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Byline: Johann Tasker A New Zealand farmer who battled an eight-year drought and mental health issues to become a top beef and sheep producer is to share his story on [...]

Based on the literature and data presented herein, antibodies derived from avian sources targeted at specific rumen bacteria affect target bacteria within at least a four-hour window post-feeding in cattle [...]

Lameness is a significant problem with gilts and sows that will lead to premature culling. Many new biological tools and non-invasive techniques are available to monitor bone health in livestock. [...]

Deworming contributes to weight loss, decreases milk production and hampers dairy replacements. Since worm infestations occur in cycles, cattle growers must take note that multiple deworming treatments are needed in breaking the cycle. Once left untreated, worm infestation can rapidly spread over a herd.

Byline: Sarah Alderton The number of flocks infected with the costly viral sheep disease maedi visna (MV) has doubled in the past 18 years, according to recent figures. Although MV [...]

Research reports show that vitamins A and E have to fed in high levels to horses so that blood concentrations of these nutrients achieve the level of horses grazed. Reports also show that high levels of niacin and biotin have no significant effects on horse performance and metabolism as with supplements containing a certain number of B vitamins. Vitamin E and A deficiencies may result in impaired neuromuscular function and low serum retinol concentrations respectively.

Trace minerals are important in boosting the immune systems of livestock and producers should take steps to assure that they are giving the required dosage. Trace minerals include zinc, cobalt, copper, iron, selenium, molybdenum, manganese and chromium. Trace mineral requirements are determined by animal growth or reproductive response and not the immune system itself.

Schmallenberg virus could reappear in 2013, warns EFRA By Philip Case Sheep and cattle farmers are being warned Schmallenberg virus could reappear in 2013, according to a new from the [...]

I am a retired clinical virologist and have a small farm in Wales with sheep and cattle, and would like to make some comments following your online interactive session on [...]

Dairy producers should be using the Orbeseal teat sealant shortage as an ideal opportunity to address dry cow management. Following the announcement by Pfizer Animal Health that the product will [...]

A guide to improving calving hygiene is now available for dairy farmers. Written by Dr Brian Pocknee of The Dairy Group, the `Sorgene Best Practice Dairy Calving Hygiene' guide focuses [...]

WHILE closed herds are ideal for good herd health, that does not mean non-closed herds cannot tackle infectious diseases, said Paul Burr of BioBest. 'If you're not a closed herd, [...]

Bovine viral diarrhoea (BVD) is one of the most damaging cattle diseases in the UK, often causing heavy financial losses without being immediately apparent. But a vet in County Durham [...]

Sheep farmers should be alert for nematodirus as dry weather followed by wet conditions could lead to a mass hatch of infectious larvae. So far, nematodirus has not been too [...]

Farmers should remain vigilant for orf this season, as a high number of flocks are reported to have underlying infection, Jeremy Hunt reports Sheep farmers who have never experienced an [...]

Richer pickings will mean more pigs and more diseases How changing farming habits threaten public health YOU can be killed by an exotic variety of diseases in India. But until [...]

FOLLOWING the publication of the first national cluster hygiene study, sponsors BASF Pest Control Solutions has used the results to produce a special advice note on making the most of [...]

THE mastitis-spreading risk of high SCC cows needs to be better appreciated, said Brian Pocknee at AgriScot. Commenting on the results from the first ever national cluster hygiene study, carried [...]

MORTALITY played a huge role in the number of heifer calves successfully reared on the farms included in the study, Dr Jessica Cooke said 14.5 per cent of heifers born [...]

A `WORRYING increase' in maedi visna infections in sheep flocks has been reported by SAC. Within the flocks using SAC's MV accreditation scheme, there were 11 breakdowns in the first [...]

Latest statistics show the number of humans affected by zoonotic infections (diseases transmitted from animals) fell across Europe between 2007 and 2008. The two most frequently reported remain campylobacteriosis (190,566 [...]

A REGIONAL pig health improvement project has been given the go-ahead and has already held its initial meeting. Eastern Health will focus on biosecurity and a veterinary sub-committee has been [...]

FARMERS buying animal health products of `dubious origin' could be putting their stock at risk, says Andrew Evans, retail director for Wynnstay. The company experienced a break-in in Cumbria earlier [...]

Although EU veterinary experts do not see any justification for the restrictions on trade in pigs imposed by many countries around the world, they are nevertheless convinced that pig farmers [...]

* Spread of infection rising * IBR, leptospirosis and BVD also rife FARMS with spring-calving herds need to be aware of the rising number of salmonella dublin cases, while dairy [...]

A SPATE of calf pneumonia outbreaks involving the pathogen mycoplasma bovis has prompted veterinary surgeon Rob Drysdale from the Sussex- based Westpoint Veterinary Group to advise rearers to take even [...]

With a complex variety of symptoms and effects, Bovine Viral Diarrhoea is a difficult disease to tackle. Here JOANNE PUGH takes an in-depth look at the related issues and how [...]

I HAVE had a real surge in herds with high cell counts recently and so have been busy dealing with these problems, writes PETER EDMONDSON. Many people don't know where [...]

SHEEP farmers across the UK are being urged to place a high priority on hygiene and safety when using feeding troughs for their flocks. This is particularly important this year [...]

SOME cattle may be prevented from entering the human food chain and become worthless in the wake of new EU-wide hygiene rules on emergency slaughter introduced from January 1, farmers [...]

Many dairy farmers could reduce the cost and inconvenience associated with clinical and sub-clinical mastitis by making small, and often low cost, changes to their hygiene management. Mastitis is still [...]

IT is likely the two pigs and piglets that have hit the news this week because they were discovered with bovine TB in Bodmin, Cornwall, became infected after drinking unpasturised [...]

NEW ideas on how to tackle the growing crisis of bovine tuberculosis was to be discussed at a specially convened NFU conference yesterday. By the end of the meeting at [...]

HERD records were the most valuable tool for managing longevity. But, all too often, the sheer volume of information prevented managers from seeing the wood for the trees. 'The information [...]

MANY livestock farmers without direct access to computer technology are currently experiencing extended delays in receiving settlement of their 2001 Extensification Premium, Suckler Cow Premium and Beef Special Premium payments. [...]

The Sierra Club has released a report highlighting what the environmental group calls hundreds of criminal and civil environmental violations in the animal farming industry. But an industry trade group [...]

Mark Lowden, marketing and sales manager for Janssen Animal Health, told Roger Abbott that his company had decided to focus on the UK pig industry because it believed producers were [...]

WITH the problems of foot-and-mouth hopefully in the past, it was time to rebuild and secure a sound base for the future, Les Preston, the new president of the Welsh [...]

By eradicating the tsetse and with it trypanosomiasis, the FAO hopes to enable rural Africans to reclaim areas of their continent and greatly increase food production. The biting tsetse fly [...]