to the affected area and maybe have fewer side effects.

Disinfectants

  • Used to kill or prevent the growth of microorganisms, such as bacteria or viruses, to prevent the spread of disease.
  • Commonly used to sanitize equipment and surfaces in animal housing such as barns, stalls and pens.
  • Available in liquid, spray and powder forms, but most common as liquid to be poured or sprayed.

Drops

  • Liquid medication that is usually administered topically to the eyes, ears or skin of the animal.
  • Commonly used to treat infections or inflammation in these areas.
  • May be preferred over other forms for medications that need to be administered to a specific area, and are often easier to administer than injections or tablets.

POWDERS & PREMIXES

  • Solid formulations in a pouch/sachet or bag that are mixed with water or feed before administration and absorbed through the animal’s digestive system.
  • Can be more convenient to administer to animals given easier to add to feed or water, and can save time and stress on animals. Common for farmers to administer without prescription or veterinarian.
  • Powders and premixes can be more palatable for animals if medication has bitter taste, and are generally more cost-effective to deliver medication to a large number of animals.

Soluble Powders

  • Finely ground powder that mixes completely in the drinking water of animals.
  • Often used to treat infections caused by bacteria or parasites that affect an animal's digestive system, respiratory system or other parts of the body.
  • Most commonly available in smaller sachets or bags of 100, 250, 500g and 1kg.

Premixes

  • Mixtures of one of more active ingredients and other additives, such as vitamins and minerals, that are added to animal feed.
  • Usually produced in large quantities and added to commercial feed.
  • May be used to provide supplemental nutrition and/or medication to the animal.
  • Usually packaged in larger bags compared to soluble powders.

Granules

  • Solid particles that are larger than powders and may not dissolve completely in water.
  • Typically used in feed to deliver medication or other additives such as vitamins and minerals.
  • May be used when a more controlled release of the medication is desired.
  • Usually packaged in larger bags.

BOLUSES

  • Solid oral dosage form, similar like a tablet, except larger and shaped like a cylinder (caplet).
  • May be administered by a specialized bolus gun or by hand to the back of the animal’s throat.
  • Commonly administered by both farmers and veterinarians, but often more so by farmers as administration is not as easy as powders & premixes, but easier than injections.
  • Usually designed to provide a more sustained release of medication over a period of time.

TABLETS

  • Solid oral dosage form, similar in size and shape to tablets for human consumption.
  • May be administered by hand, mixed with feed, or dissolved in water and administered orally.
  • Commonly administered by both farmers and veterinarians, but often more so by farmers as administration is not as easy as powders & premixes, but easier than injections.
  • Can be designed for more immediate release than boluses, or also formulated with different types of excipients or coatings to modify release rate or enhance palatability.

VETERINARY

MEDICAL DEVICES

  • Our medical device range for veterinary is not expansive like our range for humans, instead to provide most commonly used auxiliary products to our distributors.
  • Most veterinary medical devices are specifically for veterinary use, but some human products cross over and are used for vet use. In such cases, the same products may simply be packaged stating that the product is for vet use.
  • Common for both veterinarian and farmer use.
  • Test kits are the widest range, complementing our very wide AccuQuik range of rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) for humans.

Test Kits

  • Veterinary Rapid Diagnostic Test Kits (RDT) are very similar to the human RDTs of our AccuQuik range.
  • Rapid tests are specific to the species, most for a specific species but some for multiple species.
  • Rapid tests are especially popular for pets (dogs and cats), but also used for livestock including cows, pigs, birds, goats, sheep and horses.

Injection Instruments

  • Small range consisting of injection instruments including veterinary syringes, needles, drenching guns and microchip implant kit.
  • Many vet distributors will use human syringes and needles for vet use as these are more cost-effective. In this case, we simply rename our AccuPoint syringes to be for veterinary use, but these are not in this range.

Protective Equipment

  • Small range consisting of PPE (Personal Protection Equipment) for veterinary use including gloves, gowns, aprons, boot covers.
  • This range used by veterinarians and staff when working on-site on a farm/ranch or in the clinic.
  • Stethoscope is only product in this range that is not PPE.

Target Audience

B2B: Primary Target Audience

As with every other channel across all of our product ranges, distributors are the first in the supply chain of their country or region.

See:

Distribution Channels: An Overview > Livestock Farmers > Why don’t farmers buy directly from AdvaCare?

These distributors are our customers, the direct purchasers of our veterinary products, and therefore our primary target audience.

See:

Distribution Channels: An Overview > Distributors

B2B: Secondary Target Audience

See section Target Audience > B2C.

B2C

As farmers cannot purchase large volumes of veterinary medicines to meet our MOQ per product, they will purchase our products through several channels before them in the supply chain including vet clinics, vet supply stores, sub-distributors or any other channel, making the farmer the end consumer. Or farmers can purchase our products directly from our distributors, in which case the farmer is also B2B.

Farmers that Buy Directly from Distributors

As every distribution channel identified across all ranges are B2B channels except the end consumer, in this specific case of farmers, the farmer is the only distribution channel that buys directly from the distributor and is also B2C.

The business model of distributors, like AdvaCare, is to sell volume with lower margins per unit compared to the vendors that are further down the supply chain that will sell less quantity but with a higher margin per unit. This means that many of our distributors may not sell small quantities of our products directly to farmers unless the quantities are large enough to justify the time, resources and costs involved in such sales. Therefore, larger farmers are more likely to be capable to buy directly from our distributor.

It is important to note that not all distributors are the same. Every country has different populations, geographic size, supply chain structures and overall dynamics. Some distributors might sell our products to a wider range of customers, including smaller farmers. In such a case, it is likely that the prices for farmers of smaller quantities of product would be higher.

Farmers that Buy from Secondary B2B vendors

Secondary B2B vendors are those that our DIstributors sell to, including vet clinics, vet supply stores and sub-distributors.

The farmer's position in the supply chain is different than a B2C stakeholder in any other distribution channels. If the farmer does not buy our products directly from our distributor, then the farmer is still B2C. In such a case, it is the distributor's job to get our products through the B2B channels further down the supply chain to the farmer. And it is our job to support the distributor to effectively do this. Of course we cannot be on-the-ground to assist the distributor, but there are other ways we can achieve this goal via effective promotional materials, online marketing, strategic support, and most importantly high quality products that we differentiate and make stand out from our competition as much as possible.

Importance of Farmer Feedback

Once our product is used by a farmer, and if the product was well accepted, they will report their feedback and often ask our distributor to reorder the same AdvaCare veterinary brands. The feedback of farmers is very important, and influences the distributor’s buying decisions and perspective of our products.

It is important to know the different types of farmers to understand this target audience and how veterinary medicines fit into this channel.

See:

Distribution Channels: An Overview > Livestock Farmers > Types of Livestock Farmers

Supply Chain

Farmers are the last stage in the supply chain before the product is used on animals:

API Manufacturer > Finished Manufacturer > AdvaCare > Distributor/Importer > [Sub-Distributors] > [Vet Clinics/Vet Supply Stores] > End Consumer (livestock farmer)

See:

Distribution Channels: Introduction > Understanding Supply Chains

Promotional Materials: Which materials apply to this channel and why?

We produce promotional materials for farmers that are supplied to our distributors. Regardless of the B2B channel the farmers buy our products through, the promotional materials we produce for farmers are focused on:

● Promotional items that are useful for farmers.
● Increasing brand awareness of AdvaCare and our products.
● Building credibility of AdvaCare, our products and our brands.

For which promotional materials are positioned for farmers:

See:

Veterinary: Veterinary Clinics > Promotional Materials: Which materials apply to this channel and why?

Veterinary: Veterinary Supply Stores > Promotional Materials: Which materials apply to this channel and why?

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