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XLVets
member practices
608 Farm and Equine Veterinary Surgeons
Allen and Partners
Alnorthumbria Veterinary Group
Ardene House Veterinary Practice
Armour Veterinary Centre
Belmont Veterinary Centre
Bishopton Veterinary Group
Cain Veterinary Centre
Calweton Veterinary Group
Capontree Veterinary Centre
Castle Veterinary Surgeons
Chapelfield Veterinary Partnership
Cliffe Veterinary Group
Clyde Veterinary Group
Donald S McGregor & Partners
Drove Veterinary Hospital
Dunmuir Veterinary Group
Endell Veterinary Group
Farm First Veterinary Services
Fenton Veterinary Practice
Fenwold Veterinary Practice
Friars Moor Veterinary Clinic
Glenthorne Veterinary Group
Hook Norton Veterinary Group
Kingsway Veterinary Group
Lambert, Leonard & May
Larkmead Veterinary Group
Midshire Veterinary Group
Milfeddygon ProStock Vets
Millcroft Veterinary Group
Minster Veterinary Practice
Northvet Veterinary Group
Paragon Veterinary Group
Parklands Veterinary Group
Penbode Veterinary Group
Rosevean Veterinary Practice
Rutland Veterinary Centre
Scarsdale Veterinary Group
Scott Mitchell Associates
Severn Edge Veterinary Group
Shepton Veterinary Group
Shropshire Farm Vets
St Boniface Veterinary Clinic
Synergy Farm Health
Thrums Veterinary Group
Tyndale Vets
Wensum Valley Veterinary Surgeons
Westmorland Veterinary Group
Willows Veterinary Group
Wright & Morten
XLVets
is a novel and exciting initiative
conceived from within the veterinary profession.
We are all independently owned, progressive
veterinary practices located throughout the
United Kingdom committed to working together
for the benefit of our clients.
AUTUMN EDITION
C O N T E N T S
Livestock Matters
is published by:
XLVet UK Ltd, Carlisle House
Townhead Road, Dalston
Carlisle CA5 7JF
Tel: (01228) 711788
*This publication is supplied free of charge to
farm clients of XLVets member practices.
© XLVet UK Ltd
No part of this publication may be reproduced
without prior permission of the publisher.
Disclaimer:
XLVets does not necessarily share the views of
contributors. No responsibility can be accepted
for opinions expressed by contributors, or claims
made by advertisers within this publication.
ANIMAL HEALTH
03
Improvements to cow comfort boost yield:
Jim Willshire, Endell Veterinary Group
explains how significant improvements to
cow comfort and calf management result
in a boost in milk production and
healthier calves.
09
Controlling liver fluke:
Russell Fuller, Tyndale Vets Ltd and Ian
Bates, Fenwold Veterinary Practice
provide guidance on the different
approaches to achieve the one common
goal of controlling liver fluke on-farm.
17
XLVets leads advanced breeding
technology:
Stuart Mullan and Jenny Turner, Paragon
Advanced Breeding Centre, provide an
insight into the developments in the
process of IVF for cattle.
19
A look behind the scenes of this year’s
Gold Cup winning herd:
James Marsden and Roel Driesen,
Shropshire Farm Vets, introduce us to this
year’s winner of the NMR Gold Cup.
INDUSTRY FEATURES
21
FarmSkills calf rearing workshops update
23
Raising the bar on heat detection:
Rose Jackson, Scarsdale Veterinary Group
and James Marsden, Shropshire Farm
Vets comment on techniques to improve
heat detection rates.
25
Student Diaries:
The latest reports from veterinary students
Emily Collier and Sam Bowker.
THE ED I TOR
Welcome to the
‘Autumn’
issue of Livestock Matters
In this issue we have a feature on
mastitis - looking at the causes and how
two farms have tackled very different
mastitis problems.
We also take a look behind the scenes of
this year's Gold Cup winning herd, looking
at the attention to detail and teamwork that
helped them win the award.
As housing will soon be with us, we also
see how one producer and XLVets practice
have been working on significant
improvements to cow comfort and the
results this has generated through a boost
in milk production and lower incidence
of lameness.
Finally we have an update from our two
students in the popular Student Diaries
column, hearing what they have been up
to over the summer months, before they
return to their studies in the Autumn.
We hope you enjoy this issue.
Joanne Sharpe
XLVets
Mastitis
12
Targeting environmental mastitis pathogens:
Ruth Wotton, St Boniface Veterinary Clinic,
reports on a recent case study on-farm
where there was a high incidence of
mastitis cases in early lactation; an
indication of infections picked up in the
dry period.
14
An environmental challenge turns contagious:
Ben Pedley, Willows Veterinary Group
describes how, following the wet weather
last year, a mastitis causing environmental
pathogen resulted in a contagious problem
for one dairy producer and explains how it
was tackled.
15
Adapting the parlour routine ensures
mastitis rates stay low:
Jonathan Stockton, Kingsway Vet Practice,
explains how he and a dairy farmer from
Skipton have worked together to reduce
the numbers of mastitis cases by adapting
milking parlour routines.
AUTUMN FEATURE