Dairy news and advice from the LLM Farm Vets team in Shropshire, Cheshire, Lancashire and Derbyshire.
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 […]
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
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 […]
The dry period is one of the most important times during a dairy cow’s annual cycle and is the ultimate point in the cow’s cycle of producing a calf and producing milk. During the final 3 weeks before calving, a cow’s energy requirements start to increase towards foetal development and […]
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Company Number: 10084952 | VetPartners Practices Limited T/A LLM Farm Vets | Registered Address: Spitfire House, Aviator Ct, York YO30 4UZ
