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Know How / Health and welfare

Animal health is critical to all producers of dairy and beef cattle, sheep and pigs. Get advice on dealing with livestock diseases such as, bovine TB and mastitis, and conditions such as heat stress, lameness and ewe prolapse. See best practice on vaccination, medicines and reducing antibiotics.

Case studies

LIVESTOCK DISEASES

How Johne’s management cut disease to less than 2% of herd

Consistent efforts to prevent Johne’s disease in a high-yielding Wiltshire dairy herd have resulted in cases falling from a high of 25% (cows identified as Johne’s positive or high risk)…

HEALTH AND WELFARE

How targeted mastitis treatment drove down vet and med costs

A concerted effort to tackle high incidences of clinical mastitis and repeat cases in high-yielding cows is helping a 200-cow Lancashire dairy farm save on vet fees and reduce milk…

DAIRY

How cow-controlled climate ventilation can reduce lameness

A combination of positive pressure tubes, side curtains and cooling has helped cows to cope better with heat stress, maintain yields and improve foot health at Graig Olway, in Monmouthshire.…

BOVINE TB

How one dairy farmer is getting a grip on bovine TB

A Pembrokeshire dairy farmer who decided a fresh approach was needed to manage bovine TB in his herd has seen promising results by working more closely with his vet and…

BEEF

How beef-specific foot health focus cut herd’s lameness risk

An on-farm review has enabled beef farmers Jonathan and Delyth Crimes to prioritise areas that will benefit foot health, resulting in easier day-to-day management and a 90% reduction in antibiotics…

LIVESTOCK

FW Awards: The 2025 Livestock Adviser of the Year finalists

Switching dairy breeds, rapid herd expansion and a laser-like focus on training are three key focus areas for this year’s finalists. See also: FW Awards 2025: Meet the finalists Finalists Andrew…

Practical advice

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FOOT HEALTH

Sole ulcers in dairy: Risk factors and how to reduce them

Sole ulcers persist as one of the major causes of lameness in dairy cattle in the UK. For both animal welfare and economic reasons, minimising the incidence of these cases…

HEALTH AND WELFARE

How smiley faces can be used to share cow milking status

Simple, visual alerts still have their place in the milking parlour, even in the era of smart cow technology. A sequence of three dots followed by a line on the…

HEALTH AND WELFARE

Advice on drying off high-yielding cows

With cows now reaching lactation yields of 13,000 litres-plus as standard, it is common for them to still be giving 40 litres (or more) at drying off. This risks discomfort…

HEALTH AND WELFARE

Fire risk planning - what to consider on a livestock farm

Climate change is driving livestock farmers to consider farm resilience and feed security. But it should also make them think about the increasing challenge from wildfires and the risk to…

YOUNGSTOCK MANAGEMENT

7 ways small changes in calf rearing can bring big gains

As a vet working with dairy and beef farms, one of the most common questions I am asked is: “Do we need to make a big change to improve our…

PIGS

Advice on supporting the piglet microbiome

From probiotics to antioxidants and yeast-based solutions, there has been a rapid increase in products coming to market that are claimed to enhance piglet gut health. These products are intended…

Insights

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.…

LIVESTOCK DISEASES

Why pneumonia is hitting more young grazing suckled calves

Vets are urging farmers to put in place mitigation strategies to curtail a surprising increase in respiratory disease linked to immunosuppression in young, suckled, grazing calves. The rise in cases…

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…

LIVESTOCK DISEASES

Low vaccination rate leaves livestock exposed to bluetongue

With bluetongue disease knocking on the door, and with less than 3% of the nation’s ruminant livestock vaccinated, government and private vets are urging a much more rapid uptake of…

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…

BROILERS

Benefits of increasing water oxygen content for broilers

Technology to intensify water’s dissolved oxygen content has been shown to reduce mortality and improve performance in broiler systems. A Ross 308 broiler trial, which involved 840 birds, showed 37.3%…

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…

SHEEP

Sheep vaccination protocols prove their worth in farm trial

A structured approach to preventative vaccination in sheep has driven significant improvements in flock health, antibiotics use and cost efficiency – cutting lameness levels by 66%, among other benefits. This…

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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