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H E R D S U R E F E A T U R E
J ONATHAN S TATHAM
Experience of the Herd
sure
®
Pilot Scheme
Veterinary Surgeon
Jonathan Statham
XLVets Practice
Bishopton Veterinary
Group, Ripon
Infectious disease control is a
priority at Bishopton and forms a
central part of both our dairy and
beef herd health schemes. We
were therefore interested to see
how Herdsure
®
could contribute
to herd health management.
Every cattle herd in the region has
different priorities:
l
High health status and accreditation for
the sale of germplasm and pedigree
breeding stock.
l
Effective disease control to deliver the
maximum production at minimum disease
cost for commercial herds.
We took part in the Herdsure
®
pilot project
in 2009 with dairy and beef herds of
varying sizes and profiles as follows:
l
130 pedigree dairy cows selling
breeding stock, closed herd for more
than 20 years with predominantly high
health status (BVD, Leptospirosis and IBR
seronegative), but with history of
occasional Johne's disease and recently
identified liver fluke issues on bulk milk
ELISA screening.
l
300 dairy cows prioritising commercial
milk production, limited purchase of
replacements and BVD, IBR and
Leptospirosis seropositive and vaccinated
status, but Johne's and liver fluke negative
on all screening.
l
80 cow extensive pedigree upland beef
suckler herd, BVD, Leptospirosis and IBR
vaccinated with history of sporadic
Johne's and liver fluke.
l
200 cow lowland commercial beef
suckler herd, BVD, Leptospirosis and IBR
vaccinated with no history of Johne's but
recent liver fluke outbreak.
We carried out initial screening on these
herds to establish their health status and set
out an action plan for improvement. Key
points in this process were:
l
Our strong relationship with the VLA
regional laboratory at Thirsk.
l
Ease of communication and benefit
of 'local knowledge', with local VLA only
15 minutes drive from practice.
l
Flexible approach to different levels of
health improvement - a succession of
stages were available through the
scheme allowing a sense of progress.
The inclusion of liver fluke is highly
relevant to the surge in fascioliasis cases
experienced over the last two to three
years. Similarly, neosporosis is often
overlooked in a herd context and there is
a role for a wider package of controls as
presented in Herdsure
®
.
The farmers of higher health status herds at
Bishopton often seek CHeCS accreditation
as part of their package so they can access
markets throughout the UK and abroad.
Herdsure® does not currently offer access to
CHeCS accreditation but the higher levels
naturally lead to this process.
WORKING
TOGETHER
FOR A HEALTHIER FUTURE...
13
LIVESTOCK MATTERS