A record number of farmers responded to this year’s National BVD Survey, with over 1,200 responding via the online or paper version. Since the first survey
six years ago, the compulsory BVD eradication programme in Scotland has seen nearly 90 per cent of holdings become negative to BVD. Northern Ireland’s eradication programme has halved persistently infected (PI) animals to 0.3 per cent from over 0.6 per cent. England and Wales continue to make good progress with their voluntary eradication programmes and it is expected that these will be made compulsory.
The annual survey, which has input from the BVD eradication programmes, saw 506 responses from farmers in England. Of these, around 60 per cent (299) were signed up to the BVDFree eradication programme. Farmers that were not part of the programme said they hadn’t got around to it (78), were not aware of
it (48), felt it was of no benefit (44) or noted the expense of uploading results (20).
The majority of farmers who responded (444) believed the programme should be made compulsory in England and 451 farmers wanted auction markets to
routinely display the BVD status of all animals and/or herds. When asked what would, or did, encourage them to join the scheme, respondents answered:
- Requirement of farm assurance or supply chain (125)
- Premium at market (80)
- Recognition for taking care of the herd (161)
- Want to help the next generation (21)
- Increase in herd performance (127).
Asked about the impact of BVD on their herd, around 43 per cent said they had never had it, while just under a quarter (24 per cent) said it had made no impact. Others, however, reported poor fertility (113), high levels of disease in calves (89), poor weight gain (61) and low milk yields (36).
Biosecurity measures
Nearly 70 per cent of farmers (352) said that they had a closed herd over the past 12 months, while 114 brought bulls onto the farm. However,
of the 114 bringing in bulls – 42 stated that they were a closed herd. Other replacement policies included buying in heifers or cows (97), rearing
heifers or calves away (37), purchasing fattening stock (29) and importing cattle from Europe (13). Having a closed herd and
vaccination were the most popular biosecurity measures reported – with 316 and 289 respondents respectively using these methods. Other reported measures included double-fenced boundaries (152), quarantining all incoming cattle (131) and testing all incoming cattle (130).
Although vaccination and having a closed herd are the two most frequently cited biosecurity measures, often farms which state they are closed will buy in animals, especially bulls. Vaccination timing can also be problematic and Bovela is a one-shot injection with a 12-month duration of immunity which can help simplify things, Boehringer noted. For example, 18 per cent of producers have restarted a vaccination course because they had missed the six-month booster,
incorrectly timed the two-shot primary course or went beyond the 12-month window. The online timing tool at www.makebvdhistory.com allows you to quickly and easily input service dates for both heifers coming into the herd and the main adult group to show when vaccines are due.
Decision to vaccinate was mainly motivated by advice from a vet (186) or as an insurance policy (162).
Ninety-seven respondents said there was no need to vaccinate as they had eradicated the disease, 32 were put off by the cost and 19 didn’t want to
because of the hassle. Asked what they do with identified PI animals, 251 farmers said they had never had any, 197 said they would cull immediately, while the remainder: isolated and tried to rear to slaughter (24), tried to rear to slaughter weight with others (21), sold (5) or took no action (8).
Boehringer’s veterinary advisor, Dr Ailsa Milnes commented: “This is the sixth year of the survey and we had the highest response rate to date, which perhaps shows the level of interest and the momentum behind eradicating BVD. Decreased levels of disease in calves is the most common improvement seen after engaging in BVD free eradication, followed by improved fertility and reduced antibiotic use. [...]
“It’s worth noting that producers can still take advantage of the Stamp It Out Initiative through their vet practice, which provides funding for testing and vet time.” FG
- Farmers Guide (FG)