IN BRIEF
Britain being left behind in herd health standards
BRITAIN is trailing much of the rest of the world in animal health and the eradication of diseases other than BSE, according to Sam Noble, who has the noted Deehaven herd of Holstein Friesians in Cheshire and is spearheading a national programme on dairy cattle health.
BSE has absorbed government resources and eradication of other cattle diseases has ceased. "Progress in cattle health matters, other than BSE, has been conspicuous by its absence," Mr Noble told a conference in Perth organised by SAC.
"Northern European and Scandinavian countries are leaving us far behind when it comes to health aspirations for their national herds," he said.
"There are well advanced BVD programmes in Denmark, Sweden, and Norway, all more than 63% free. There are also schemes in Germany, which is 45% free, Holland – currently 30% free – and there are also eradication schemes in France, Finland, parts of Italy, and even Slovenia."
Denmark is IBR free and eradication programmes are flourishing in Sweden and Norway. Many other countries are well along the route to eradication and Holland, where 40% of herds are infected, aims to have the incidence down to 5% by 2003 when compulsory culling will be introduced.
"Four diseases – IBR, Leptospirosis, BVD and Johnes – have been clearly identified by vets worldwide as being a detriment to every cow and bull, to say nothing of zoonoses. There is no debate. It is a fact that farmers must improve the health of their herds or be left behind," said Mr Noble, who had the first herd declared free of all four diseases.
"It is the sole responsibility of the farmer to increase his knowledge of his herds health. The major line of defence is no longer our shores but the boundary of each farm."
British animals are moved around to shows and sales more than anywhere in Europe, courting unnecessary risk, he said, adding that he had stopped showing.
Mr Noble has established what he calls the Deehaven Initiative to bring together the various cattle health schemes to agree common standards of on-farm and laboratory testing. He wants the British Cattle Movement Service to establish a disease status database and a statutory obligation placed on auction marts to declare the health status of all animals passing through their premises.
He suggested a farmer levy of £4-£5 a cow to fund an eradication programme and a national awareness campaign to explain to producers that it is their responsibility to rid their herds of disease. *
• Britain left behind.
• Disease status database?
• £4-5 levy for eradication?
UKfarmers must improve herd health or be left behind, says Sam Noble.
Linseed viable forage option?
WHOLE-CROP linseed could prove a viable option for beef producers seeking alternative forages.
Last years late, wet harvest prompted Aberdeenshire farmer Tom McWilliam to whole-crop 36ha (90 acres) of linseed in big bales for feeding to beef cattle. He is so pleased with the results that he is repeating the exercise this year.
"It has been a great success. The suckler cows love it and prefer it to grass silage," says Mr McWilliam, who farms near Huntly. "We got five bales to the acre and it saved all the trouble of waiting for the undersown crop to ripen. That would not have been until late October and might well have proved impossible in the wet season," he says.
The crop was cut with a mower conditioner and then baled and wrapped. The only change Mr McWilliam plans this year is to give each bale an extra wrap of polythene to prevent the stemmy material puncturing the plastic.
However, he reckons this will be the last year of linseed on his farm because of area aid payments, currently £412/ha (£167/acre), coming down to cereal levels from next year.
Jim Calder, SAC adviser in Aberdeen, says the linseed big bale silage has an analysis of around 10 for both ME and protein. "There are some worries it might produce cyanide in the rumen but there have been no feeding problems on Mr McWilliams farm," he says.
Mr McWilliam is no stranger to alternative crops. He grows 46ha (115 acres) of flax as a break crop. "It is grown on contract for the fibre industry and I receive £210 an acre for it," he says. *
Whole-crop linseed has performed well, says Tom McWilliam. But new CAP reforms and subsidy cuts mean this is its last year.
Improve health, improve output
THE reasons for improving cattle health are quite simple and clear cut, according to George Caldow who manages SACs health scheme.
"Disease reduces output, is a barrier to trade, and poses human dangers through food quality and zoonoses," he told an SAC cattle health conference in Perth.
Cattle producers are moving to larger, closed herds, putting more pressure on managers and demanding a changing role for vets. "They will have to move from fire brigade work to disease prevention and eradication. A structured health programme will be needed," said Mr Caldow.
A major threat to future profitability of pedigree herds would be the inability to export because diseases such as IBR had not been eradicated.
"Scandinavia and countries such as Switzerland and Holland already have a barrier against cattle from non IBR-free countries. I regard that as a prudent health strategy," he said.
Problems such as scour and pneumonia in calves and mastitis in dairy cows were things that producers could counter with good management and preventative medicine.
"But single agent diseases like BVD and IBR demand a clean herd approach. Stop infected cattle coming in, identify whether there is a problem, remove the offending animals, and get to clean herd status," said Mr Caldow.
He highlighted BVD as the major problem, not only because of direct losses from infertility and abortion, but those caused by diseases effect on the immune system, lowering resistance to all manner of ailments, especially pneumonia. *
IN BRIEF
uAN SAC trial this spring will test a new electronic bolus as a suitable means of identifying cattle. The eventual cost is seen as no higher than electronic tags and the advantage is that there is no danger of the bolus being lost, especially for replacement heifers likely to be in a herd for a number of years.
uTHE Milk Development Council is producing a bulletin to help producers cope with CAP reform. As well as clarifying Agenda 2000s main points, it will consider cost reduction strategies, aiming to cut 3p/litre off costs. The factsheet, free to dairy producers, can be ordered from the MDC publications unit (01952 291950). *