Beef farmers on the Welsh uplands and hills with low profit margins can be difficult to engage in terms of preventative health management .With input from their local vet team and by working together, big gains in productivity can be made and ultimately improve margins in a tough environment .With the average herd suckler size in Wales under 35 cows the effects of a BVD outbreak can be devastating. The national BVD Cymru screen in Wales is now a legal obligation but we need to look beyond that- it’s an opportunity to start that engagement process on preventative medicine which can open the door to a better more productive relationship for farmer and vet alike.

Key Learning Objectives:

• How to get BVD screening and BVD control on the agenda with your hill farm beef clients.
• Ensuring you get the most out of the BVD Cymru blood screen, from blood sampling tips to communicating results and information on BVD to farmers.
• Looking at how you can go beyond just sampling, getting a negative result and signing off the farm.
• Identifying the common pitfalls in screening commercial beef suckler herds in practice.
• Looking to the future development of BVD control strategies In Wales and beyond.