Most of you would have heard of MilkSure over the past year, but you might be unaware of what it is, so here is a quick explanation.

What is MilkSure?

MilkSure is a training initiative brought about by Dairy UK and the BCVA (British Cattle Veterinary Association). It is centred on residue avoidance in milk, but it covers other areas of good medicine stewardship, such as adhering to correct treatment protocols, medicine storage, and reducing the risk of antibiotic resistance. It was originally produced for farmers who had milk tank failures, but the value of the course has been widely recognised and many processors are now recommended their suppliers to take the course.

How does MilkSure work?

MilkSure is in two parts.

Firstly, training is delivered one-to-one or in small groups by your own vet practice. The training is supported by a set of materials which are interactive and discussion-based rather than preachy! We do this as a group session to make it a bit more cost-effective.

The course covers all the technical and practical aspects necessary to safeguard residue-free milk. An online test checks that you and your team have understood the key principles after the training.

Secondly, your vet completes a thorough risk assessment on-farm and reviews your medicine use. This is to ensure compliance with legislation (for example around medicine storage, recording and disposal), and to identify areas of improvement to reduce the chance of residues in milk. The focus is on all veterinary medicines, not only antibiotics. A management plan is then agreed.

Do I need to top up?

Yes, there is now a recommendation for farmers to do an annual top up with their vet. This is to ensure the risk assessment and management plan is still up to date. We will book this review in for you automatically after you have been MilkSure accredited for a year.

How do I sign up?

You will need to register and subscribe to MilkSure online here: https://milksure.co.uk/product/register-for-the-course/

The subscription costs £65.00. Once your payment has been confirmed, we will receive your training pack and liaise with you about the first half of the training.

Once your first half of the training is complete, we will book in your second half on-farm. The cost for the on-farm portion will be down to vet time.

On completion, your vet will send off your certificate to MilkSure. For your renewal, we will automatically book this in for you the following year to ensure you are always kept up to date.

We have a MilkSure Part 1 course coming up on Thursday 26th September at the Whitchurch practice. If you would like to book on, please let us know as soon as possible on 01948 663000.