NORTH – GRAEME MCPHERSON
It’s certainly been a testing month. The Levels are under water before cattle are housed, and the talk of the farming community has been how to get the maize crop in from submerged or water logged ground. I really hope we are in store for a winter drought.
When we face trying times like we have had this autumn – and indeed for much of 2024 – it can make one wonder if it is all worth it. However, I really believe it is! Dairy farming is a massively important industry. Dairy products are such an important part of our diets – in particular the diets of young people. It is impossible, without taking supplements, for a growing young person to consume enough calcium to meet their requirements for skeletal and dental development, from a diet that doesn’t include dairy products. Doctors have significant cause to be concerned about osteoporosis levels in future for young people who have chosen a vegan diet while they are still growing. Our job is to turn the sun’s rays into a massively important, wealth generating, necessary commodity.
EAST – MIKE KERBY
I generally have a very positive outlook but even I am beginning to tire of the challenges that confront the farming industry – Bluetongue (our Eastern area is in the restricted zone at the time of writing), the quantity of rainfall, the poor analyses of grass silages especially in Crude Protein and the legacy of disappointing energy values in pasture to name but a few.
Balancing winter rations for all classes of livestock is essential to maintain growth rates, milk yields, fertility and good birthweights so please don’t hesitate to get us involved in ration analysis and blood sampling to identify areas of shortfall – the animals will tell us what the ration is really like not the computer!
WEST – ESME MOFFETT
The last month seems to have been all about maize… and mud! I really hope you’ve managed OK with the weather challenges….
We’ve been busy with knock-down disbuds for the autumn block calving herds. Several herds have adopted this method for the first time this autumn, and it’s been great to hear their positive feedback, with all commenting on how calm and stress free dehorning has become! One comment I’ve had from several farmers is how thirsty the calves seem when they come round from the sedation; this is a recognized side-effect of the sedative drug, so making sure you provide plenty of fresh, clean water is essential.
We’re also seeing more people making use of the Animal Health and Welfare Pathway funding – it’s been mentioned a lot in our newsletter, but this is another reminder to get involved! This is government funding for your farm to utilise – it’s a great way to get some help towards investigating infectious diseases or a health issue such as lameness or mastitis. Please speak to your vet for more details.
CENTRAL – ANDRE NORTHEY
Last month’s warm days with spells of rainfall in between have led to a significant increase in flies, with many places experiencing noticeable numbers for this time of year. For livestock, particularly grazing animals, this meant the growing risk of fly associated conditions and diseases. Flystrike in sheep and alpacas and eye infections, like New Forest Eye, in young cattle suddenly occurred. Many were taken by surprise by this late wave of fly related problems, which causes serious issues. Some flystrike cases even resulted in fatalities.
This episode late in the year demonstrated very well how important “fly risk management” is for herds and flocks. Prevention and vigilance throughout the season right to its end is required!
LYMPSTONE – LORNA PILLAR
At the end of October, myself and some of the other vets from Synergy were lucky enough to be able to attend the British Cattle Veterinary Association annual congress. This is a 3-day event that consists of lots of workshops, seminars and updates on all the latest cattle research. Something which featured a lot over the conference was all the ways that AI technology is being developed to help improve health and welfare of cows on farm. The uses of AI in cattle farming now include helping with body condition scoring, mobility scoring and identifying foot lesions. More recently it is being developed to help monitor welfare and behaviour in cattle. Heat sensitive time lapse cameras can monitor a variety of things including cow lying time, time spent perching in cubicles and competition around feed faces. These can give us invaluable information about how comfortable and therefore productive our cows are.
