Livestock News

The Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute (AFBI) said the risk of liver fluke infection in sheep and cattle will be moderate to high in the Central, South and East regions of Northern Ireland (NI) and a high prevalence of the disease is expected in the West this winter.

Testing and prevention of Mycoplasma bovis is of increasing importance in both beef and dairy sectors as new surveillance data reveals the disease is more common than previously thought.

The four councils, Beef & Lamb, Cereals & Oilseeds, Dairy and Pork, have published sector plans as part of a commitment to outline how the levy will be invested over the next five years.

Farming charity RABI is reminding poultry farmers of the support services available following the introduction of Defra’s Avian Influenza Prevention Zone (AIPZ) across England.

The UK has received global praise for achieving significant reductions in antimicrobial resistance (AMR), with the government confirming livestock antibiotic sales are at the lowest level on record.

From today (7th November), it is a legal requirement to house all poultry and captive birds across England to prevent the further spread of avian influenza.

The Scrapenser from Ian Cleasby Agriculture enables dairy farmers to spread sawdust into cubicles and scrape out at the same time, combining two chores into one job.

Following a major increase in worm egg counts, it is recommended that sheep farmers switch to a newer group 4-AD (orange) wormer for mid-to-late season drenching.

The national risk of avian influenza in wild birds has been increased to ‘very high’.

Research has shown that clinical ovine Johne’s disease can cause a 46% reduction in overall productivity. Livestock technical veterinary advisor for Virbac, Kate Ingram, offers advice on prevention.

Beef and dairy farmers should consider using diagnostic tests and past worm history in the run-up to housing cattle to assess the parasite risk on their farm and plan a treatment strategy.

The government has announced new measures to support the poultry industry as the UK battles its worst ever outbreak – with over 200 cases confirmed across the country in the last 12 months.