Happy New Year to everyone, I hope this year offers you all prosperity, health and happiness. It was great to see so many of you at our Festive Quiz before Christmas, we are delighted to have raised £1466 on the night for The Bristol & Weston Hospitals Charity which we topped up to £1750. We are very grateful to all who gave prizes for the raffle and sponsorship.
We are running another Red Tractor approved medicine course on 21th January for Beef & Sheep farmers. Please call to book your place. All Red Tractor assured Beef and Sheep farms must have completed this training since October 2016. Please come along prior to your audit! The Red Tractor Dairy standards for Medicine training is to have completed a course in the past 5 years, this is catching a few out! If you would like to renew your training then please get in touch.
Trace elements are minerals which are needed in small quantities to allow normal health and function. In the UK, copper, cobalt, selenium and iodine are the ones most likely to be of limited supply. A shortage of one or more of these may cause ill thrift, poor fertility and poor production. Trace element availability in grass/soil varies widely in content due to soil type, pH, drainage, plant species and fertiliser use. Grass/ forage testing requires careful interpretation. Availability of certain elements is closely linked to levels of others so absolute levels can be misleading. Blood or tissue testing is the most accurate indicator of trace element status. Blood sampling a proportion of the group prior to supplementation gives a good idea of the levels in the blood. To establish Copper levels, the gold standard is tissue (liver) which gives a much better idea of longer-term copper levels. Cobalt cannot be tested for in cattle blood samples (unlike sheep) so tissue levels is the only way to assess this.
Supplementation of trace elements will depend on what you feed and which trace elements you need to supplement. Compound feeds are well fortified with trace elements, although the level of feeding dictates the amount of trace elements the stock receives. If you are feeding mixed or straight feeds, it is usually sensible to add a mineral supplement. Drenches tend to have a very short-term effect so require repeating. Injections are not available for all trace elements, although Multimin contains Copper and Selenium, as well as Zinc and Manganese. There are many boluses on the market offering a range of trace elements. Boluses generally have a slow release of supplement lasting 6 months. Over supplementation can cause toxicity as well as being a waste of money. Copper toxicity can cause severe acute disease due to the liver failing so only supplement copper if it is shown to be necessary and monitor levels regularly.
As we approach lambing it is a good opportunity to ensure both the metabolic and trace element status of your ewes is optimal. This will help birth weights, colostrum quality and subsequent health and growth. It is also time to think about clostridia/pasturella vaccination of your ewes prior to lambing. Vaccine supply is short once more so I advise you to order early to ensure supply. For those of you vaccinating for orf, we would really appreciate an early order as we anticipate supply will also be tight.
We are pleased to welcome a new face to the team; Bridget Wills has joined us as an ATT (Approved TB Tester) and is currently undergoing her training and supervisory period. I am sure you will make her very welcome.