Animal Health News

Metabolic disorders and health issues can erase the profit potential for dairy cow farms for the year. Provita technical sales advisor George Shaw shares his thoughts.

Bovine respiratory disease (BRD) or calf pneumonia, is caused by several factors including infection with viruses and bacteria. Prevention is key, as treatment incurs significant costs in terms of medicines, labour and production – understand more about the importance of vaccines with Zoetis.

ADF Milking’s InVent (Intelligent Venting) system won the new product competition at this year’s Dairy Day (15th September).

Livestock producers looking to make the most of grazed forage can increase intake and digestion by 10% when supplementing pastures with a nutrient-rich forage supplement, says Dr Alison Bond, nutritionist for Rumenco.

A single case of classical bovine spongiform encephalopathy has been confirmed on a farm in Somerset, the Animal and Plant Agency has confirmed.

Natural England has issued licences for badger culling in seven new areas of England in 2021 – Hampshire, Berkshire, Staffordshire, Worcestershire, Oxfordshire and two areas in Shropshire.

Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome (PRRS) is the most important and costly disease on UK pig farms, affecting the performance of sows, sucklers, weaners, growers and finishers. Therefore, it is important producers are aware of the prevalence of this disease and have a detailed control programme in place.

More than 100 people from across the agricultural community have now qualified or are in training to become an Approved Tuberculin Tester (ATT) of cattle, reports UK Farmcare.

Working to the conditions of the land was a top priority for Cornish farmer Tom Jones, who is hopeful that a new milking system will reduce the farm’s milking time to 2.5 hours. Meanwhile, for Welsh farmers Leo and Giles Rowland, reliability and technology were top of the list when they installed the UK’s first Centrus Composite Rotary System.

From autumn, the TB Advisory Service (TBAS), which offers free biosecurity advice, will be available to all farmers in England who keep livestock susceptible to TB, rather than just those in high risk and edge areas.

The NFU said it is pleased Defra has made changes to some proposals based on evidence supplied, but is disappointed that other areas are not more ‘meaningfully welfare-focused’.

As the case of Geronimo the alpaca makes headlines and stirs national sympathy, Farmers Guide takes a look at the mental health impacts bTB has on the UK’s farmers every single day.