Regular, timely farm news & advice
Read on for a host of farm animal healthcare advice and industry news that’s free and updated monthly. In the articles below you’ll find seasonal and local tips, information on how to keep your animals healthy and performing well, as well as information about other aspects of farming. If you’d like us to email you whenever we update our farm news and advice, then simply….
Seasonal newsletters from Garston Farm Vets
You can also request the latest copies of our newsletter, which come out every Spring, Summer, Autumn & Winter. To receive these by email please phone the practice on 01373 451115 and let us know.
Six-monthly TB testing
Please be aware that APHA are beginning to phase in six-monthly TB testing for herds in High Risk Areas of England from July 2021. Increasing the frequency of surveillance testing in the HRA from annual to six-monthly will help detect TB-infected herds at an earlier stage. This reduces the time M. bovis can spread within […]
Body Condition Scoring (BCS) in Beef Cattle
Body condition scores are a vital part of successful fertility management on beef units. These techniques are ways of managing body condition score changes throughout the year if required: • House later if grass growth and quality has been good in the summer and a decrease in BCS is required • Wean calves later if […]
Good post-operative care on the farm
Following a recent seminar on farm animal surgery, Rich Talbot gives us some key factors to achieve a speedy recovery: Operations on farm animals are commonplace; from caesareans to enucleations (eye removal). As with any procedure, complications can arise. Good post-operative care is key to welfare and vital to ensure the animal continues it’s productive […]
Is your dairy herd protected from Leptospirosis?
Dairy herds are particularly at risk from Leptospirosis due to management factors that increase the risk of exposure, including close contact within the herd and with dairy workers, confinement during milking and in the yard, and moist conditions.
How is TB testing being affected by Coronavirus?
When COVID-19 took hold of the UK in March 2020, a range of measures and restrictions were brought in to protect the health of farmers, animals, vets, and consumers. As health advice evolved, so did measures relating to bTB testing and the movement of cattle.
Housed cattle health – five things to check
Having the cows in for winter is the perfect opportunity to give your cattle a once over, and we recommend doing this before the winter season kicks in properly.
Four poisonous plants every farmer should be able to spot
As a rule, most poisonous plants are unpalatable to livestock, however a lack of available food, dead or dying plants and the vagaries of individual animal behaviour make an awareness of the common plant poisoning cases we see in Somerset and Wiltshire a useful thing to have on your back pocket.
Getting the farm ready for winter
They say that, for people, there’s no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothing. However, making sure the farm animals around Frome have the right environment this winter will make the difference between a productive and comfortable or an un-necessarily grim few months.
World Egg Day 2020 – get our top 10 poultry management tips
Eggs are loved by billions of people, around the world it would seem! Back in June, there was National Egg Day, and on October 9th 2020, people across the globe will have been celebrating these smooth, hard, oval cases of ‘unbeatable’ nutrition.