Dairy

We recognise that well managed fertility is crucial to the profitability of any dairy farm. We encourage our dairy clients to have regular fertility visits in order to meet key fertility targets.

All our vets are experienced at ultrasound scanning and able to perform post-calving checks, checks on not seen bullers and precise pregnancy diagnosis. Working with you, your regular vet will establish fertility protocols bespoke to your farm. We operate a buddy system ensuring that if your regular vet is unavailable there is familiar back up when needed.

If required we can run a comprehensive fertility bureau for your herd, helping you to ensure that the right cows are pulled out for examination. Tailored reporting by your vet team using Total Vet and Interherd+ ensures that fertility performance is monitored over time and potential problems are detected early.

Advanced breeding services are available to support core fertility activity. This includes cost effective access to repeat breeder embryo transfer, oviduct patency testing and semen testing through use of the SemenRate service.

Managing mastitis and high somatic cell count (SCC) can be costly and time consuming, as well as have a significant effect on team morale.

SCC and mastitis monitoring is performed through analysis of milk quality, milk recording and clinical mastitis data. Regular reporting by your vet team provides an early warning system to avoid expensive milk buyer penalties and the costs associated with clinical mastitis.

Our in-house laboratory alongside access to specialist external laboratory support can be used to achieve a quick and accurate diagnosis on milk samples (individual cow and bulk milk). Our vet team are able to work with you on all aspects that may contribute to a high SCC and/or clinical mastitis problem, including: parlour routine, treatment protocols, cow comfort and dry cow management. 

A number of the vet team are trained AHDB Mastitis Control Plan deliverers, providing you with the access to an industry recognised, structured approach to improving udder health on your farm. 

We recognise lameness is one of the most significant welfare and productivity issues affecting the UK dairy industry. A team approach involving both our vets and vet techs helps us get to the root causes of lameness on your farm. Regular mobility scoring is tailored towards your herds needs and we offer a high quality in-house foot trimming service. 

A number of our vets have a special interest in lameness and work closely alongside our vet tech foot trimmers to understand more about the common lesions encountered on farm, as well as treat problem cows. Access to the AHDB Health Feet Programme is available to provide a structured approach to improving mobility on your farm. Foot trimming courses are available for all levels of competency, and are delivered in line with the principles set out by the National Association of Cattle Foot Trimmers. 

Good nutrition plays a pivotal role in ensuring dairy cows remain healthy and productive. Poor feeding will not only lead to unsatisfactory yields and milk quality it could also result in an increased incidence of disease and downturn in fertility.

We believe vets are uniquely placed to assess the success of feeding. Access to farm data, on farm observations and an understanding of the science behind successful feeding means we are well placed to advise on this topic.  

Some of our vets are highly experienced in the field of nutrition with further qualifications and use specialist computer programs to carry out ration formulation. Regular body condition scoring and metabolic profiling helps ensure cows are achieving their potential.

We offer a range of competitively priced medicines including a full range of parasite control products. Medicine advice, availability and technical support are all included within our pricing structure. As well as fully stocked farm dispensaries at all of our branches we are able to offer a free zonal delivery service for medicines providing you with the peace of mind that access to medicines when you need them will not be a problem.

Good genetics are fundamental when considering the profitability of any dairy enterprise. Genetics directly influence a number of key areas of management including: production, milk quality, health, fertility and feed efficiency. We are fortunate to be able to offer quality, independent, in depth advise from within our vet team.

We can offer:

• A full appraisal of your herd's current genetic base.
• Help to determine your farm specific breeding objectives.
• Identification of selection criteria that will help you achieve your breeding objectives.
• A review of your breeding strategy.
• Help with female and sire selection.
• Mating advice to maximise genetic progress.

For those herds wishing to make faster genetic progress we can perform an assessment of whether your herd would benefit from female genomic testing. Clients are able to access the CLARIFIDE® and CLARIFDE® PLUS female genomic testing packages. This includes:

• Help to plan and implement a clear female genomic testing strategy.
• Development of a bespoke farm-specific genetic index to focus on your breeding objectives. 
• A review of your current and future breeding strategy.
• Presentation of your genomic results in a meaningful and useful format so that the predefined action plan can be implemented easily. 
• Monitoring of ongoing performance to ensure a maximum return on your investment is realised. 

Rearing youngstock typically represents the second largest cost on any dairy farm. Youngstock are the future of your herd and we are keen to work with you to optimise their performance.

We can offer:

• Ongoing calf immunity (colostrum) monitoring.
• Nutrition planning from birth to calving.
• Growth rate assessments using weight data (including access to our portable weigh scales) to ensure daily live-weight gain and heifer calving age targets are met. 
• Seasonal health checks: clear treatment protocols and tailored vaccination protocols.
• Environment assessments to optimise scour and pheumonia control. 
• VetTech services to help with routine tasks.

Infectious disease can have a devastating impact on health and productivity. If your herd has been living with a disease for some time you might not even be aware of the losses incurred. We offer routine surveillance and advise on national scheme membership, as well as perform risk assessments and action plans tailored to specific diseases.

Our teams contains BCVA Accredited Advisors for both BVD and Johne's

Post-Mortem investigations can be a vital way to gain information about the disease status of your farm. This increased understanding may allow you to implement changes that benefit the remainder of the herd now and in the future. 

Our team includes vets who have done further training in post-mortem technique and diagnosis.

Membership of our Dairy Herd Health Scheme includes an annual herd health plan and performance review. This covers all veterinary red tractor farm assurance requirements, including annual antibiotic review and relevant infectious disease programmes such as participation in the Action Johne's Control Plan.