Stock photo for illustration only

Farmers are being warned of the emergence of a new strain of bluetongue virus (BTV-3), which is spreading rapidly in the Netherlands.

Ruminant Health and Welfare (RH&W) has facilitated emergency meetings this week, bringing together over 40 key stakeholders and representatives from across the industry, to ensure the four nations are prepared for this emerging disease threat.

The existing BTV-8 serotype vaccine will not offer cross-protection against the new strain, making any outbreaks difficult to control, said Dr Joseph Henry, president of the Sheep Veterinary Society and member of RH&W’s steering group.

As a result, it’s especially important to follow advice to take action and prioritise good biosecurity measures, whilst remaining extremely vigilant to the disease.

Dr Henry added: “What we are advising is three-fold. Farmers need to beware when buying animals in, especially from Europe, take action to report any signs of the disease, and at all times, remain vigilant,” explains Dr Joseph Henry, president of the Sheep Veterinary Society and member of RH&W’s steering group.

New BTV strain in two European countries

BTV-3 is a viral disease transmitted by biting midges, which affects all ruminants (e.g. sheep, cattle, goats and deer) and camelids (e.g. llama and alpaca).

The new strain has been reported on more than 700 farms in the Netherlands and a new case was reported in Belgium this week. BTV-3 appears to mimic BTV-8 in its behaviour, according to Cat Mclaughlin, NFU chief animal health and welfare advisor, and member of RH&W steering group.

She added: “Currently, there are no reports of the new strain in the UK. But it is felt that due to the nature of bluetongue’s ability to spread via infected midges, and current warm weather conditions, the risk of it reaching the UK is increasing, so we must adhere to advice and do all we can to keep it out,” she says.

Dr Henry said: “It remains extremely difficult to protect against midges and a vector borne disease. However, there is always a role for good biosecurity and insecticides, but it’s important to differentiate between products licensed for use on animals, and those designed for use on building and vehicles.”

Buyer beware

Phil Stocker, NSA chief executive and member of RH&W steering group, adds that bluetongue does not pose a threat to human health, but it remains a notifiable disease.

“We’d strongly advise farmers to beware when buying livestock from Europe, and to request pre-movement testing of animals prior to departure,” he says.

“All imports of live animals are subject to post-import testing with restricted movements until a negative post-import test result has been confirmed, so caution is key.”

Symptoms of BTV-3 can vary across ruminants, with sheep generally exhibiting more overt symptoms than cattle, but both can showcase clinical signs.

In sheep these include: drooling, mouth lesions, high fever, lameness and oedema (swollen heads) and sudden death. Cattle are not usually as severely affected but may show similar clinical signs as well as teat, eye, coronary band and nose lesions.

RH&W’s advice to farmers and their vets is as follows:

1. Buyer beware, only source animals from Europe responsibly.
2. Take action, prioritise biosecurity and report any suspicious clinical signs.
3. Vigilance is key, monitor livestock closely.

In the UK, bluetongue, including BTV-3, is a notifiable disease, so anyone suspecting the disease must take action and report it to the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA).

Further information and resources can be found here: https://ruminanthw.org.uk/bluetongue-virus/

The post New strain of bluetongue prompts emergency meetings appeared first on Farmers Guide.

The Association is now urging UK governments to consider what next steps will be made following the report to advance sheep health and welfare.

NSA chief executive Phil Stocker has welcomed the report, saying the Association is “especially encouraged to see the appreciation from the committee that there is value in a four-nation, consistent approach to any future action or amendments to the regulations, ensuring the removal of potential confusion on best practice in the different home nations and frictionless trade across UK borders continues”.

The report, titled ‘Animal Welfare Committee report on the Implications of Castration and Tailing in Sheep’, concludes that current operations of tailing or castrating lambs do impair the comfort of animals and that solutions should be investigated to minimise this.

Mr Stocker continued: “NSA is in agreement that work needs to be done to find solutions to minimise any discomfort felt by animals. This report is an opportunity for new techniques and innovations to be thoroughly explored and legislation amended to accommodate these.”

While in support of the report’s findings, the Association still considers it important that the the fundamental reasons for tailing and castration to improve the welfare of stock, including preventing flystrike and unwanted pregnancies must not be ignored in any future recommendations.

NSA is clear that any future amendments or proposals to legislation must consider the whole farm and supply chain implications.

So far, the report has been published on the Scottish and Welsh government websites, and Mr Stocker urged Defra to follow.

“Defra’s own findings and responses from this report were expected to be published months ago. We would welcome further opportunity to discuss this with Defra at the earliest given opportunity.”

The work was published by the AWC, formerly the Farm Animal Welfare Committee (FAWC), an expert advisory body on farm animal welfare matters. Read the full report here.

The post NSA calls for ‘four-nation’ approach to sheep health on back of AWC report appeared first on Farmers Guide.

Mr Baxter, who farms near Stranraer and is also the chairman of the British Free Range Egg Producers Association (BFREPA), has been confirmed as one of the keynote speakers at Europe’s largest free range egg show, taking place on Wednesday 15th November at the Telford International Centre.

His honest and open talk will cover his avian influenza journey, from losing an entire flock, to how he sees his business recovering, as well as the lessons learnt.

Mr Baxter’s talk will be just one of several discussions throughout the day, including a panel on AI vaccination, hosted by BFREPA CEO Robert Gooch with APHA’s Gordon Hickman, Dave Hodson from Rosehill Poultry, and Crowshall’s vet Ian Lowery joining as panellists.

A debate will also be held on whether there should be a Great Britain-wide vaccination programme, the pros and cons of having one, and how it might work if it became a reality.

The afternoon programme includes a series of technical presentations, with AD Harvey’s Oliver Harvey giving practical advice on preparing for end of lay, alongside Premier Nutrition’s Ralph Bishop talking about nutritional strategies for extending the laying cycle.

The day will conclude with a talk by Nick Bailey from Joice & Hill, covering the latest in genetics and breeding developments, as well as the benefits of breeding white hens.

Kate Dickinson, BFREPA events manager, said: “BFREPA Live’s speakers will offer an insight from all aspects of the free range egg sector, from the producer in the shed, to the officials making decisions on behalf of the whole industry.

“We believe that we’ve struck a great balance between the two, and that those in attendance will learn something valuable to take back to their farms.”

BFREPA Live 23 has been reformatted into a one-day show featuring a sold-out exhibition and the Free Range Awards dinner taking place on the same evening.

The awards dinner, which will be hosted by comedian Al Murray, will have a record number of attendees, with over 600 people already booked to attend the evening.

Tickets are on sale at www.bfrepa.co.uk and are open to anyone with an interest in egg production.

The post Egg producer who lost 192,000 hens in AI cull to share story at BFREPA Live appeared first on Farmers Guide.

Convenient online courses for farmers

“Our experience is that attending courses in person often proves challenging for a variety of reasons for farm staff, but there is an ever-increasing demand for quality training to meet milk buyer/Red Tractor requirements,” says Pete O’Malley, vet at Synergy Farm Health. “There is a lack of quality online training available for the production animal industry – but there is definite demand for training farm staff in subjects like youngstock health, medicine training, and downer cows. This doesn’t necessarily have to be delivered one-to-one, they can be studied at the individual’s convenience.”

The courses – which are bite-sized modules of video learning followed by an online test at the end – have taken some time to create, and the first to become available is Safe Use of Veterinary Medicines in Cattle. This will soon be followed by Safe Use of Veterinary Medicines in Sheep, care of the downer cow, cattle handling, lameness management, and youngstock health management.

Trainees can undertake the courses in their own time, and once successfully completed, receive a certificate and DairyPro points, which can be used for their Red Tractor assurance. “We know that farmers have difficult working hours and limited travelling time,” says Mr O’Malley. “Hopefully this online training overcomes those obstacles.”

Carefully designed training for farmers and farm workers

Rhian Baker at FAW Bakers, Rushywood Farm, Somerset, has already been using the system for training farm staff. “The Synergy Farm training platform creates an easy way to train our staff and keep a record of their progress, using the MCQ assessments to assess operator knowledge,” she explains. “We use it both as a part of an induction process and for refresher training. Since rolling the training out it has received positive feedback from our team.”

Mr O’Malley hopes that the training will help farmers across the UK and further afield. “We have carefully designed our learning platform to be video-based, accessible from either a computer or your phone, incorporating subtitles and translation tools to ensure our training is accessible to as many people as possible.”

Synergy Farm Health is a proudly independent veterinary practice, delivering high quality healthcare and specialist advice for farm animals, through its experienced and locally based teams. The team includes several nationally-recognised specialists, and embraces the latest technology and innovation to provide a first-class service. As well as vet and vet technician services, the firm provides medicines, training and events, sampling and laboratory facilities and research and consultancy.

Synergy will be officially launching the online training at the Dairy Show on 4th October. Staff will be on hand to give live demonstrations and answer any questions producers might have. More information can be found on the Synergy website.

The post Vets launch online training for farmers appeared first on Farmers Guide.

The latest results from the Zoetis Parasite Watch Scheme revealed worm egg counts in lambs varying from 70 to well over 700 eggs per gram (EPG) at the end of August, with an average of 380 EPG.

Therefore, farmers should consider conducting faecal egg counts (FEC) on their animals, which is also a good indication of the need for treatment in lambs alongside growth rates.

The Zoetis Parasite Watch Scheme collects data from 26 farms to provide a comprehensive parasite tracking service. Each farm takes FEC samples every 2-3 weeks through the spring and summer, with results uploaded to www.parasitewatch.co.uk.

Zoetis vet Patricia van Veen said the extreme and variable weather is making predictions difficult and is likely contributing to localised spikes in FECs. Parasite Watch data from previous years shows the parasite challenge remains a real risk into the autumn.

“Fluke is more challenging to monitor through FECs at this time of the year, as the time between infection and egg production, known as the pre-patent period, is 10-12 weeks. During this period, the early immature migrating larvae do a lot of damage, causing the disease known as acute fluke in any age of sheep,” she explained.

“Ewes and rams also need monitoring in the approach to tupping as fluke burdens could impact their condition and conception rates.”

Sheep farmer John Yeomans from Newtown, Powys, who takes part in the parasite watch scheme, said he treated his animals earlier this year due to the increased parasite risk and challenging summer.

He tups 530-550, mostly Beulah ewes and 170 ewe lambs each year, bringing them back to the home farm in October and returning them to the hill in December until lambing.

“Our farm is heavily stocked, with the ewes grazing high-up, so we demand a lot of them,” he said.

“Over the past decade, we have noticed that fluke can pose a real risk on our farm, sometimes resulting in dead sheep. We have done post mortems on them before and found them to be full of fluke.”

John, who farms with his wife Sarah and three sons, Tom, Jack and Joe, says he not only monitors worms and fluke by regular testing but is also trying to do more targeted worming based on weight gains in lambs.

“We must use medicines responsibly to safeguard their use,” he added.

Mrs van Veen stressed the importance of farmers working with their animal health provider to select the best product, particularly when there is a mixed parasite burden in their lambs.

“CYDECTIN TriclaMox Drench for Sheep is one option for treating lambs for mixed fluke and worm burdens. It contains the potent active moxidectin (3-ML group), which persists for 35 days and will treat stomach worms. The other active ingredient is triclabendazole, which is effective against early immature as well as late immature and adult fluke.

“However, if fluke is not an issue, then a persistent 3-ML wormer, such as CYDECTIN Oral Solution For Sheep can be used to selectively treat lambs during the Autumn as challenges have been shown to remain high during this time of the year,” Ms Van Veen explained.

The post Farmers urged to monitor sheep closely as worm egg counts spike appeared first on Farmers Guide.

As farmers continue to experience issues sourcing essential vaccines, the webinar will provide a useful opportunity to understand more about the complications and impacts on animal health as well as to hear from experts on what to do if farmers are unable to access vaccines.

NSA chief executive Phil Stocker said: “This webinar will provide a fuller update on the vaccine availability situation across the UK, giving a chance to attendees to hear and ask questions over alternative strategies to reduce disease risk.”

For over a year, problems with supply have persisted across many vaccines, including those preventing clostridial and pasteurella disease, abortion, lameness and orf, with some more acutely affected than others.

NSA has been in regular contact with manufacturing companies to try to help resolve the shortages seen across the country, as well as writing to the Veterinary Medicines Directorate (VMD) and Lord Benyon, minister of state at Defra.

More recently, the organisation has written to Sir Robert Goodwill as chair of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (EFRA) Select Committee, suggesting this would be a useful topic for them to investigate.

Commenting on the upcoming webinar, which is part of the NSA Breakfast Club series, Mr Stocker said:

“In this NSA Breakfast Club, we will hear from Jonathon Statham – chair of the Animal Health and Welfare Board for England Committee – who will discuss the reasons why we are seeing a shortage across supply chains, how it might be rectified, and how long this might take to resolve, as well as the wider long term impacts this shortage might have across the livestock industry.

“We will also hear from Dr Joe Henry – specialist beef and sheep vet (Black Sheep Vets) on management practices, how to mitigate long-term impacts and what to do if you can’t access vaccines along with what should be classed as priority stock and how you can move towards overcoming some impacts of a vaccine shortage across industry.”

The webinar, titled ‘Vaccines, why we can’t get them and how to manage the implications’, is free to join and will take place on Wednesday 4th October at 8.30am. To register for the event, visit the NSA website here.

The post NSA webinar to address ongoing vaccine shortages in sheep sector appeared first on Farmers Guide.

Speaking on behalf of SCOPS, independent sheep consultant Lesley Stubbings said even if incoming sheep look well, come from a top-priced pen or even a known source, they can still wreak havoc.

The list of threats includes sheep scab, lice, resistant roundworms and/or liver fluke, Haemonchus contortus (the barber’s pole worm), contagious ovine digital dermatitis (CODD), footrot and orf to mention a few.

She added: “If you were guarding a valuable treasure you would probably keep it in a fortress, with sturdy walls, strong gates, and vigilant guards.

“If your fortress was approached by unknown people you wouldn’t just let them in, you would stop them and carry out checks to make sure they were not a threat to your treasure, not think about it once they were inside the walls. Yet that is what many sheep farmers do every autumn when they bring in replacement sheep.”

“Most of these you cannot see and some, such as CODD or sheep scab, can take some time to show themselves. The only way to protect your flock is to put a safeguarding policy in place.”

The fortress for sheep farmers is their fences, their guards are testing and appropriate treatment, and their gates are the steps taken to isolate new sheep. Key to the whole process is making sure they go into an isolation period (quarantine), Lesley concluded.

Kevin Harrison, a sheep farmer from near Bristol who chairs the SCOPS group, has many years’ experience of buying in replacement females and running the risk of bringing in new health problems.

He commented: “Of course, an effective quarantine policy requires some time and costs money, but this is nothing compared to the cost of importing one or more of these diseases.

“For example, sheep scab can take up to six months to show its hand, by which time the majority of the breeding ewes in a flock will be affected, along with young lambs. Anyone who’s gone through that will tell you it’s a very unpleasant experience, very difficult to deal with, and devastating for your flock’s health status.”

A wide range of practical biosecurity and quarantine advice for farmers, vets and advisers is available on the SCOPS website:
www.scops.org.uk/internal-parasites/quarantine-advice-for-internal-and-external-parasites

The post Disease control: Farmers urged to view sheep as precious assets appeared first on Farmers Guide.

Recent stock challenges for the EAE vaccine Cevac Chlamydia announced earlier this year have now been resolved, and farmers can now vaccinate ewes against the disease as follows:

• The vaccine can be used no later than four weeks before the rams go in
• Shearlings (one year plus) and older can be vaccinated within four months before tupping
• Ewe lambs can be vaccinated with Cevac Chlamydia from five months of age

Roy Geary, regional director for Northern Europe at Ceva Animal Health, which manufactures the vaccine, said: “While we realise that the temporary delay of Cevac Chlamydia has been inconvenient to our valued sheep farmers we would like to thank them for their patience and support during this challenging time.

“The vaccine supply is now available in the UK for the latter end of the season. Farmers tupping later in October should therefore vaccinate their flocks to protect their ewes from this devastating disease.”

Fiona Lovatt BVSc PhD, past president of the Sheep Veterinary Society and RCVS recognised specialist in sheep health and production, added: “It has been such a challenge recently to get hold of the vaccines and this has been incredibly frustrating for both sheep farmers and their vets.

“So, it is really very good news that there is new EAE vaccine stock available and it should be just about in time for those tupping later in October.”

She reminded farmers that an outbreak of EAE comes with devastating consequences and vaccination is critical to preventing the disease.

To order Cevac Chlamydia or for information on EAE and vaccination, speak to your vet or go to www.enzooticabortion.co.uk.

The post EAE vaccine now available following supply shortages appeared first on Farmers Guide.

ASF is a highly contagious viral disease that affects domestic pigs and wild boars, and should it arrive in the UK, it would have devastating consequences on the national pig herd.

The arrival of the virus in Sweden is concerning, as previously the disease has only been reported further south in Europe.

Given the significant distance between the case in Sweden and other cases on the continent, it is thought that humans have been responsible for transporting the virus through food, clothing or vehicles rather than being spread by wild boar.

In response to the news, NFU Scotland has issues three key messages to farmers, the government and the public:

• For the public – Don’t bring pork products into the country for personal consumption or resale.
• For farmers – Revisit your biosecurity measures around visitors and food waste.
• For the UK Government – Protect our Borders!

“The growing threat of ASF on mainland Europe continues to loom over all pig producers in the UK,” said NFU Scotland Pigs Committee chair, Jamie Wyllie. “The impact and severity on our pig herd, were ASF to reach these shores, cannot be underestimated.

“At farm level, biosecurity remains our first line of defence and producers need to consider who and what they allow on their farm. For the public, we urge them to comply with the requirement that no pork products should be brought into the UK for personal consumption.

“And for the UK Government, it needs to understand the potential consequences of its lax approach to introducing proper post-Brexit border controls.”

Mr Wyllie stressed without proper border controls and checks, the government is leaving pig producers exposed to the disease. With the introduction of the new Border Target Operating Model until next year, the chances of stopping the spread of ASF onto the British Isles remain slim.

“The UK Government still insists ASF is a medium risk when reporting disease but without Border controls and the disease still spreading in Europe, NFU Scotland believes this should be moved to high,” Mr Wyllie added.

National biosecurity must be a priority

In a letter to Defra secretary Thérèse Coffey, NPA chairman Rob Mutimer has urged the government to take more robust action to keep ASF out of the country, after yet another delay in the introduction of checks on goods from the EU.

In the absence of proper checks at ports, he called for more frequent and robust measures to be implemented at all points of entry, including ports, airports and postal hubs, and for the UK’s biosecurity to remain a priority for the government.

Mr Mutimer welcomed measures introduced last September to limit non-commercial imports of pork and the work that has been done by the government to raise awareness of the disease.

“However, the continued delay to checks on goods moving from the EU to Great Britain leaves us exposed to ASF as it continues its relentless spread across Europe,” he said.

He went on to point out that the government’s own Border Target Operating Model document states that ‘an outbreak of African Swine Fever would be a fundamental threat to the viability of our pig industry’.

“The Government’s own assessment of the threat of ASF, and its potentially devastating impact on British pig farming, could not be clearer.

“We do understand the need to protect supply chains and shelter people from further inflationary pressures. However, a better balance needs to be struck that prioritises Britain’s biosecurity and protects our own food producers and our self-sufficiency.

“We need to use all available resources to reduce the threat of ASF reaching in the UK before SPS controls are put in place in April next year,” Mr Mutimer concluded.

The post Looming threat of African Swine Fever prompts biosecurity alert appeared first on Farmers Guide.

Specially formulated to support the health and performance of pre-calving cows, CalverMaxx is a palatable, high-sugar product that provides a readily available source of energy to support calf growth, colostrum production and future cow fertility.

“We’re reaching the time of year when there is a natural decline in forage availability and quality. However, this year has been further compounded by growing conditions,” she explained.

Industry reports show poor growing conditions in the spring and early summer resulted in first cuts of silage having sugar values nearly 72% lower and lignin values 11% higher compared to 2021. High levels of lignin cause significant decreases in the nutritional value of forage.

While damp weather conditions have boosted mid to late summer grass growth well above the four-year average, quality remains low and is starting to have an immediate season taper in availability.

“The challenge for autumn calvers is to meet pre-calving nutritional requirements when they are at the highest, while forage stocks and quality take a nose dive,” Dr Bond continued.

If silages are less digestible then we could see lower dry matter intakes in the run-up to calving as the silage won’t pass through the rumen as quickly. This is a problem as we want to maximise dry matter intakes in the final weeks of pregnancy to minimise the risk of metabolic problems.”

Maintaining cows in a positive energy balance is especially challenging in the final weeks of pregnancy, when cows are under considerable metabolic stress as the udder prepares for lactation, colostrum production begins and rapid foetal development is taking place.

To stretch forage stocks while meeting nutritional requirements, Dr Bond recommended supplementing feeds with a product like CalverMaxx in the final six weeks of pregnancy.

Specially formulated to support the health and performance of pre-calving cows and heifers, CalverMaxx is a palatable, high-sugar product that provides a readily available source of energy to support calf growth, colostrum production and future cow fertility.

The high sugar content provides rumen support by feeding rumen microbes to boost rumen function, which in return will optimise available nutrients in every mouthful of forage consumed.

“For cattle on a forage-based diet, CalverMaxx will deliver essential vitamins and minerals while also supporting rumen function without leading to excessive weight gain,” Dr Bond added. “Daily intakes are 200-300g, which is not enough for cows to become over-conditioned in late pregnancy.”

Through receiving CalverMaxx, cows benefit from high levels of iodine and copper, including a protected source of copper, to support calf development and return to oestrus. The product also has optimal levels of selenium and vitamin E, including a protected source of selenium, to support colostrum quality, calf vigour, and immunity.

“Not only are there economic benefits from the ability to stretch forage stocks in a year like this, but there are also short and long-term benefits in managing metabolic disease risk and optimising colostrum production,” Dr Bond concluded.

The post Pre-calving supplement offers nutrition boost as forage quality declines appeared first on Farmers Guide.