English beef and dairy farmers can have their Bovine Viral Diarrhoea (BVD) test results uploaded to the national BVDFree database without charge until the end of March*.

The offer is open to all farmers who are registered with the BVDFree England scheme and is available for all results uploaded by the following labs: APHA, Biobest, CIS and NML. Farmers can register with the scheme at bvdfree.org.uk. The aim is to grow the number of searchable BVD statuses on the existing 65,000 strong database.

Farmers don’t need to wait for the outcome of existing testing as they’re able to have any results from the previous 12 months uploaded.

Bill Mellor, BVDFree Chairman, said: “We can only eliminate BVD from the national herd if farmers test their animals and load their results onto the central database. By removing the cost, we hope this is the final encouragement farmers need to take part in this crucial scheme.

“With the busy spring sale period approaching, farmers can often command an additional premium for animals known to be BVD free as well as giving buyers confidence in the status of purchased animals.”

Farmers whose results are on the database can sell their animals with a known BVD status, which is especially important for those in the North of England as Scottish buyers require English animals to be tested for BVD.

For further information on the BVDFree England scheme please chat to one of our farm vets - 01363 772860

*This offer is available for all results uploaded by the following labs: APHA, Biobest, CIS and NML.