Dairy news and advice from the LLM Farm Vets team in Shropshire, Cheshire, Lancashire and Derbyshire.
Pneumonia or Bovine Respiratory Disease is a common, multi-factorial disease affecting growth and performance in calves and beef cattle. A case of pneumonia can impact an animal for life reducing growth rates and increasing finishing times ultimately impacting on profitability.
Identifying cases early is key to treatment success, however the […]
Last spring, I found time during the busy lambing and calving periods to take part in an ‘expert panel’ as DEFRA began planning their cattle housing grants. While I was comfortably the least qualified member, being part of the panel gave a useful insight into the thought process behind these […]
As you will know, the health and well-being of calves are paramount to the success of a dairy and beef operation. While factors such as nutrition and housing play crucial roles, one often underestimated aspect that significantly impacts calf health is proper ventilation.
Optimal Air Quality:
Adequate ventilation is essential […]
I recently attended the National Youngstock Conference at Harper Adams (lovely to see some of you there). On the day, there were some conflicting views presented on the best way to feed calves – a higher milk diet with a gradual increase onto concentrate or a higher concentrate and forage […]
In England, DEFRA have launched the Annual Health and Welfare Review as part of the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI). This funding is paid directly to the farmer on the presentation of a report by the vet and testing results. You can apply online via the government website (link below!)
Although […]
Summer mastitis is usually a disease of non-lactating cows and heifers in summer months. We may also see it in steers or bulls, due to their presence of mammary tissue. It is often a hidden problem on farms, and once a case is identified it can be too late to […]
Throughout the practice, we have many different clients selling their milk to lots of different processors with varying degrees of milk consistency requirements. We’ve recently been trying to solve a problem on farm in regards to a milk quality factor, and I wanted to share the story in case it […]
It is well known the biggest cost to you as dairy farmers is your heifer rearing. It will take 2+ years before you start to see any returns from an animal, and within that time, as most of you will have experienced at some point, a lot can go wrong! […]
We’re aware of the negative effects of poor calcium, excess negative energy balance and poor anti-oxidant status on reproductive performance but some new studies go into more detail on this, highlighting the strong relationship each of these elements have for getting a cow back in calf.
A recently published paper […]
With the costs of purchased feeds at record levels, there has never been a more important time to challenge how much milk you can achieve from grazed grass. Here, Kingshay gives us some tips on managing the transition to grazing and feeding for performance.
Feeding for performance
Dry Matter: The […]
