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Know How / Livestock diseases

Expert advice on identifying and treating livestock diseases such as BVD, Johne’s disease, leptospirosis in cattle, navel ill in calves, orf in sheep, watery mouth in lambs and swine fever in pigs. See the latest thinking on controlling parasitic diseases and worms such as liver fluke and lungworm.

Advice and tips

LIVESTOCK DISEASES

What can be done to prevent bluetongue virus?

Insecticides and repellents will not prevent cattle and sheep from being infected with bluetongue virus, scientists are warning. Bluetongue virus (BTV) is an infectious, non-contagious virus spread by Culicoides biting…

DAIRY

What you need to know about Q fever in dairy herds

Dairy herds with sub-optimal fertility, unexplained abortions or weak calves are being advised to test for Q fever. Dubbed the “subtle disease”, it is now thought to be behind underlying…

HEALTH AND WELFARE

The risks of dog faeces to livestock and how to prevent them

Having five carcasses condemned for discolouration caused by cysts has cost a farm dearly and highlighted the issue of the dangers of dog muck. The costly case happened in 2021…

HEALTH AND WELFARE

Winter dysentery: Signs, treatment, prevention and control

There are many advantages to winter housing for both dairy cattle and farmers. But because animals are closer together and there is less fresh air inside, there tends to be…

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Case studies

LIVESTOCK DISEASES

Closed policy yields 1.7 lambs reared for Durham flock

A string of flock health setbacks has forced a Durham family to rely on its own breeding to maintain high output in its stratified sheep outdoor lambing system.    Several iceberg…

PARASITIC DISEASES

How goat herd uses targeted parasite treatments

A Gloucestershire goat herd is successfully managing a low parasite risk with a treatment targeted at higher risk animals. The Whitehouse family’s fully housed and zero-grazed herd of 800 British…

DAIRY

Cut in mastitis saves 460-cow herd more than £23,000

Adopting five recommendations from the AHDB mastitis control plan has saved a 460-cow herd £23,572 in one year just by reducing the amount of mastitic milk that had to be…

HEALTH AND WELFARE

Maedi visna outbreak leads to soul-destroying 4,000-ewe cull

Aberdeenshire stockman, Harry Emslie, suffered a cull of 4,000 ewes after maedi visna (MV) was discovered in his flock.  He had a soul-destroying autumn sending sheep to the local cull…

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Community

LIVESTOCK

Farmer Focus: Calving difficulties cause extra work

Calving is nearing completion on our farm, with just five cows to calve at this stage. I’m ready for a break! The problems we had with difficult calvings on heifers…

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Insights

LIVESTOCK

Q&A: All you need to know about bluetongue disease

With bluetongue disease on the increase again in mainland Europe and with midge activity expected to gather pace as the weather warms up, Farmers Weekly spoke to Defra deputy chief…

LIVESTOCK DISEASES

How local TB programmes are ‘giving farmers back control’

Local TB programmes working in collaboration with farmers, vets and Animal and Plant Healthy Agency (Apha) staff are having a positive effect in helping farmers take control of the disease.…

BOVINE TB

Is England headed for healthy cattle and TB-free future?

Bovine TB is a devastating disease affecting cattle, causing significant trauma for livestock farmers and rural communities. It is the most challenging animal health disease the UK faces, costing taxpayers…

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News

BOVINE TB

Daera study reveals bovine TB in a fifth of roadkill badgers

The latest roadkill survey figures from Northern Ireland show that about one in five badgers tested positive for bovine TB last year. In 2023, a total of 459 badgers were…

LIVESTOCK DISEASES

BSE case confirmed on farm in Scotland

A case of classical bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) has been confirmed by the Scottish government on a farm in Ayrshire, Scotland. It was identified as part of routine testing and…

LIVESTOCK DISEASES

Bluetongue vaccine for UK farmers 'unlikely' this summer

The government is liaising with vaccine manufacturers on the development of an authorised bluetongue vaccine, but one is unlikely to be available for UK farmers this season. A vaccine for…

BOVINE TB

Pembrokeshire dairy farmer loses 53 more cows to bovine TB

A Pembrokeshire dairy farmer has lost 53 more cows to bovine TB and slammed the Welsh government for its ongoing failure to tackle the disease in all areas. Steve Evans…

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Opinion

BOVINE TB

FW Opinion: Wider review of slurry role in bovine TB needed

Queen guitarist and animal rights campaigner Brian May has shared with Farmers Weekly in some detail how, working with vet Dick Sibley, he has helped a Devon dairy farm regain…

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Test and reviews

HEALTH AND WELFARE

Buyer's guide to ketone testers for dairy farmers

Simple and quick tests that measure ketone levels in dairy cows are allowing farmers to act promptly with interventions to protect milk yields and herd performance. Subclinical ketosis can’t be…

DAIRY

Buyer's guide: Teat disinfection technology

As herd sizes increase and labour sourcing continues to create challenges, more farmers are turning to automated teat disinfection technologies to ease pressure in the parlour and promote efficiencies. Although…

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Video

HEALTH AND WELFARE

Video: Farmers plunge dip a mammoth 6,300 sheep in one day

Sheep farmers and contractors have carried out a mammoth 6,300-ewe plunge dipping day as part of a new joint venture between two businesses. Neil Fell, owner of NR Fell Mobile…

LIVESTOCK DISEASES

Video: How to use orf vaccine correctly on sheep

About one in five lambs – 900,000 – are affected by the highly contagious orf virus in England’s sheep flock each year according to MSD Animal Health. Added to that…

BOVINE TB

Video: Brian May's Gatcombe Farm project gets TB-free status

A new approach to disease control on a dairy farm in Devon – taking out infective cows and minimising exposure to slurry – has seen the herd attain TB-free status…

MEDICINES

Antimicrobial resistance: How it works and why it's important

Antimicrobial resistance, and specifically antibiotics resistance, are high on the agenda for animal agriculture and veterinary medicine. Government and industry targets have been set for antibiotics reduction and antibiotics use is…

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