Beef news and advice from the LLM Farm Vets team in Shropshire, Cheshire, Lancashire and Derbyshire.
Bluetongue continues to be a concern for UK livestock farmers, but the situation this spring is quite different to what we experienced last year. Here is a clear update on where things stand and what actions we should be taking now.
Current Situation
At present, the risk […]
Sexed semen use has rocketed over the past decade. Its use can boost the proportion of female dairy calves born (producing more replacements from fewer cows) and can skew the gender-balance of beef calves towards the more valuable male calves. However, sexed semen needs using carefully to […]
By Rob Hall
The UK leads the global rankings for sexed semen use – 84% of all dairy-breed inseminations are sexed semen in 2025. This is up from just 14% ten years ago; a strong swing which demonstrates confidence in the quality of sexed semen available.
Figure 1 – Proportion […]
As turnout approaches, now is an ideal time to pause and plan your worm control strategy for the year ahead. Careful planning protects animal health and performance and helps slow the development of wormer resistance on your farm. Will Gratwick reviews how your our vets, SQPs and […]
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is one of the biggest buzz words in farming, overtaking Artificial Insemination and Avian Influenza (thankfully!) as the go-to phrase when we hear the term ‘AI’. Derbyshire vet Will Golding outlines one of the AI systems which has been rolled out to several dairy […]
Off the back of our calf conference, here are a few tips that will hopefully make calf rearing a little easier for you this winter:
1.Feed quality milk in the right quantity
Metabolic profiling is a brilliant tool in our arsenal to identify any underlying factors that could be contributing to a herd-wide issue. We don’t often see this tool used proactively and routinely in beef herds – although happy to report that this is starting to change – there’s so much […]
Luckily for many, having surgery on a farm is a rare occurrence, and having an animal put under general anaesthesia is even rarer! However, in August, we had the opportunity to provide one of our Derbyshire clients with this service. Thanks to the relationship our Derbyshire branch has with the […]
As the colder months set in, pneumonia remains one of the most common and costly diseases affecting young calves. It’s a complex condition often caused by a mix of viruses and bacteria, but the environment plays a huge role in allowing infection to creep in. Understanding and tackling these environmental […]
Early Detection Makes All the Difference!
Udder cleft dermaitis (UCD) is an infection which can occurrs in the cleft at the front of the udder and can be tricky to manage— it often goes unnoticed until the lesions are large, smelly, and hard to treat. However, catching it early is easier […]
Whitchurch: 01948 663000 | Eccleshall: 01785 472211 | Derbyshire: 01629 691692 | Lancashire: 01772 866014
Company Number: 10084952 | VetPartners Practices Limited T/A LLM Farm Vets | Registered Address: Spitfire House, Aviator Ct, York YO30 4UZ
