Livestock

With livestock attacks once again in the news, it is important for farmers to know where they stand legally and the measures which they can take to protect their flocks.

As you read this we will have closed the door on another year. As we sit back and reflect on 2022, it is clear it was a year where once again the rollercoaster that was the weather played a significant and challenging role across all agricultural sectors.

Dairy analyst, Chris Walkland, arrived on stage at this year’s Semex International Dairy Conference dressed as an undertaker to mourn the demise of high milk prices.

With Q fever having recently become reportable, we take a look at how the disease should be investigated if you have infertility issues in your herd.

It takes years to breed, test and register new maize varieties which give UK growers the highest level of performance. Debbie James finds out more from the experts leading the maize breeding and trial work at farmer-owned co-operative Limagrain.

In a bid to move away from imported soya, farmers are looking for alternatives and, for some farms, lupins could be an option. Wendy Short reports on a farm where lupins have been grown since 2014.

A 23-YEAR-OLD MAN from Northamptonshire has been convicted of theft after he stole a sheep, shot it dead and fed it to a pack of hounds.

Well that’s another year done, with the highlights being a record-breaking milk price and plenty of dry hot weather. The lowlights being huge cost inflation and the drought.

With the only licensed oral spectinomycin for watery mouth in new-born lambs now withdrawn from the market, vet Gina Barnhurst, Cross Counties Farm Vets, offers advice as to how to avoid the problem.