Page 8 - Livestock Matters - Autumn 2012

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F LOCK HEALTH
7
LIVESTOCK MATTERS
WORKING
TOGETHER
FOR A HEALTHIER FUTURE...
Veterinary Surgeon
Chris Trower
XLVets Practice
Larkmead Veterinary
Group
CHRIS TROWER,
LARKMEAD VETERINARY GROUP
Flock health planning
Case Study:
Turville Park Farm
Bob White runs a flock of 1,700
March-lambing Mule ewes in the Chiltern
Hills, on the borders of Oxfordshire and
Buckinghamshire. The home farm is
tenanted, with additional grass rented
annually. It is a condition of the rented
land that its organic status is maintained,
and so for the last 10 years the flock
has been farmed to Soil Association
standards. Bob's two eldest children, Tom
and Anna, are both agricultural graduates
of Reading University and have joined
the family business in the last five years.
Shepherding is a family affair, with
additional help from a veterinary student
at lambing time.
All lambs are finished on the farm and are
sold to St Merryn Meat, of Merthyr Tydfil.
Bob says 'Selling direct to an abattoir
gives me vital feedback on carcass
conformation, which is essential if I am
to produce what the market requires'.
The Farm