Newsletter July 2002
OFF TO THE SHOWS
Members taking part in our BVD eradication and prevention scheme can take their cattle to the shows as usual, but should follow these instructions:-
- Only animals of a known health status should be shown.
- Unless the animal is "green" it should be vaccinated before the show. Please remember that the first vaccination requires two doses, given three weeks apart.
- All animals should be quarantined for 3 weeks after the event.
The above instructions are especially important for animals that are in calf.
If a pregnant "white"cow that has not been vaccinated comes into contact with a "red" animal, the cow will turn "green" but the calf inside her will turn "red". If the cow has been vaccinated, her unborn calf should be protected.
PREPARATION BEFORE THE SHOW
White animals should be vaccinated. The first vaccination requires two doses
given three weeks apart.
Ideally, pregnant animals should have been vaccinated before they went to the bull, but if they were not, you can still do it, as long as the vaccine is administered before the foetus is 90 days old.
Young calves can also be vaccinated for showing purposes if they were out of a white cow. Please remember to take a note of the calves that have received vaccine, as this could give false results when you have your next annual screen test. Do not vaccinate all of your calves - only the ones going to the shows.
Calves born out of green cows may be red, and green cows could also have a red calf at foot.
Green animals do not require vaccination as they are naturally immune.
AT THE SHOW
OLA cattle do not require separate showing rings or a completely separate
tie-up area of the show yard.
AFTER THE SHOW
Keep your show stock away from the rest of your herd and neighbouring cattle
for three weeks after the shows, as any virus they may have picked up will
wear off in this quarantine period.
Congratulations to our OLA Chaiman, Alastair Foubister of Netherton in Holm for being the second OLA member after Northfield Farms in Burray to achieve BVD accreditation.
To qualify for accreditation you must have had two clear screen tests from your last two crops of weaned calves, and you must have vaccinated all your breeding stock or have a 3 meter boundary fence around your holding. You must also have a cattle health plan drawn up with your vet, which is classed as your "Level 1" phase of membership.
This includes an inspection by your vet to check your vaccination programme, your farm boundary, your quarantine facilities as well as the production of a basic herd health plan. This will cost around £50 including the visit fee, and will probably take about an hour to complete. After your vet has visited your farm, they will go back to their office and enter your data on to their Hi Health computer.
So if you have had two clear screen tests, and you've vaccinated your breeding stock or your farm boundary is 3 meters from your neighbour, you are eligible for accreditation - just call your vet and arrange a suitable time for your Level 1 visit.
When you become accredited, you will be issued with a Hi Health certificate.
OLA CATTLE SALES
We have had two very successful sales of breeding animals.
We will have more sales of breeding stock in the autumn, but if you need to sell animals before then, please let us know.
We are also planning a fostered calf sale, which will probably be in October. We regard this as an ideal starting block for the sale of OLA store cattle.
As so many farms are now involved with our BVD eradication scheme, most of the animals being sold through Orkney Auction Mart in the future will be of a "Known BVD Status". Only animals from accredited holdings can be sold as "BVD Free". The objective of having special OLA sales is that no "red" animals will be forward.
RED ANIMALS
If you have had your animals tested to find out if BVD is present in your
herd, you will know your status.
If any "red" animals have been found, you should speak to your vet about the various options on how to deal with them. They can be kept on your holding until such time as they are ready for slaughter as long as they are strictly quarantined.
Red animals must go direct to an abattoir from your holding. They must NOT be sold through a mart or anywhere else where they might pass on infection to other cattle - this is an OLA rule.
You will find our list of rules in your green folder that you were given when you became a member.
BUYING IN ANIMALS OF UNKNOWN STATUS
If you buy in stock that have not been previously tested, or from a
holding which is not taking part in our BVD eradication scheme, you MUST
apply the following rules:-
- If they are coming on to your holding you MUST quarantine them for three weeks, and then you should get them individually tested.
- Please remember that "Green"cows may be carrying a "red" calf, or have a "red" calf at foot, unless the cow was tested as being "green" BEFORE she became pregnant with the calf inside her or at foot.
We know three holdings that had clear screen tests last year, but have had positive tests this year. If the rules of our scheme are being properly applied, this scenario should be avoided. When you have a clear screen test you should make every effort to keep it that way. Vaccinate your breeding stock and/or make sure your boundary is at least 3 meters away from neighbouring cattle, only buy in cattle of a KNOWN BVD STATUS or if they are not, follow the quarantine rules above.
If you need advice on anything concerning Orkney Livestock Association, please contact Karen Tait, the OLA secretary. She is in the OLA office every Monday (telephone 01856 878293), which is situated in Orkney Auction Mart, and she may be contacted by mobile (07900 231 954) or at home (721 448) from Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm.
OLA AGM
Our first AGM will take place on Thursday, 29 August 2002 (time and
venue to be confirmed).
TUBERCULOSIS
A recent newspaper article was headed "Bought-in factor in bovine
TB concern". The English is not very good but the message was there
and the article went on to state that there have been seven confirmed cases
of TB in Scotland in the first quarter of 2002; double that of previous
years. Most of these cases are in the South-West of Scotland on farms being
re-stocked after FMD and all were in cattle sourced from England, Wales
or Ireland. In the first three months of this year more than 700 cases of
suspect TB were reported in England and Wales.
So far, Orkney has remained clear ofTB for many years apart from one cow that came in from the South-West of England and was detected and removed before it could spread it to the remainder of the herd.
Reading a Modem (?) Encyclopaedia of Agriculture printed in 1911, approximately 25 years after the discovery of Tuberculosis bacillus, the advice was quite clear. "Tuberculosis is a purely contagious disease and the real cause of the disease is entrance into the body of the animal (and by movement of animals into the herd) of the bacillus". This advice still stands and the lessons are clear;- First develop a good herd health plan and avoid buying in completely, or reduce purchases to a minimum e.g. buy in only bulls. Buy from a herd or region of known disease status; or find out the TB test history of the herd of origin. Isolate the bought-in animal(s) then have a private TB test done at the same time as other tests. This is well worth doing if you are uncertain of the herd of origin or if the animal comes from a region of the country where TB is a problem.
If an infected cow or bull is brought into a clean herd and it remains undetected, it is quite possible that there will be considerable spread and many reactors by the time the next herd test is done. When an animal is slaughtered as a TB suspect the owner will get compensation for that animal. However if disease is confirmed from the samples taken after slaughter, then the whole herd will remain under TB restrictions until all cattle on the farm have had two consecutive clear tests. This will mean that the whole herd will remain under restrictions for at least six months and possibly longer causing severe inconvenience to the normal marketing of livestock and probably to the cash flow of that farm.
W B Stewart, Veterinary Officer, SEERAD.