What is it?
Government funded vet health review and testing aimed at improving communication between vets and farmers. This will focus on health and welfare concerns ultimately improving productivity and profitability.
To be eligible to apply you must have one of the following:
·11 or more cattle
·21 or more sheep
The livestock must be registered in England and you must be responsible for their welfare.
Funding for the visit – this is paid directly to you once both the review and testing has been completed.
- £436 for a sheep review
- £522 for a beef cattle review
- £372 for a dairy cattle review
Funding is for one species only per SBI and can be re-applied for every 10 months.
You’ll need:
- your customer reference number (CRN)
- the SBI number of the business registering for the review
- the main business email linked to your business in the Rural Payments service
- Your CPH number
You need to apply online via the DEFRA website.
Health review
A minimum of 2 hours on farm with discussions focused around health and welfare concerns. Usually incorporates a farm walk and observation of both the animals and the infrastructure (handling system, pens, medicine cupboard etc).
Once completed, you will receive a written report detailing discussion points.
Lab testing
Cattle: Bovine Viral Diarrhoea (BVD).
- Dairy – Bulk milk test
- Beef – Antibody Check test – Minimum of 6 x 9-18 month cattle on the farm.
BVD testing is performed to see whether BVD is present on the farm. BVD is an immune-suppressing disease which causing increases in diseases such as pneumonia, scours, infertility, and abortion.
Sheep – Faecal Worm Egg Count
- Tested after a worm treatment to see if resistance is a concern. Worm drench resistance is on the increase and it is important to slow down the chance of resistance developing on farms.
- White, Clear, Orange Drench – Sample collected 14 days post treatment
- Yellow – Sample collected 7 days post treatment
Faecal Egg Count: This is completed by collecting 10 samples of random sheep within the treated flock. This is achieved by walking through the flock by observing the sheep passing faeces. Only a few pellets per sheep is required. Please bring in a clean tub with identification of the group and date and name of treatment given.
Both parts of the scheme (health review and testing) must be completed within 6 months of application.
For any further information about the scheme, health review or diseases such as BVD or worm resistance, please contact the office to speak to a vet.
