Farming

How a Pembrokeshire dairy farm slashed newborn calf mortality rates

Published

4 months ago

August 20, 2024

WILL and Alex Prichard calve 500 cows in a spring block at Escalwen, near Letterston, and also run two 200-cow autumn calving herds.

That high throughput of calves can present disease challenges – in the three years to 2023, calf mortality from neonatal diarrhoea averaged 9.5%, peaking at 16% in 2022 when the herd was subject to bovine TB movement restrictions.

“Over my entire farming career, one of the most depressing things I have experienced is when calf rearing goes wrong and when mortality and sickness in calves becomes almost insurmountable,’’ said Mr Prichard.

In an attempt to correct weaknesses in their system, in 2023 the Prichards and their calf rearer, Tom Phillips, embarked on a new feeding programme guided by veterinary consultant Ryan Davies.

They invested in two pasteurisers, part funded by the Welsh Government Small Grants – Efficiency scheme, feeding cow transition milk enriched with whole bovine powdered colostrum after calves had received their colostrum feed.

Transition milk is produced by the cow from the second milking after calving, up to the sixth, and contains a higher percentage of milk solids, antibodies, vitamins and minerals than milk produced after this point in the lactation.

It also has elevated levels of growth factors, natural antimicrobial proteins and other bioactive substances.

But the quality of transition milk is highly variable. That, in conjunction with the transfer of passive immunity (TPI) from colostrum dictating a calf’s antibody levels, will make a significant difference to health and performance.

If calves don’t receive sufficient antibodies, they are more likely to die, suffer from diarrhoea or respiratory issues, and require treatment with antibiotics.

Taking blood samples from calves and using IgG as a biomarker to standardise transition milk is one solution and this is what the Prichards did, supported by the Farming Connect ‘Try Out’ Fund, an initiative that funds individuals and groups of farmers and growers to experiment with ideas and bring them to life.

Throughout the calving season, Dr Davies took daily blood samples from newborn calves in their first 24 hours.

The results showed that 21% had an excellent TPI, 7% good, 41% fair and 31% poor.

“This is about average for the UK and good for a dairy block calving herd,’’ said Dr Davies, of Veterinary Technical Consulting Ltd.

The total solids in the pasteurised transition milk were measured with a Brix refractometer and, depending on the reading, it was enriched with a colostrum powder from SCCL to standardise it to a minimum of 12.5% Brix or 14.5% milk solids – instead of powder another option is to add whole milk colostrum.

“If we didn’t reach that threshold we added whole bovine colostrum powder to it to increase the Brix reading,’’ Dr Davies explained.

“The average Brix for the milk at Escalwen was 10.5% so we raised that to 12.5%, but every farm will be different.’’

Other parameters used for the milk were a total bacterial count of under 100,000 colony-forming units (cfu)/ml, a total coliform count of less than 10,000 cfu/ml and no antibiotic residues.

“It is important that calves aren’t fed any antibiotic residues because they inhibit the growth of the normal healthy gut microbiome,’’ said Dr Davies.

The milk was fed to calves up until day 10.

This approach resulted in a significant improvement in calf health and a major reduction in mortalities.

Mortality resulting from neonatal diarrhoea reduced from an average of 9.5% to 3% and antibiotic usage in pre-weaned calves to 16%, from the five-year average of 45%.

Importantly, no highest-priority critically important antibiotics (HP-CIA) were used
pre-weaning in 2024; in 2022 use of these had hit a high of 1.98mg/PCU.

Although feeding transition milk comes with some additional cost, from labour and equipment for its collection through to storage and heating, Mr Prichard said the improvements had completely changed the mood on the farm during the calving period.

“Once you get your head around how important IgGs are, it almost becomes a passion to harvest as much of that IgG as you possibly can and utilise it in your own herd.’’

As well as transition milk feeding, improvements were made to hygiene and cleanliness to reduce the disease challenge.

Pasteurising the milk was a “game changer’’, he added, to reduce disease risks such as Johne’s and bovine TB.

The milk was pasteurised for 60 minutes at 60°C to destroy pathogens including mycoplasma, salmonella, E. coli and listeria.

Pasteurising at higher temperatures or for a longer duration can reduce antibody levels, although studies have shown this is more effective in the destruction of Johne’s and bovine TB organisms which can be detected after heating to 60°C for 60 minutes.

Top tips for feeding transition milk

Adhere to good hygiene practices when collecting and storing prior to feeding
Heat to the correct temperature before feeding
Take the health status of the herd into account to reduce risk of disease transfer, particular if pasteurisation is not used.
In systems that feed calf milk replacer instead of whole milk, the equivalent mass of milk powder should be removed and replaced with colostrum powder to maintain the solids percentage and prevent osmotic diarrhoea.

Farming

Special farming role for senior Pembrokeshire councillor

Published

4 days ago

December 17, 2024

Bruce Sinclair - Local Democracy Reporter

AN OFFICIAL special farming role for Pembrokeshire’s deputy leader is to be established following a call made to full council, the first time the council has had such a role for a senior member.

In a question to council leader Cllr Jon Harvey, heard at the December meeting of Pembrokeshire County Council’s full council meeting, Conservative group leader Cllr Di Clements asked: “With the recent changes in the budget from the UK Labour Government on Inheritance Tax and Agricultural Property Relief, many Pembrokeshire farmers are feeling concerned for the future of their family farms, many in Pembrokeshire which have been in the same family for generations.

“I have always found it disappointing that in all the years I have been a councillor, and the major contribution farming has to this county’s economic, cultural and environmental well-being, there has never been a Cabinet Member’s title with rural affairs or farming, or agriculture within it.

“To show that this council recognises the importance of agriculture, and the hundreds of millions of pounds generated by farming, will the Leader consider including it in one of the titles of his Cabinet Members’ portfolio?”

Responding, Cllr Harvey said: “I full share your perspective; it’s true this council has never had a Cabinet member with this role; however I can reconsider, I regard all aspects of rural life as vitally important.”

He told members farming and rural affairs came under the portfolio of the deputy leader [Cllr Paul Miller], adding: “we’re all aware of the changing aspects of rural life at the moment, we do have a rural affairs champion in Cllr Steve Alderman, but I’ve had a conversation with the deputy leader and agreed to review this title to reflect the importance of the role and will happily make an announcement in the next few days.”

Cllr Clements responded: “These words say a lot, it shows this council recognises the importance of the most constant and probably most important business in the county.”

Farming

Call for Pembrokeshire to oppose farming inheritance tax withdrawn

Published

1 week ago

December 14, 2024

Bruce Sinclair - Local Democracy Reporter

A CALL on Pembrokeshire County Council to oppose government changes to inheritance tax affecting family farms has been withdrawn, but its proposer hopes his motion will return to a future meeting.

At the Budget, Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced farmers would have to pay inheritance tax on agricultural property and land worth more than £1 million at a rate of 20 per cent, with a £3m threshold for couples passing on their farms.

This compares to a 40 per cent rate on other estates.

A Notice of Motion by Councillor Aled Thomas, ‘relating to Protecting British Family Farms and Preserving Rural Communities’ was to be heard at the December 12 meeting of Pembrokeshire County Council’s full council meeting.

Cllr Thomas, who stood as a Conservative candidate for Ceredigion-Preseli in the 2024 general election, asked that: “Pembrokeshire County Council notes its concern to the proposed changes to inheritance tax announced by the Labour Government in the recent Autumn budget, which would scrap Agricultural Property Relief (APR).

“APR has been instrumental in allowing British family farms to remain intact across generations, supporting food security, sustaining rural communities, and aiding environmental stewardship. This tax is estimated to impact over 70,000 family farms, leaving the average farming family with a tax bill of at least £240,000, which will force many to sell portions of their land or close entirely, paving the way for corporate ownership over family ownership.”

It called on the council to resolve to “oppose the Labour Government’s changes to inheritance tax affecting family farms,” to “advocate for the exemption of family farms to preserve the UK’s food security, rural communities, environmental initiatives,” and to “commit to maintaining its county council farms portfolio, particularly to encourage younger and new generations of farmers into the industry”.

It finished: “This council urges all councillors to stand with Britain’s family farms, to support our rural communities, and to protect the environment by formally rejecting this proposed ‘family farm tax’.”

At the December 12 meeting Presiding Member Cllr Simon Hancock informed members the notice had been withdrawn from the meeting.

Speaking after the announcement, Cllr Thomas, himself a farmer, said: “There was a dispute whether I should have been allowed to submit it as I am a farmer, so I took advice from the monitoring officer that I should withdraw it until I can get a dispensation from the standards committee to speak on the matter.”

He said he hoped to get the motion resubmitted to be heard at the next council meeting.

Farming

Welsh Lamb shines at the Winter Fair Taste Awards

Published

1 week ago

December 12, 2024

Tom Sinclair

THE ROYAL WELSH WINTER FAIR TASTE AWARDS, showcasing the finest native lamb breeds of Wales in a celebration of sustainability, flavour and culinary excellence, were hosted by the Royal Welsh Agricultural Society (RWAS).

The awards, held in collaboration with Cambrian Training Company, the Culinary Association of Wales and the National Culinary Team Wales, spotlighted the exceptional quality of Welsh Lamb and its unique characteristics.

The competition aimed to promote native Welsh Lamb breeds and emphasise their distinct flavours, encouraging chefs, businesses and consumers to consider Welsh Lamb a premium product.

The RWAS says the competition provides a vital platform to showcase the exceptional flavours of native Welsh Lamb breeds while promoting sustainable farming practices.

These lambs are grass-fed, raised in Wales and come with full traceability from farm to fork. The initiative aims to highlight the story behind the meat and the dedicated efforts of farmers in preserving these breeds.

Societies representing seven native Welsh Lamb breeds participated in the competition, held at the Cambrian Training Company building on the Royal Welsh Showground at Llanelwedd.

Each breed’s lamb was expertly cooked by chefs and presented to a distinguished panel of judges, including Dilwyn Evans, a vet featured on TV series ‘Clarkson’s Farm’, Steven Owen, Castell Howell development chef, Neil Fenn, Professor Rhian Goodfellow, OBE and Arwyn Watkins, OBE, executive chair of Cambrian Training Group.

The breeds showcased included Badger Face Welsh Mountain (Torddu and Torwen), Balwen Welsh Mountain, Black Welsh Mountain, Clun Forest, South Wales Mountain, Llanwenog and Pedigree Welsh Mountain.

Each lamb had been bred, born and reared in Wales, ensuring sustainable and traceable farming practices.

The awards highlighted the diversity among native Welsh Lamb breeds, from the Torddu and Torwen’s hardy nature to the Llanwenog’s docile temperament and premium meat quality.

Farmers and breed societies demonstrated the unique traits of their lambs, such as flavour, sustainability and adaptability to diverse farming environments.

Arthur Davies (South Wales Mountain) and I. T. Davies & Son (Clun Forest) were declared joint winners of the Royal Welsh Winter Fair Taste Awards. Both breeds impressed the judges with their remarkable flavour, tenderness and quality, showcasing the very best of Welsh Lamb.

The event emphasised the importance of promoting the culinary excellence of Welsh Lamb alongside its visual appeal in show rings.

Guest judge, Dilwyn Evans said: “It has been an absolute honour to judge the Royal Welsh Winter Fair Taste Awards and experience first-hand the superior taste of native Welsh Lamb.

“This exceptional meat not only embodies the rich heritage and dedication of Welsh farming but also highlights the importance of preserving these unique breeds and the sustainable practices behind them.”

The RWAS thanked the judges and Cambrian Training Group for their continued support, helping ensure the lambs were cooked to perfection for the competition.

With the awards, Wales has cemented its position as a leader in premium lamb production, bringing the exceptional flavours of its native breeds to the forefront of the culinary world.