SRUC Veterinary Services

CALLING ALL BEEF FARMERS/DAIRY BEEF to share treatment records for survey! Colleague Carol-Anne Duthie is running a project in collaboration with Moredun to look at “Monitoring Veterinary Medicine Usage To Improve Animal Performance & Efficiency”. We would be extremely grateful if you were able to help! Survey link is below.
https://moredungroup.onlinesurveys.ac.uk/vet-medicines
National Beef Association SAC Consulting

Bluetongue has been confirmed in a sixth individual animal on a premises linked to one of the holdings within the 10km Temporary Control Zone (TCZ) near Canterbury, Canterbury, Kent.

In response to this new finding, the TCZ has been extended to minimise spread of disease. Please check the Bluetongue interactive map for details: https://defra.maps.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=514ec88edec74575958d860f0196d2ea
Livestock keepers must remain vigilant and follow the restrictions on animal movements. More information, including how to spot and report the disease is available on GOV.UK: https://www.gov.uk/bluetongue

Cattle Records - Passport Reconciliation | Helping farmers in Scotland | Farm Advisory Service Winter offers the perfect opportunity, while cattle are housed, to check ear tags and carry out a passport reconciliation. All cattle on the farm should

Bovine Viral Diarrhoea (BVD) is a cattle disease that can cost farms anywhere between £20 to £70 per cow per year.

We have launched a consultation on Phase 6 of the BVD eradication scheme.

Have your say now ➡️ https://tinyurl.com/bddb3bbm

Lothian Women in Agriculture - Sheep Feet | Events helping farmers in Scotland | Farm Advisory Service Join us for a Women in Agriculture gathering at Hill Cow Wigwams by kind permission of the Barr family, with SRUC vet Andrew Robinson to look at and talk about sheep feet.

Our colleague and vet Caroline Robinson, will be taking part in a webinar looking at poultry health 6th December 7pm. Details are below!

Healthy Poultry Webinar | Events helping farmers in Scotland | Farm Advisory Service Join us and Caroline Robinson of SRUC, where we will discuss poultry health for small scale flocks, including common diseases, signs of healthy birds

Colleague Julian Bell will be taking part in a webinar this evening covering the differences between the different FARM CARBON ASSESSMENT TOOLS available to farmers in the UK. Join the speakers from the 4 calculators at The Royal Agricultural Society of England webinar for a deep dive into the tools.
Sign up here ➡️ https://hubs.ly/Q029qGlq0 SAC Consulting SAC Consulting England

The latest edition of the Farm Management Handbook is out now!

Fertiliser prices are currently at a two-year low. Is now the time to buy for 2024? Use the Farm Management Handbook to help you make the right choices.

Buy your copy today: www.sruc.ac.uk/fmh

Be vigilant for the signs of bluetongue virus! This is especially important on the south and east coasts of England where there is a risk of infected midges being carried on the wind from Europe.

Bluetongue virus can affect sheep, cattle, other ruminants such as deer and goats, and camelids such as llamas.

Sheep are more likely to show obvious clinical signs of the virus than cattle. The signs to look out for are slightly different amongst species. Learn the signs to spot here:

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/bluetongue?fbclid=IwAR0dAHxGUI9v4Vc02dNq0Cjrly2pwaAza4akR_YOnMrdKkYEhVRaqMRCXi0 -to-spot-bluetongue

We’re proud to share the news that this evening, at a formal ceremony at St. James’s Palace, SRUC was announced as the winner of a Queen’s Anniversary Prize.

This award is the highest possible national recognition for an education institution. SRUC has earned it thanks to the tireless work of our world-class Veterinary Services team.

Read the full story here: https://bit.ly/3R32rTl

SECOND meeting in LANARK for opportunity to hear more about the changes in HEIFER REARING PRACTICES at SRUCs CRICHTON ROYAL FARM! Come along to the RADSTONE HOTEL on the 29th November to hear from our farm’s team and support staff about the challenges of improving heifer performance while trying to keep costs down. Topics and speakers are:
'Heifer growth performance' - SVEN KOOPS, Dairy Farms Manager, SRUC
'Managing health challenges in the pre-weaned calf' - COLIN MASON, Veterinary Centre Manager, SRUC
'Accelerated milk feeding programmes for calves' - LORNA MACPHERSON, Dairy Consultant, SAC Consulting
To book your place please contact the SAC Consulting Lanark office on 01555 662562 or email: [email protected] SRUC Farms

Interested in hearing more about the changes in heifer rearing practices at SRUC’s Crichton Royal Farm? Come along on the 28th November to hear from our farm’s team and support staff about the challenges of improving heifer performance while trying to keep costs down. For more information and to register for the meeting please visit: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/heifer-rearing-maximising-potential-and-minimising-costs-tickets-749873571037

In order to provide a single place that BVD status of an English animal or herd can be looked up, CHECS and BVDFree are working together by seeking permission from farmers to enable their CHECS BVD status to the BVDFree England database

More info: https://www.sruc.ac.uk/health-scheme-members-blog/bvdfree-database/

BVDFree Database Currently in England, there is no one place where you can look up the BVD status of an animal or herd. In order to try and rectify this, CHECS and BVDFree England are working together by seeking permission from farmers who are CHECS accredited for BVD in England to enable their CHECS health scheme t...

Our SAC Consulting colleagues will be at AgriScot on 22nd November

Are you joining us at AgriScot on 22 November?

Our popular beef demonstration will be returning, focusing on maximising the value in our finishing cattle and we will also be challenging farmers to consider if they are producing the right cattle for the right markets with helpful insights from one of our guest speakers, Louise Forsyth (The Butchers Wife) when selecting prime cattle.

The interactive audience participation demonstration, will be led by Gavin Hill, Senior Beef Specialist at SAC Consulting (part of SRUC) along with Robert Gilchrist, Chief Executive of the Aberdeen Angus Society.

See you at AgriScot 🙂 The interactive demo will take place in the main ring at 11:30

Click here to find out more -https://agriscot.co.uk/beefdemo-2/

AgriScot SRUC SRUC Oatridge Campus Aberdeen-Angus Cattle Society

Quick reminder about PEN SALE CARDS for SRUCs Premium Cattle Health Scheme members:

We appreciate how hard our members work to produce quality high health status stock. Here are three key points to remember before the sales!

1. Please check with your BREED SOCIETY to ensure you are undertaking the correct testing or vaccination requirements for your sale.

2. Please send us applications in plenty of time and COMPLETE THE PEN SALE CARD FORM IN FULL to avoid delays!

3. Please allow plenty of time for us to process the PEN SALE CARDS and plan ahead!

Note: if your pen card application is received within one week of the sale date we cannot guarantee that there will be enough time for card production.

We appreciate that a number of sales have already taken place but we wanted to post this reminder. PEN SALE CARD APPLICATIONS are available here in 'Member Resources' section www.cattlehealth.co.uk Please spread the word! British Charolais Cattle Society British Limousin Cattle Society Aberdeen-Angus Cattle Society Devon Red Ruby Cattle Breeders Hereford Cattle Society UK Stabiliser Cattle CompanyDevon Cattle Breeders' Society South Devon Cattle Wessex Region Highland Cattle Society British Simmental Cattle Society British Blondes British Blue Cattle Society Beef Shorthorn Cattle Society UK

Bluetongue virus 3 (BTV-3) was found in the Netherlands in September 2023 and has now also been found in Belgium and Germany. Trade in live sheep and cattle from these countries to Great Britain (GB) is now not possible.

There is a risk BTV-3 could reach southern and eastern counties of England via infected midges carried on the wind.

A new strain of bluetongue virus 8 (BTV-8) serotype that causes more severe clinical signs in cattle and sheep is also circulating in France. Cattle, sheep, and other susceptible species cannot be moved from France to GB without being vaccinated for BTV-8 as well as BTV-4, which is another serotype circulating in France.

Protect your herds and flocks from bluetongue virus by:

- Speaking to your vet about the benefit of vaccination options.

- Sourcing livestock responsibly – when purchasing animals from countries where there is a BTV risk, ensure they have the correct paperwork to show they have been vaccinated.

- Consider requesting a pre-export test from the seller when purchasing animals from countries where there is a risk.

Learn how to spot the signs: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/bluetongue

Bluetongue virus 3 (BTV-3) was found in the Netherlands in September 2023 and has now also been found in Belgium and Germany. Trade in live sheep and cattle from these countries is now not possible.

There is a risk BTV-3 could reach Scotland via infected midges carried on the wind.

A new strain of bluetongue virus 8 (BTV-8) serotype that causes more severe clinical signs in cattle and sheep is also circulating in France.

Cattle, sheep, and other susceptible species cannot be moved from France without being vaccinated for BTV-8 as well as BTV-4.

Protect your herds and flocks from bluetongue virus ➡️ https://tinyurl.com/rny2zbt6

Do you have aspiring vets in your family? There are still spaces available for the BVSci Open Day in Aberdeen on Saturday November 11th. Come along and find out more about Scotland's newest Vet School and how you can become an RCVS registered veterinary surgeon. In an effort to attract and retain rural vets, the selection process will be a little different! Click on the link below.

Aberdeen BVSci Veterinary Science Open Day Morning Session November 11 2023 Join us for an in-person open day to learn all about our BVSci Veterinary Science programme and tour our campus and facilities. Please note, to prevent overcrowding in our Animal Care and Veterinary facilities, bookings are limited to 1 additional guest (a maximum of 2 alt...

Cattle Mineral Supplementation | Helping farmers in Scotland | Farm Advisory Service Throughout the year and production cycle, the cow goes through different phases with varying nutritional requirements depending on her stage of

Sheep Scab | Moredun Sheep scab, or psoroptic mange, is a form of allergic dermatitis caused by infestation of the skin surface with the scab mite Psoroptes ovis. It is considered to be the most contagious endemic ectoparasite diseases affecting sheep in the UK.

Healthy Poultry Webinar | Events helping farmers in Scotland | Farm Advisory Service Join us and Caroline Robinson of SRUC, where we will discuss poultry health for small scale flocks, including common diseases, signs of healthy birds

Grace's top tip for highlights how vital a biosecurity and quarantine plan is in protecting flock health and is an important part of health status alongside testing for our members in SRUC Premium Sheep and Goat Health Schemes (PSGHS) with SAC Consulting SRUC Farms

Grace's top tip is to remain vigilant when introducing new stock to your flock!🐑🤧

Sustainable Beef Systems - Health Planning Webinar | Events helping farmers in Scotland | Farm Advisory Service Health planning provides a great opportunity for farmers to work alongside their vet to identify health problems in their herd. With support now available

Thank you National Sheep Association for organising a successful yesterday. There were some powerful take home messages re: flock health including close collaboration with the vet, diagnostics and screening alongside bio-security and quarantine. A useful overview of the four-nation approach to animal welfare included a talk from Jenny Purcell (pictured). Great to welcome PSGHS members at different stages of their health status journey onto our stand. Visitors included Jonathan & Brian North of England Mule Sheep Association & Will Roobottom, Cowley Hill Farm.

SAC Consulting England SAC Consulting SRUC

Great to be part of with National Sheep Association

To learn more about Fiona's top tips using the five-point-plan you can listen to her podcast https://tinyurl.com/3tja4ysc
SAC Consulting SAC Consulting England SRUC

Fiona’s top tip is to tailor the five-point-plan to control and reduce lameness in your flock – improving production and increasing profit🐑🦶

SRUC Veterinary Services

Sheep are the only source of lanolin - grease that comes from wool before it has been washed🐑

Lanolin is often used in cosmetics like moisturiser and lip balm💄


British Wool Farm
The Campaign for Wool

A good session before lunch explaining about the four nation approach to animal health and welfare.
National Sheep Association

We will have a stand at the NSA Sheep Farmer's Conference tomorrow at the National Conference Centre in Birmingham - visit us for any health scheme related enquiries

More info: https://nationalsheep.org.uk/events/conference/

National Sheep Association

***SCOPS post***

The first in a series of SCOPS podcasts is now available offering yet another tool to the UK sheep industry on this essential topic🐑📲

The first episode discusses the SCOPS Principles and what they mean in reality on farm.

https://www.scops.org.uk/podcasts-resources/podcasts/

Huge congratulations to SRUC student Naomi Ramsay, who was named Agricultural Student of the Year at the British Farming Awards last night! https://bit.ly/46VmZCm

It's the second year in a row this award has gone to an SRUC student, after Rhona Campbell Crawford’s win last year, and the second year it has gone to a student from a non-farming background.

It rounds out a memorable year for Naomi, who won the Higher Education HND category, as well as a CARAS award, at Lantra Scotland’s Awards for Land-based and Aquaculture Skills (ALBAS) in March.

Naomi, from East Lothian, is studying for a BSc in Agriculture at SRUC Edinburgh Campus, having previously completed an HND at SRUC Oatridge Campus. She also works as an intern at SAC Consulting.

Eddie Eastham, NSA UK P&T Committee Chair says he’s proud of the high health and animal welfare standards in the UK🐑🇬🇧

These standards aid reputation, profitability and provide a nutritious and consistent product.

Introduction to Small Scale Poultry | Events helping farmers in Scotland | Farm Advisory Service Join us and Caroline Robinson of SRUC, for an introduction into small scale poultry keeping

SRUC Vets Caroline Robinson and Pernille Jorgensen supported a successful Smallholder Festival which took place last Saturday and attracted around 1500 visitors. SRUC was one of the festival sponsors.

Our vets were on hand to advise smallholders about livestock health, welfare, and the importance of maintaining good biosecurity. Working alongside colleagues in SAC Consulting and Scotland's Farm Advisory Service - FAS, Caroline and Pernille were busy giving talks, demonstrations and explaining about the Premium Cattle Health Schemes, Sheep and Goat Health Schemes and pig health.