Farmers Weekly Interactive

Winter housing masterclass

Winter housing can be a very unsettling time, especially for youngstock. The Farmers Weekly Academies can help you ensure a smooth transition from outdoors to in.

Read the Academies then click through to complete the online test – this will give you the information you need to take a critical look at your system with your vet and farm staff and decide what changes you may need to make to improve herd health, welfare, and ultimately your bottom line.

PNEUMONIA

Pneumonia is a common and potentially fatal disease, but risks of infection can be minimised through careful herd management. George Caldow, senior vet investigation officer with SAC, explains.

WORMS AND FLUKE

Adopting a more strategic approach to worm and fluke control can considerably reduce the damage intestinal parasites can cause to both cows’ health and farm profitability. Professor Mike Taylor, vet consultant at the Food and Environment Research Agency (FERA) considers life cycles and suitable control.

BUILDING DESIGN

A few relatively simple adjustments to cattle housing can make a dramatic difference to cow welfare. Jamie Robertson, research fellow at Aberdeen University, points out where changes can be made.

NUTRITION

A smooth transition from summer to winter diets is vital to keep animals performing at their best. SAC nutrition specialist Colin Morgan highlights the aspects to keep an eye on.

  • Refresh your knowledge
  • Gain NRoSO and BASIS cpd points
  • Test yourself in your own time
  • Use multi-media, including video

www.fwi.co.uk/academy

Counteracting high feed costs this winter

Volatile cereal prices and their impact on feed costs put the spotlight on reducing costs in other areas.

Every winter, a significant cause of losses on some beef and dairy youngstock units is pneumonia. This can be minimised by a smooth transition from grass to winter diets, some simple DIY improvements to housing, by minimising the parasite burden carried by cattle into winter and by controlling the main infectious causes of pneumonia.

This set of Farmers Weekly Academies, sponsored by Pfizer Animal Health, can help you with a practical, joined-up approach to reducing your costs of production this winter.

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