Beef news and advice from the LLM Farm Vets team in Shropshire, Cheshire, Lancashire and Derbyshire.
The results from the 2024 National BVD Survey make interesting reading (if you’re into that kind of thing…). Compiled from responses from 673 farmers, 58% of whom are in England, with 14% each from Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, here Rob discusses the key points.
Bluetongue (BTV) is a viral disease transmitted by biting midges, which affects all ruminants (e.g. sheep, cattle, goats and deer) and camelids (e.g. llama and alpaca). BTV is mainly spread by infected adult midges biting an animal susceptible to the disease.
An uninfected adult midge bites an infected ruminant animal […]
As we enter harvest supper season and back to school routines, keeping cows out for as long as possible becomes increasingly appealing. Grazing in the autumn can be an efficient way to maximise milk from forage but is not without its challenges.
Planning your autumn pasture rotation and adopting on/off […]
Hopefully your suckler calves are growing well and thoughts are turning to weaning over the next few months. Body condition scoring cows is a helpful way to inform your plans. Ideally spring calvers should score 2.5 at calving and 3 by housing. Autumn calvers should score 3 at calving but […]
With the sun (finally) shining and grazing in full swing, now is a good time to think about measures to control mastitis incidence through the summer, and having accurate and appropriate treatment protocols should flare ups occur
While environmental type mastitis (e.coli, s.uberis etc.) has always been seen as a […]
Picture the scene – your vet is preparing your cow for surgery. She’s haltered up, secured and sedated, her flank clipped and cleaned. While your vet’s been scrubbing her flank, you rushed off to find a dose of antibiotics and a jab of anti-inflammatories to be given prior to the […]
A familiar scenario – you’ve been carefully observing your favourite cow in the weeks since calving, patiently waiting for her first heat… But nothing. She sails past your deadline for heat observation which prompts you to put her in for a vet check. With the aid of an ultrasound scanner […]
There will be some changes to the TB testing rules in the intermediate TB areas (ITBAs) of Wales coming into force on 1st February this year.
All cattle moved in from the High Risk Area of England (HRA) and from Northern Ireland will need a post-movement test (PoMT). Welsh Government […]
Rob Hall gives an update on two important diseases, both of which are spread by biting midges and are currently causing issues in the UK.
Bluetongue Virus
Bluetongue is an infectious viral disease, which was first detected in the 1700s. It is widely found in many parts of North Africa […]
This year’s TB conference was held on 29th November 2023 in Worcester, hosted by The TB Advisory Service (TBAS). It was an opportunity to bring together all those involved in TB control and it was great to see so many people attend: veterinary practices, farmers and policy makers, all contributing […]
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