Livestock

Veterinarian and researcher Fiona Lovatt delivered a wake up call to the sheep industry at BSAS 2016. From a survey of over 800 UK farms who were finishing lambs and selling on average 670 lambs a year, 94% of farmers claimed to have never seen the five “iceberg” diseases, she concluded they were in denial.

For some of you it may still seem like a long time until the rams go out to the ewes but now would be a good time to look through your available rams to bring them up to working condition in time for the mating season.

With high rainfall and good grass growing conditions selecting suitable pastures for pre-calving autumn suckler cows may be challenging.

A few docks in a paddock grazing system may not seem a problem. However they can rapidly become a major problem due to the system itself.

Tackling lamb production costs using genetics to reduce labour starts with a move away from income directed traits that affect appearance.

During the last 2 years SAC diagnostic laboratories have diagnosed cases of OPA in sheep from 98 different farms – almost 1 new farm a week. The disease is present in all areas with diagnoses being made from Dumfries to Thurso.

Over the last few days I have heard people complaining about sheep having rain scald – so what is it?

The weather has turned warm and wet, which usually means sore feet in lambs. There are a number of different causes of lameness, with identification of the issue being paramount to effective treatment.

More producers are finding that leaving the calves in the field they have been in all summer and taking away their mothers does help reduce the weaning check – but still needs strong fences!