Sponsored by
DERWENT VALE FARM VETS
We know how highly dairy farmers value their cows’ health and welfare. Alongside herd health planning, Derwent Vale Farm Vets tailor a range of services to individual farms’ needs, supporting every dairy cow to fulfil their potential.
MilkSure
MilkSure courses promote higher standards of health and welfare through improved medicine use. Farms become accredited by training with a MilkSure registered vet; a small in-house discussion group followed by a farm visit and short online exam. Any person responsible for administering medicines can take the course which meets the updated Red Tractor requirements regarding responsible use of medicines.
MastDecide Testing
We are actively involved in reducing antibiotic usage across all farms, conducting annual antibiotic collations and Red Tractor reviews. We support the use of ‘MastDecide’, a cow-side mastitis test, to identify if antibiotics are warranted in mastitis cases. This promotes responsible use of antibiotics, reduces the risk of antibiotic resistance, minimises milk withdrawals and returns milk to the tank quicker.
Arla 360
Dairy farms on Arla 360 contracts are held accountable to the highest standards focusing on animal welfare, the environment, and the future of dairying. By partnering with retailers, Arla 360 dairy farmers are helped to deliver these standards and develop the sustainability of dairy farming. Members of Arla 360 undertake additional audits, quarterly mobility scoring and all records are assessed monthly, prioritising health and welfare. We work with several Arla 360 farms advising on these additional contractual requirements.
Mobility Scoring
The Register of Mobility Scorers (RoMS) standardises mobility scoring. Following the RoMS professional standards our scorers provide regular mobility scoring to meet supplier requirements and help improve the mobility of the UK dairy herd.
Johne’s Club
Dairy contracts require annual certification declaring a pro-active approach against Johne’s disease, a chronic intestinal infection of cattle. Johne’s club members receive annual on-farm risk-assessments, guidance through testing regimens and interpretation of results. Following testing our BCVA Accredited Johne’s Advisors highlight individual high-risk animals, assign a control strategy, and produce a disease management plan tailored to each farm.
Calf Club
Rearing a productive replacement heifer starts with calf health. Our calf club benchmarks key aspects of youngstock rearing. Members receive quarterly visits to identify areas where production efficiency can be improved, and costs reduced. Each visit is based around a core theme with follow up farmer discussion groups. This year’s themes include growth rates, ensuring successful transfer of immunity, calf nutrition and housing.
Rumen health visits
Transition into lactation dramatically changes a cow’s nutritional requirements. Rumen health visits assess this risk period, evaluating everything from forage analysis to ration formulation and delivery. Body condition, faecal and rumen fill scoring, rumen fluid and blood sampling analysis are also used to identify how successfully cows are utilising their ration.
To discuss any queries with one of our vets or to book onto a meeting please phone the practice or drop us an email.
Coming Up: MilkSure Training 14th June 2022 Calf Club Meeting 12th May 2022
Find out more at the website: www.derwentvalefarmvets.co.uk
Contact us on: info@derwentvalefarmvets.co.uk
24hr Phone Number: 01751 469303
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