FARMNEWSshropshireFARMNEWS

In ThIs Issue: July 2018

•SendaCow,Kenya2018•Johne’sDeadline•SpasticParesis•MobilityMeeting–GrinderCourse•UdderClub•TBTesting

shropshire Farm VetsHanwood Office:Unit3,TheDepot,Hanwood,Shrewsbury,ShropshireSY58NYT:01743860920F:01743861934Whittington Office:DrenewyddFarm,Whittington,ShropshireSY114NBT:01691898822e:farm@shropshirefarmvets.comW:www.shropshirefarmvets.comCompanyRegNo6497266.VATRegNo817914608

Send a Cow KENYA 2018Having climbed Mount Kenya to raise money for the Send a Cow (SAC) Project (thanks to the many who supported me), I was selected along with Anna Patch from Shepton Mallet vets to go on the XLVets Farm Skills project in Busia County, Western Kenya in May 2018. We would go out there as the fourth visit in a commitment between XLVets and SAC to provide continuing education to train facilitators in the enhancement of farm development and wealth creation in poor communities in East Africa.

OnprevioustripsrotatingbetweenKenya,UgandaandRwanda,thecoursehadcoveredmanytopicsrelatedtoCowSignals,mastitis,breedingandlameness.Ourtaskwastodeveloptheseanimalsignalsthroughtootherspecies,namelypigs,goats,poultryandmyspecialistsubject,donkeys!Wewerepartbasedinalectureroomwherewetaughttheseventeendelegatesfromthethree

countriesalreadymentioned,andfromZambia,BurundiandEthiopia,newparticipantsinthecourse,andalsovisitedfarmswhohadbenefittedfromtheSACschemeandwhohadreceivedacowfromthecharity.

Facilitatorswouldvisitthefarmer,encouragingthegrowthofvegetablesandfoddercropsbeforegoingontoreceiveacoworgoatstothenmilk,andfromthere,involvingtheirfamily,theywouldsellmilktothelocalcommunity,improvingtheirownstandardofnutrition,andworkingtheirwayoutofpoverty.Thefirstfemalecalfwouldthenbetakenbackbythecharityanddonatedtoanotherfarmerenteringtheproject.

Ourrolewastoextendtheteaching,coveringanimalsignals,animalneedsanddevelopingtheseintoatraffic

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lightsystemwhichwouldhighlightthegoodandbadthingsaboutwhatthefarmerwasdoing.Wecoveredbreeding,realisticexpectationswithAIandthereasonsitdoesn’talwayswork,nutritionwithmuchattentiondevotedtorumenphysiologywhichgavethedelegatesabetterunderstandingofhowwewantedtofeedourcows,cleanmilkproductionevenifitwasinhandmilkingonecow,andcalfrearingingreatdetail.Withthemessage“today’scalfistomorrowscow”,themessageofhowimportantcolostrummanagementwasandwhatgrowthratesshouldbeachievablewithgoodmanagementwascovered.

Wealsowentintocommunicationskillsingreatdepth,howtogetthenecessaryinformationfromthefarmer,andhowtothenconversewithhimorher,praisingwhathewasdoingwell,butgivingappointwhereimprovementcouldbemade,howwewouldachievethat,andthenmeasureit.

Inclasspracticals,posterdemonstrationsandon-farmassessmentswereallusefultoolsingettingourmessageacross.OvernineharddaysofteachingIthinkwecoveredaconsiderableamountanditwasencouragingfromourfinalfeedbackhowmuchwastakenonboardtouseoutinthefield.

Wedidhaveourlightermoments,aSamosachallenge,theremainsofapicnic,38Samosa’sandabetthatonedelegatecouldn’teatthemallbythetimewegotbacktoourbase,the38thtookhimalongtime,buthesucceededevenifhedidn’tlookverywellforafewhours.BarrackObama’sgrandmotherlivedinanearbyvillage,and|Iwasmistakenforhisbrother!Andsomehow,weseemedinadvertentlytobeinUgandawithoutavisa,theremusthavebeenabordersomewhere,butthebeerwasaquarterofthepricetherethaninKenya,andwedidreturnunnoticed!

AcoupleofdaysdowntimetookustoAberdareNationalPark,andSolio,wherewehadtheprivilegetostandamongstvastnumbersofrhinos,howlongwilltheystillexist?Yes,standamongst,wedidquestionthewisdomofthiswithourdriverandheassuredusitwasfineashewentforapeebehindtheLandRover.Elephants,hyenas,roomsoverlookingawaterholeandthecontinualcacophonyofnoisefromtheforest.Wonderful.

Itwasaprivilegetogooutthereandworkforthischarity,oneofthemostworthwhilethingsIhavedoneinmylife.Afantasticexperience,meetingwonderfulpeople.ItwouldbegreatifonedayIcouldreturnandseehowtheprojectisprogressing,andtoseeifwehavereallymadeanimpactonthesepeople’slives. Rod

As you will remember from Junes newsletter, there are now less than 4 months before the new signed Johne’s declaration deadline, as part of the National Johne’s management plan, due on 31st October 2018. 82% of all milk processors have now signed up to this, and even if your buyer hasn’t, then the use of their milk within the national milk pool will mean that effectively all producers need to comply with this requirement. Many buyers have already sent out declaration forms which we as vets have been asked to sign. In order for us to do this, you need to have:

• UndertakensomeformofJohne’stesting(NOTbulkmilk)withinthelast12months• CarriedoutaJohne’sbasedriskassessmentonfarm• Awrittencontrolplan,thathasbeendiscussedwithoneofourJohne’saccreditedvetswithinthelast12months,and

isbeingfollowedIfyoucancurrentlyansweryestoallofthesethreethings,thenthatitexcellent.Ifnot,thenweneedtohelpyougettheseareascoveredASAP.Testingcanbeundertakenintwoways:ideallyawholeherd,individualanimaltest,whichmaybecarriedoutaspartofyourmonthlymilkrecording(contactyourmilkrecordingcompany).Alternatively,youcandoa30-cowscreenonanimalsselectedbyyourmilkrecordingcompany,orusifyoudon’tcurrentlymilkrecord.IfyouneedanyadviceonwhichtestingstrategytoemploythenletusknowASAP.Overthenextfewmonthswewillbecontactingallofourdairyclientstotryandhelpyouensurethatyouhavedoneeverythingrequiredinordertocomplywiththesenewregulationsbeforethedeadline.Pleaserememberthatthisprocesstakestime,especiallyiftestingneedstobecarriedoutandtostartthingsassoonaspossible.WewillbehavingaJohne’smeetinglaterinthesummertodiscussmanagementofthediseasewithsomeofourclientsthathavehadsomerealsuccess.Welookforwardtoseeingyouallthere!

Dairy Farmers! Johne’s Deadline is fast approaching

Something different... Spastic paresisCommon things are common, rare things seldom occur… but they do happen and it makes it more special when they do.

Timrecentlycameacrossacalfthatstruggledtowalkproperlybecauseonebacklegkeptgoingridgedassoonasittriedtowalk.Itwasasstiffasapost,stickingoutbackwards.Otherwisethecalfwassoundas.TimdiagnosedSpasticparesis.

IwasinlucksinceTimwasshortoftimeandbookedmetodothesurgery.SincequalifyingIhadperformedthissurgeryonce(withsuccessI’llhave

youknow)andIwaskeentogetstuckin.SpasticparesiscanhappeninanybreedbutitismorecommoninBelgian

BluesandIhadcomeacrossthisquitealotduringmytraininginBelgium.Generallyitisaprogressivediseasewithhyperextensionofthehindlegs,oneorboth.Thisisduetoanincreasinglycontractivecalfmuscleleadingtoapost-leggedwalk.Thereisnomedicaltreatmentandanimalsshouldn’tbebredfromsincethisisaheritabledisease.

However…luckilythereisasurgicaltreatment.ItisprettycomplicatedandIwasabitrustywhenitcametotheproceduresoIhadsometrainingoncadaversattheKennelsinAnscroft.

ThesurgeryconsistsoflocatingtheTibialnerveintheeffectedleg.It’salargenervethatliesdeepdowninthemusclesjustunderneathanotherlargenervecalledtheperonealnerve.Cutthewrongoneandtheanimalisamess.It’snotasobviousasdiffusingabombinaJamesBondmovie.Inthiscasethereisnoblueandred,everythingturnsdifferentshadesofredinnotime…

Oncetherightnervehasbeenlocatedaninchlongsegmentisresectedandthewoundclosedagain.

Tomyfearassoonastheanimalgotupaftertheprocedureitwalkedofwithitspostleggedwalklikenothinghadchanged.Howeverafewhourslaterthelegfunctionedasnormalandthestraightleghadgone…andithasstayedthatwaysince.

Astheysay,varietyisthespiceoflifeevenifitseldomoccurs…

Roel

Before

Textbook

The Real World

After

… this long awaited meeting is finally going to happen! If you are interested, we are meeting at 12 am at the car park of the surgery 17th August. Bring your equipment, it’s going to be loads of fun…

This2hoursessionisaimedatanyonethatusesananglegrinderforfoottrimmingbutneverhadanyformaltrainingforitoranyonethatwantstogettheconfidencetouseananglegrinderforfoottrimming.Bringyourcleananglegrinder,disc,eyeprotection,earprotectors,hoofknives,pincers…Iftimeallowswewillalsoteachyouhowtogetyourknivesrazorsharp.Pleasecontacttheofficeandletthemknowifyouareinterested.

Mobility Meeting – Grinder course

SHROPSHIREFARMNEWS:JULY2018

Please keep a note of the mobile numbers for the vets should you ever need them

shropshire Farm VetsHanwood Office:Unit3,TheDepot,Hanwood,Shrewsbury,ShropshireSY58NYT:01743860920F:01743861934Whittington Office:DrenewyddFarm,Whittington,ShropshireSY114NBT:01691898822e:farm@shropshirefarmvets.comW:www.shropshirefarmvets.comCompanyRegNo6497266.VATRegNo817914608

TB Testing for May 20185913 animals tested over 63 tests. There were 27 reactors and 4 inconclusive reactors

Find us on social media www.facebook.com/ShropshireFarmVetswww.twitter.com/ShropFarmVets

EmErgEncy contact numbErsALISTAIRMACPHERSON 07909 517184

TIMO’SULLIVAN 07909 517479

ROELDRIESEN 07813 833385

JAMESMARSDEN 07876 443950

RODWOOD 07809 227426

NATHANLOEWENSTEIN 07815 543546

JOHNHEMINGWAY 07496 305412

SEANHUGHES 07973 567367

JOSUTTON 07852 289271

PELAYOPEJARES 07522 637322

ROSAFERNANDEZ 07719 270835

EVALEIBIG 07874 054328

MIHAILSTOICA 07948 475669

LAURACESPEDES 07562 514387

uDDeR CLuBJuly 18th 2018

The next udder Club meeting will be held on July 18th from 12–2pm.

Over the last couple of meetings, we have covered some aspects of environmental mastitis and had Dan Humphries (from Horizon) come and talk to us about the affects of the milking plant on environmental mastitis. Dan and myself have been out on a couple of our farms lately looking at the plant to investigate problems. We will go on farm to

look at how this was done and discuss some of our findings. From feedback, everyone found his presentation to be very informative so we have the chance to see his work in action,

and discuss some practical solutions to what we found. We will also take the opportunity to look at other factors

affecting environmental mastitis.

With the pressure on antibiotic usage now imposed by the new Red Tractor Standards, it is essential to look at other methods of reducing mastitis other than tube usage, so I hope you will find the meeting of interest and support it.

James Turnock has kindly agreed to let us come to his farm, so 12pm July 18th.

Such a hot Summer! Captions please...