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Know How / Dairy / Health and welfare

Good health and welfare is an essential feature of dairy herd management. Read up-to-date information on major welfare issues and diseases affecting dairy animals including infectious disease such as bovine TB and BVD, respiratory disease, mastitis, lameness and keep up to date with the latest welfare requirements.

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Case studies

DAIRY

How spate of returns to service led to Q fever diagnosis

Striving for high health status together with efficient production from a block-calving, grazing system hit a snag in 2023 for Dorset dairy farmer Nick Tuke. A portion of cows in…

HOUSING AND HANDLING

How two farmers improved handling facilities for TB testing

TB testing can be one of the most demanding and dangerous jobs on a cattle farm, particularly in high-risk areas where frequent testing is required. Well-designed handling facilities can transform…

DAIRY

Why cutting dairy carbon footprint starts in the calf shed

For one south-west dairy, cutting carbon is about producing milk more efficiently, starting with the next generation of cows. Two Pools Farm, near Bristol, is one of 50 dairy farms…

YOUNGSTOCK MANAGEMENT

Benefits of smart ear tag calf data for targeted treatment

Smart ear tags for calves can pick up signs of pneumonia at least 24 hours before they are obvious to humans. But the advantage of this earlier disease detection will…

DAIRY

How smart ear tags are improving calf health and saving time

Smart ear tags are saving a Kelso dairy about two hours a day manually checking every calf. The technology is allowing the team at KSH Farms to focus on the…

DAIRY

How teamwork got dairy herd’s mastitis spike under control

When mastitis rates unexpectedly surged in Steve and Emma Furnival’s spring-calving herd, it put pressure on every part of their business — from cow health and profitability to team morale.…

Practical advice

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BLUETONGUE

Fertility checks urged amid bluetongue infection fallout

Farmers are advised to scan all cows this autumn to establish what’s in-calf and which animals are empty following bluetongue infection this summer. There is a potentially “scary” spring calving…

DAIRY

Ways housed herds can plan for the next heatwave

Mitigating heat stress needs to be a key element of a farm’s management strategy for cows housed in summer. But taking inspiration from hot climates and simply investing in an…

DAIRY

Tips to minimise fetch cows in a free-access robot system

Dairy farmers who have settled their cows into free-access automated milking need to regularly monitor their list of fetch cows. It’s important to take care that being escorted to milking…

LIVESTOCK

Advice on reducing the risk of dry-period mastitis

The first few weeks of lactation are one of the most valuable times to collect mastitis data, yet it’s easy for data recording to slip down the priority list. Mastitis…

BLUETONGUE

Farmers told 'not too late' to vaccinate against bluetongue

Dairy farmers are being urged to vaccinate against BTV-3 if they haven’t already, with vets warning midges are still active and the disease will overwinter. “Everybody in England should consider…

HEALTH AND WELFARE

What worked on dairy units to combat this year’s heatwaves?

“Soakers”, space, diet and shade have been effective tactics in reducing heat stress in dairy cows this year – Britain’s hottest on record, with five official heatwaves logged since May.…

Insights

LIVESTOCK

Why ultrasound scanner is one vet’s favourite bit of kit

If I had to choose one piece of kit I wouldn’t want to be without as a vet, would it be the traditional yet still indispensable stethoscope or thermometer? Or…

HEALTH AND WELFARE

How fore-milking can increase mastitis detection by 146%

Research conducted on Irish dairy farms showed fore-stripping increased clinical mastitis detection by up to 146%. The finding led PhD student Rachael Millar to conclude that clinical mastitis may be…

DAIRY

Heat-stress strategies for grazing cows tested in NZ herds

Finding ways to mitigate heat stress for cows at grass each summer is posing an increasing challenge as spells of high temperatures become commonplace. But next year, there will be…

ASSESSING PERFORMANCE

How even tiny losses in body condition impact dairy fertility

Small changes in body condition score – invisible to the human eye – can have a detrimental impact on fertility in the next lactation, a commercial study has shown. See…

DAIRY

GB Calf Strategy to focus on unweaned dairy beef calf welfare

Dairy beef is no longer seen as a by-product of the milk industry, but a suitable co-product to replace beef imports, as a result of the GB Calf Strategy’s work.…

HEALTH AND WELFARE

Why planting more trees could protect milk yields

New data show the impact on dairy cows of heat stress induced by an absence of shade during hot weather. It resulted in a milk yield loss of 117.3kg a…

MEDICINES

Why don’t more farmers use pain relief for sick calves?

Concern over managing the use of antimicrobials on-farm and a lack of understanding around the effectiveness of non-steroidal anti-inflammatories (NSAIDs) are preventing use of these drugs as standard in treating…

HEALTH AND WELFARE

How herd's mastitis rate dropped 37% after water treatment

Improving water hygiene on a 260-cow herd led to a 37% drop in the mastitis rate. Bulk tank cell count and Bactoscan numbers also fell below thresholds that trigger financial…

HEALTH AND WELFARE

Dairy winter housing upgrade helps cut new infection rates

Taking time to evaluate low mastitis rates but high spring cell counts in their 250-cow spring-calving herd prompted Emmie Bland and her husband Johnny to reconsider winter housing arrangements. The…

YOUNGSTOCK MANAGEMENT

Benefits of lung scanning for respiratory disease in calves

A study involving eight commercial dairy farms has flagged up the value of scanning calf lungs for respiratory disease damage. Some two-thirds of the animals found with lesions had never…

DAIRY

Lungworm vaccine cuts wormer use by nearly 90%, study shows

Vaccinating youngstock for lungworm has resulted in an 87% reduction in the use of macrocyclic lactone wormers among dairy farmers who took part in a Welsh study. The trial was…

HEALTH AND WELFARE

How data analysis helped dairy herds cut mastitis cases

A project involving multiple dairy farms across Wales has demonstrated why collecting data to establish the mastitis “red flags” specific to an individual herd can be key to reducing disease…

Online resources

Nadis livestock disease A-Z - Cattle

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Nadis livestock disease A-Z - Sheep

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Nadis livestock disease A-Z - Pigs

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Nadis livestock disease A-Z - Poultry

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