CHECS: Setting industry standards in cattle disease control
CHECS: Setting industry standards in cattle disease control
CHECS: Setting industry standards in cattle disease control
Farming near Chulmleigh, North Devon, Grania and Simon Phillips established their Colleton herd of pedigree Red Ruby Devons over 25 years ago after moving to the area from London; they started with a flock of commercial sheep.
The grass quality on the 160-hectare farm made it ideally suited to supporting a cattle herd. Grania and Simon chose Red Ruby Devons because they could be finished off grass.
When they first started out with 20 cattle they noticed several calves not doing so well.
Grania says: "We thought it might be Bovine Viral Diarrhoea (BVD) but couldn’t find a Persistently Infected animal so started to wonder whether it could be Johne’s Disease."
Together with their local vet, they started testing and implementing disease control using the CHECS licensed HiHealth cattle scheme.
“All our cattle are now vaccinated for Leptospirosis, which means we stay on our toes for the pedigree sales side of our business,” says Grania.
"We tested for Johne’s and we culled affected animals to bring it under control. We also test regularly for Infectious Bovine Rhinotracheitis (IBR) and we’ve never had a positive result but, if we did, we would seriously consider vaccinating,” she adds.
The herd is now at the lowest risk for Johne’s Disease, Level 1, although the couple occasionally get an animal testing positive on blood samples. Faecal tests from those animals have always proved negative, however, and if any cows have a repeat positive blood test, they’re culled.
The Phillips now run an 80-head herd plus followers and finishers, which are kept until 30-36-months. The finishers go as box beef and the couple also sell pedigree breeding stock. Grania believes that accrediting for disease not only ensures the utmost level of disease control is maintained but that it also helps improve pedigree sales. She adds that their breed society now requires disease certification as default.
While she claims this is a reminder of the value of controlling the disease, she says it can be easy to forget the other struggles, like slow growing animals or abortions.
“Those are the more hidden but costly effects of cattle disease,” she concludes.
CHECS: Setting industry standards in cattle disease control
In the first instance, contact your chosen scheme provider. If you have questions related to standards and protocols then email CHECS directly.
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