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XLVets
member practices
608 Farm and Equine Veterinary Surgeons
Allen and Partners
Ardene House Vet Practice
Armour Veterinary Group
Belmont Farm and Equine Vets
Bishopton Veterinary Group
Cain Veterinary Centre
Calweton Veterinary Group
Capontree Veterinary Centre
Chapelfield Veterinary Partnership
Cliffe Veterinary Group
Clyde Vets
Donald S McGregor & Partners
Drove Veterinary Hospital
Dunmuir Veterinary Group
Endell Veterinary Group
Farm First Veterinary Services
Fenton Vets
Fenwold Veterinary Practice
Friars Moor Veterinary Clinic
Glenthorne Veterinary Group
Hook Norton Veterinary Group
Kernow Veterinary Group
Kingsway Veterinary Group
Lambert, Leonard & May
Larkmead Veterinary Group
Midshire Veterinary Group
Millcroft Veterinary Group
Northvet Veterinary Group
Paragon Veterinary Group
Parklands Veterinary Group
Penbode Veterinary Group
ProStock Vets
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
Torch Farm and Equine
Tyndale Vets
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.
SUMMER 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.
THE ED I TOR
ANIMAL HEALTH
05
Sheep fertility
The use of artificial insemination (AI) in
sheep flocks can bring a number of
benefits for producers. Liz Nabb and
Mike Glover from Torch Farm & Equine
talk us through their sheep breeding
service and practically how it is helping
sheep farmers.
07
Herd health
Find out how a proactive approach to
herd health with farm clients helped
Alastair Hayton from Synergy Farm
Health win the Farmers Weekly Farm
Adviser of the Year award.
13
BVD update
As the national BVDFree scheme launches
in England we have a round-up of the
learning and latest advice from XLVets
practices to help farmers in the fight
against this disease.
FARMSKILLS
15
Ram MOT’s
A practical guide to getting rams ready
for the mating season this Autumn.
CONTENTS
FEATURE
11
Send-a-Cow
Alex Cooper from Fenton Veterinary
Practice gives us an insight into the
Send-a-Cow project and how it has
helped families to become self-sufficient
and generate a living from keeping
livestock.
GRADUATE DIARIES
17
Starting out in veterinary practice
We find out what Matt and Emily have
been up to in their practices during the
Spring and how they hope to put some of
their recent learning to good use during
the Summer months.
Welcome to the
‘Summer’
issue of Livestock Matters
In this issue we turn our attention to getting
ready for the sheep breeding season. We
consider the use of AI in sheep and the
opportunities it presents for sheep producers
to improve their flock, without taking huge
risks and our FarmSkills feature talks us
through getting rams in tip top condition
ready for mating.
We also explore how one farming family
has embraced new ideas to get their dairy
and beef enterprises fit for the future.
Working with Jo Childs from Endell
Veterinary Group they have tackled a
number of issues and taken a more strategic
approach to disease management.
Finally, we hear from Alex Cooper of Fenton
Veterinary Practice on his return from Rwanda
where he went to find out more about the
Send-a-Cow project that XLVets practices
raised money for last year. Send-a-Cow
aims to help people long-term; it teaches
families who have very little, how to become
self-sufficient and go on to earn a living from
their surplus produce.
We hope you enjoy this issue of
Livestock Matters.
Joanne Sharpe
Editor