Cornish farmer’s Schmallenberg spring calving hell
Schmallenberg virus has wreaked havoc on a dairy farm in Cornwall, with 93% of calves born in early spring showing deformities.
The high levels of defects in newborn and aborted calves have horrified Clive Keam, owner of Tregarrick Farm, in Luxulyan, Bodmin.
Calving started in earnest last week on the farm and there were 14 out of 15 cows with deformed calves, resulting in serious calving problems.
“We have had 14 out of 15 heifers (calve down) with deformities and another 15 still to calve, which doesn’t look good,” said Mr Keam.
“Among the 14 dead, one had legs the wrong way round. We had to cut it out of the cow. It had already died and was rotten. Another had half a head and all sorts of problems.”
His vet Ron Fraser, of Harleigh Vets, Bodmin, has told him that Schmallenberg virus is a serious problem in cows this season and his case was one of the worst he had seen in the region.
Mr Fraser said: “Clive’s case is exceptional. The heifer group have been calving over the last three to four weeks with 90%+ incidence, but none in the adult herd. The assumption is that this group were on ground with a high level of invected midges.
“We first saw deformed calves five weeks ago and so far have seen one to two cases on each farm, appearing in dairy and suckler herds.”
Mr Keam’s farm consists of 404ha (1,000 acres) with 500 dairy cows and 600 beef. The cows affected by Schmallenberg virus were all Holstein Friesians and the bull was also a Holstein Friesian.
“This is the first time we have had trouble with Schmallenberg virus and we have got it really bad,” he said.
Spring calving is under way for beef farmer Philip Heard, at Meldon Farm, in Okehampton, Devon.
By Friday (22 March) Mr Heard had calved five heifers, reporting one loss to Schmallenberg virus from a Holstein heifer carrying a Charolais calf.
“We have got 200 still to calf in the next two to three months, but the time when our heifers were going to the bull was the time when the virus went through, so we’re very concerned,” he said.
The government still considers the disease as low impact and non-notifiable, but says it can cause serious problems for individual farmers.
A spokesman for the Animal Health and Veterinary Laboratories Agency (AHVLA) said: “Evidence indicates that the long-term impact of SBV on the UK national flock and herd is likely to be low and that the majority of animals infected by SBV in one year will develop good levels of immunity for the following year.
“However, we appreciate that in a small number of flocks and herds it can have a significant impact, depending on the number of animals without immunity at the vulnerable stage of pregnancy when infection begins.
“We advise farmers to contact their veterinary practitioner if SBV infection is suspected.”
A vaccine proposed by MSD Animal Health is under consideration for approval by the Veterinary Medicines Directorate (VMD).
Schmallenberg hits hard in the South West