Like so many others in the South West, my herd has been seriously affected by TB. I have lost many of my best cows. There are one or two left who are the last of a long family line. Could you please tell me what the options are for preserving the genetic line?

Ruth has recently written an article for the NSA Sheep Farmer Magazine. 

The measure of success for winter feeding is healthy ewes at the right condition score to give birth to healthy lambs, without having compromised the supply of grass post lambing.  Whatever system is used, the ewes' requirments for engergy, protein and major and trace minerals must be met.  These requirements vary with stage of preganancy, number of lambs and size of ewe. 

Footrot and scald are the leading causes of sheep lameness in the UK, resulting in serious loss of production and financial returns to farmers, as well as being an animal welfare concern.

The five-point plan was developed by combining academic research findings with best farming practice, to create a set of practical and effective measures for farmers.

Farm Animal Welfare Committee (FAWC) target

St Boniface Vets are taking part in the XLVets Charity Challenge, in aid of Send a Cow & The Farming Community Network. 

We aim to walk, swim, cycle and even roller skate 453.95 miles by September!  We are already clocking up a few miles.  To track our progress, keep checking back on Facebook for weekly updates www.facebook.com/stbonifacevets.

During the Mid Devon Show, we had the pleasure of meeting one of founding farmers and senior programme co-ordinator David Bragg, who hosted a farmer from Ethiopia.