Livestock

All poultry and captive birds in England are being ordered to be kept indoors in a bid to stem the avian flu epidemic.

Considered the most prevalent infectious disease among UK dairy herds, digital dermatitis, if left untreated, can have detrimental consequences on animal performance and overall health.

Claire Eastham farms with her husband Martyn in Dorset, where they milk 120-spring calving cows. After gaining knowledge and experience working for other businesses, the couple started their own dairy farming journey in 2015 by taking on a share farming agreement before progressing to their current county council farm.

The Scottish Government is being urged to do more to control feral pigs, as fears of an African Swine Fever (ASF) outbreak grow.

Family faming business Pipers Farm was recently announced as an Observer Food Monthly award winner, an accolade testament to its deep-rooted sustainability values that have not changed since it was founded more than 30 years ago. Hannah Park finds out more.

Fraser Jones milks 1,500 Holstein Friesians across two sites near Welshpool. As a Disease? Not On My Farm! ambassador, he works closely with his vet Oli Hodgkinson, of Trefaldwyn Vets, to prioritise animal health and welfare. Here he provides a farmer’s perspective on the recently launched National Office of Animal Health Livestock Vaccination Guidelines and considers their potential impact on the dairy sector.

top price of 160,000 and a further 28 lots at five-figures, ensured a record average for ram lambs at the sale of Blackface rams at Lanark.

Tree planting and rewilding are driving an increase in dispersals of hill flocks, according to Longtown auctioneer John Walton.

This year’s extreme summer drought in many parts of the country has reinforced the need for dairy farmers to look for alternative fodder sources to maximise milk production from home-grown feeds. Dairy Farmer reports.

It was great to attend UK Dairy Day in mid-September, along with almost 9,000 other dairy farmers and their families.