July Newsletter

We are delighted that Rhodri Hughes will be joining the farm team of the practice in September.  Rhodri married Lucy (a small animal colleague) in May.  He has spent the last 5 years in Leek both impressing his farm clients and his rugby team mates.  Although he is starting in September, he and Lucy are going on extended leave in November and will then join the practice full time in January.

You may be aware that the pharmaceutical industry is going through a great period of amalgamations.  Pfizer recently bought out Fort Dodge and have now merged as one company.  We use a lot of both companys' products and as result we have been given more favorable terms so the price of Orbeseal, Kloxerate Dry Cow and Orbenin DC products has come down substantially.

Many of you will be aware that Eddie has recently run a very successful AI training course.  We will be doing a number of seminars and workshops supported by LANTRA.

Eddie and Sarah Malpass are  taking a seminar on Johnes disease on 10th August at Chris and Sarah Malpass's farm in Gnosall.  Johnes is a  slow insidious disease which builds up in the herd without many clinical signs until it is suddenly a major problem.  With the potential connection to Crohn's disease in humans there is a national desire to eliminate this disease and Dairy Crest are leading the campaign.  Where one company goes the rest will follow!  Chris and Sarah  have been testing for the disease and taking steps to eliminate it for about three years now.  The seminar will begin with coffee at 10.30 and start at 11.00 prompt and will be finished by 2.00.  If you would like to come please phone the surgery for a place.

Kate will be running a workshop on SCOPS – the sustainable control of parasites in sheep – in September.  Zolvix is the first new wormer for 25 years and it is vital that we use the product correctly as resistance is building up to the other three groups of anthelminti cs that are available.

I will be taking a course on cattle foot trimming in September but I would like to know how many people are interested in that as soon as possible.  We have already had an interest in running another AI course so please contact the practice if you would like to be involved.

Many of you will have had a letter from DEFRA to say that the badger vaccination programme is no longer going ahead in this area.  The original idea of having the five sites was to establish whether badger vaccination would reduce the incidence of TB in cattle.  Most diseases will only be controlled when 80% of the population is vaccinated.  Now the remaining badger vaccination area is being used to train badger vaccinators presumably with the idea that farmers can then pay for vaccinators themselves without establishing whether this will work.  On the plus side the new Government is talking about a cull but with the legal challenges from the Badger groups to the Welsh cull, I cannot see this happening within the life of one parliament.

I hope you will join us for some refreshments at the Newport Show on Saturday.