From this month Red Tractor have issued new standards for dairy farmers, key points to note are:
- Your health plan must be written in conjunction with your vet. It must also include farm protocols for calving procedures, lameness management, pain relief and use of shackles.
- You must be managing Johnes disease through implementation of the National Johnes Management Plan. Many of you will already have signed up to this last year; however you are required to undertake an annual review with your vet to ensure that you are implementing the best strategy for your farm. If you have not yet completed a review in 2019 then please get in touch with us as soon as possible to arrange this.
- BVD must be managed through an eradication programme such as BVD Free England or membership of a CHECS Accreditation Scheme.
- Your annual antibiotic review must include a review of any treatments that have been used off label and of any preventive treatments used.
- If cauterising paste is used to disbud calves then pain relief must be also be given.
- At least one person who is responsible for administering medicines must have undertaken one week of training since October 2016. Your vet must then review medicines and hold a certificate of competence/attendance.
- If you have an antibiotic bulk tank failure then you must inform your vet within use and make recommendations to prevent the issue from happening again.
If you ever have any questions feel free to give us a call on 028 8556 7150.
This article was taken from our November 2019 newsletter, which also contains information on Calf Scour and the treatment of Pneumonia.