Animal Health

With risk of tick-borne diseases changing as new seasonal and geographical patterns emerge, Ruminant Health and Welfare (RH&W) has brought together a new online resource to help farmers and vets to tackle these diseases.

Farmers planning to turn sheep and cattle onto fodder beet this winter are being encouraged to vaccinate stock against clostridial diseases before giving them access to the crop.

With 80% of Johne’s disease infections occurring within the first month of life, the growing threat of Johne’s in the UK is encouraging significant numbers of dairy farmers to offer bespoke colostrum replacements to newborn calves.

As recent research suggests lameness-related issues and endemic infectious disease continue to be the key factors affecting production efficiency on cattle and sheep farms, livestock editor Sarah Kidby spoke to farm vets for their views on health trends from 2021, and advice for the coming year.

Last year, Adrian Bland of Ninezergh Farm began taking steps to tackle increasingly high somatic cell counts in his 120-cow milking herd. Just over a year on, he took part in a recent AHDB webinar to explain the farm’s progress.

The UK is facing its most significant avian influenza risk to date.

A grant is available for award-winning ozone disinfection technology that promises to offer a safer, more effective and more environmentally friendly solution – with benefits for milk quality, mastitis rates and money-saving.

Defra has confirmed more cases of highly pathogenic H5N1 in Lincolnshire and South Derbyshire, as well as new outbreaks elsewhere in the UK.

While the risk of liver fluke remains low for much of the UK this season, livestock farmers need to keep their guard up again in what is becoming a less predictable parasite challenge. That is the warning from the Sustainable Control of Parasites in Sheep (SCOPS) and Control of Cattle Parasites Sustainably (COWS) groups as we head into winter.

Chief vet “very concerned” as around half a million birds culled and the number of premises infected with H5N1 rises to more than 40.

Simple steps can have a big impact in the avoidance of pneumonia during winter housing, and taken early, can drastically cut potential losses. Kat Baxter-Smith, MSD veterinary advisor for ruminants, shares her recommendations alongside tenant dairy farmer and Disease? Not On My Farm! ambassador, William Westacott.

African swine fever is spreading across Germany and has also been found in Belgium, Romania and Poland.