Dairy news and advice from the LLM Farm Vets team in Shropshire, Cheshire, Lancashire and Derbyshire.
By Nat Parker
I was doing some drying off for a client and discussing how well they were doing with having majority fitting the protocol for using just sealant, from the data on individual cow mastitis cases and low cell counts.
As I started drying off the cows, I noticed how […]
By Holly Dodd -SQP
As the grazing season has started it is crucial to be proactive about parasite control. Worm egg counts are a simple but effective way of managing your worm burden and act as a good indication of whether to worm and treat your herd or not.
What […]
By Kate Brocklehurst
Over-conditioned cows are among the main culprits for transition-related diseases, including milk fever, retained foetal membranes, metritis, mastitis, ketosis, and LDAs. So how can we better support these cows into a successful lactation?
Around calving, dry matter intake declines below that needed to satisfy energy requirements, meaning cows […]
Our own Will and Natalie spent time last year digging into udder cleft dermatitis (UCD) – turns out it’s a lot more widespread on UK dairy farms than most of us would have guessed, but the good news is that it’s easy to treat once you know what you’re looking […]
Wales’ new BVD eradication scheme officially came into act today (1st July) and its already causing some headaches at cattle markets! Many livestock auctions will now be displaying the BVD status of animals in the sale ring – or the status of their origin herds. This is to help reassure […]
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 […]
Holstein Young Breeders (HYB) members from across the country came together at Reaseheath College this February for four days of technical visits and discussion. The Holstein UK Advanced Dairy Training Programme challenged us to think beyond the show ring and focus on the foundations of successful pedigree […]
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 […]
Mycoplasma Bovis infection is a common challenge we face on farm and can cause a significant impact on the health and performance of your calves. Whilst it is found globally, in the UK M. Bovis is most commonly seen as calf respiratory disease and outbreaks of mycoplasma […]
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