Farmer tells of youngstock mortality rate at zero following BVD control programme
Frimley, 21 November 2011 – Fife farmer Bob Mitchell has made a strong case for Scotland’s Bovine Viral Diarrhoea (BVD) eradication programme when he described how youngstock deaths on his farm dropped from 14% to zero in a year after implementing a control programme.
Speaking at a seminar at the AgriScot event in Edinburgh, Mr Mitchell said he began the programme in October 2010 after BVD control became a choice in the Single Farm Payment Land Management Option (LMO). He began working with Dr Paul Burr of Hi Health Herdcare cattle health scheme and Tay Valley Vets.
The LMO is part of the Scottish Government’s plan to eradicate BVD, which starts the compulsory testing phase at the beginning of December 2011. All breeding herds must have declared their BVD status by December 2012.
Also speaking at the seminar, which was sponsored by Novartis Animal Health, were Dr Burr, Gordon Struth from the Scottish Government and Saul Harvey, a vet with Novartis Animal Health who explained the role of vaccination in BVD eradication.
Mr Mitchell said: “We have kept computer records of youngstock mortality over five years and it has been between 12% and 14%. We have had 145 calves born this year since 9th January, and we have not lost one. I’m not saying yet that the conception rates or health of the cows has improved noticeably, but if we keep rearing calves as healthy as they currently are, it must improve the adult portion of the herd.”
The strategy used at Mr Mitchell’s farm involved identifying the persistently infected (PI) animals and culling them from the herd, and then beginning a Bovidec vaccination programme.
Dr Burr, who is Managing Director of veterinary virology diagnosis company Biobest, worked with Mr Mitchell to implement his BVD control programme.
“To beat this disease will require teamwork between vets and farmers and taking advantage of the expertise available in a CHeCS (Cattle Health Certification Standards) registered cattle health scheme will prove a cost effective solution to BVD for most farms,” he said.
“The first stage is to confirm whether you have BVD active in your herd, and to what degree. With a dairy herd this would start with a bulk milk antibody test, or the testing of five young animals per management group for antibodies.
“The art is in creating the best test strategy and control plan for each farm to maximize benefit and minimize costs taking into account the current disease status and conditions on the farm. Testing all the animals without knowing whether there was a problem in the first place makes little sense,” he said.
Novartis Animal Health vet Mr Harvey said BVD had the effect of weakening animals and opened the door to other disease such as scouring and pneumonia.
“Farmers in Scotland will need to get in touch with their health advisers and vets. The first step is to establish the status of the herd. You then have to decide what you are going to do if you do find BVD in the herd, and this may involve a combination of removing PI stock, vaccination and biosecurity,” he said.
Eugene Smyth, Brand Manager at Novartis Animal Health, said a programme was also about to get underway in the Republic of Ireland.
“We will have to see what the effects of these programme are, but in Mr Mitchell’s case these are already tangible, not just in the survival rates of his animals but also in their general health and wellbeing. We can look forward to similar schemes bringing in equally beneficial results in the rest of the UK and the Republic of Ireland,” he said.
For further information
Eugene Smyth
Brand Manager
+353 (0) 86 2549684
Henry Creagh
Kendalls
+44 (0)1394 610022
henry.creagh@kendallscom.co.uk
For Novartis multimedia content, please visit www.thenewsmarket.com/Novartis
For questions about the site or required registration, please contact: journalisthelp@thenewsmarket.com
About Novartis Animal Health
Novartis Animal Health researches, develops and commercialises leading animal treatments that meet the needs of pet owners, farmers and veterinarians. Headquartered in Basel, Switzerland and present in nearly 40 countries, Novartis Animal Health employs approximately 2,700 people worldwide. For more information, please visit www.ah.novartis.com
About Novartis
Novartis provides healthcare solutions that address the evolving needs of patients and societies. Focused solely on healthcare, Novartis offers a diversified portfolio to best meet these needs: innovative medicines, eye care, cost-saving generic pharmaceuticals, consumer health products, preventive vaccines and diagnostic tools. Novartis is the only company with leading positions in these areas. In 2010, the Group’s continuing operations achieved net sales of USD 50.6 billion, while approximately USD 9.1 billion (USD 8.1 billion excluding impairment and amortization charges) was invested in R&D throughout the Group. Headquartered in Basel, Switzerland, Novartis Group companies employ approximately 121,000 full-time-equivalent associates and operate in more than 140 countries around the world. For more information, please visit http://www.novartis.com.
Novartis is on Twitter. Sign up to follow @Novartis at http://twitter.com/novartis.
Tags: