We have previously discussed beef benchmarking (January 2021) but what do you do when things aren’t going to plan?

A recent assessment of the economic burden of major gastrointestinal parasites in cattle and sheep, estimated an annual cost for the 18 participating countries of €1.8 billion.

The recent wet and stormy weather combined with the current Avian Flu restrictions in place for all poultry (likely to last until at least April) mean we are seeing cases of Bumblefoot on the rise.

Lamb losses can have a huge impact on welfare, production and farmer morale. It can be multifactorial but also highly variable depending on the individual farm and production system.

Body temperature regulation in calves develops with the age. Newborns are less equipped to deal with a cold environment than older calves. Therefore, the adaptation of the young dairy calf to a cold environment is mainly dependent upon the availability of adequate housing, management and nutrition.

Lambing is a stressful but rewarding time of year and as 2022 starts, vets start to prepare for “spring”, our busiest time of year. This article aims to give you advice on stage 2 of parturition; delivery of the foetus. The focus is on ewes, but many of the same principles apply to cows.

If you could have a superpower, what would it be? Perhaps you would be able to predict which animals would fall unwell, before it happened? Or perhaps you would be able to see into the future and prevent animals getting ill in the first place? And what if I told you that in some circumstances, we can already achieve this?

Lameness is a huge problem in the UK sheep industry.

BVD is a virus that causes reproductive and immunosuppressive problems within both beef and dairy herds.

Haemonchus contortus (the Barber’s Pole worm) affects both lambs and adult sheep, feeding on blood through the stomach wall.

Lameness in the beef herd has not received the same attention as with dairy cattle.

Calf diarrhoea continues to be a commonly discussed and managed issue affecting both beef and dairy enterprises on a regular basis.

Disbudding is one of the most common surgical procedures carried out in goats. Disbudding is considered a mutilation under the law of England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, but is recognised as a procedure that can be carried out for non- therapeutic reasons.

With most of your lambs weaned, depending when you lambed, now might be the time to start taking a closer look at your ewes who have worked hard for you over the last few months.

Synchronisation is the use of veterinary prescribed drugs to manipulate the female reproductive cycle to enable ovulation to occur at a known set time period.