Livestock Matters - Summer 2018

WORKING TOGETHER FOR A HEALTHIER FUTURE... 3 LIVESTOCK MATTERS X LVETS NEWS Invest wisely: Keep BVD out of your herd Rethinking cattle performance 2018 When you next look to bring cattle into your herd, a simple way to protect your investment is to check the Bovine Viral Diarrhoea (BVD) status of the stock before purchase. Simply enter a tag number at bvdfree.org.uk to search the national database. Introducing BVD into your herd either by bringing a virus positive persistently infected (PI) animal, infected bull or a pregnant cow which will carry a calf of unknown BVD status, into your herd can be costly. For herds with an underlying infection the impact per cow per year is approximately £40. However this can escalate if BVD is introduced into a herd initially free of the disease. Within the dairy herd the greatest impacts are often noted as reduced fertility, with cows returning to service, aborting or having stillborn calves. For the beef herd the most notable impact is on calf health with cases of pneumonia, scours and increased calf mortality. These costs mount up in terms of production losses, the time and money needed to take action against the disease and the emotional toll of seeing persistently infected (PI) cattle culled. Don’t put your herd at risk. Protect your investment by checking the BVD status of any cattle you are looking to bring onto your farm. BVDFree Herd Status Launches Cattle herds which have tested negative for BVD for two years will qualify for BVDFree Test Negative Herd Status. The new herd status launched in March is available to farmers who are registered with BVDFree England and have recorded two years of negative BVD testing under the scheme. A veterinary declaration is required before the status can be awarded, giving the opportunity to review the herd health plan and on-farm biosecurity protocols. XLVets, Zoetis and Volac are working with Farmers Weekly to deliver Rethinking Cattle Performance 2018, to help farmers take the next step in the journey of promoting healthier cattle and improving productivity. The first workshop took place in May and focused on feeding milk to weaning, disease and vaccination. Tim O’Sullivan, Shropshire Farm Vets explained that colostrum is a true “superfood” and needs to be treated accordingly. When fed correctly it can provide the calf with immunity to fight off disease challenges - three litres within the first three hours of life! The absorption of immunoglobulins drops significantly six hours after birth. Workshop two and three will be taking place in August and October respectively - book early to ensure your place! https://www.fwi.co.uk/ms/events/rethinki ng-cattle-performance/ BillyPix BillyPix