Farmers wishing to vaccinate stock against bluetongue can now budget on the cost after DEFRA published details on prices on Wednesday (5 March).

The vaccine will be available in 50ml and 20ml bottles, and will be available through private veterinarians via veterinary wholesalers.

The wholesale "list" price will be £22.02 for the 50ml bottles and £13.10 for the 20ml bottles.

The final on-farm price is likely to be around £27.50-£33.00 for the 50ml bottles (55-66p per ml) and around £16.35-£19.65 for the 20ml bottles (82-98p per ml) plus VAT, to cover the overhead, handling and administration charges throughout the distribution process.

Farmers are reminded that the vaccine will require one dose in sheep and two doses in cattle.

The size of the dose is likely to be 1ml, but this is subject to the ongoing discussions between Intervet and the Veterinary Medicines Directorate as part of the vaccine licensing process.