Herdsure offers disease free accreditation

Farmers enrolled in Herdsure now have the option to become accredited free of four of the main infectious cattle diseases.

Herdsure has received approval for their IBR, leptospirosis and Johne’s protocols under the Cattle Health Certification Standards UK (CHeCS) umbrella to go along with their already approved BVD programme.

Buying cattle only from herds that are known to be healthy is becoming ever more important and herds in CHeCS are able to provide an owner’s declaration of health status. This gives buyers the confidence that they are not buying in disease.

Herdsure works in partnership with farmers and vet practices in providing a sampling, testing and management regime to establish and improve the health status of the herd.

Tim Brigstocke, executive director at CHeCS, said: “It is incredibly important that everyone works to common standards based on the best available science to try and monitor, control and eventually eradicate these infectious diseases which can have such a profound and often unappreciated effect on herd margins.”

Paul Townsend, head of the Laboratory Services Department at AHVLA, explained that the company was also collaborating with the CHeCS technical board on the development of a neosporosis programme.