Approximately 20 farmers turned out at last Thursday's meeting. Reports suggest that turnout at the AHWNI events across NI is relatively low.
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Farmers who complied with the voluntary phase of the bovine viral diarrhoea (BVD) eradication scheme may yet receive some form of special recognition for their effort.
Speaking at a BVD information session in Enniskillen last Thursday, Dr Sam Strain from Animal Health and Welfare NI (AHWNI) said that the organisation is in discussions with DARD as to what might be possible.
At the end of 2015, over 4,500 herds were undertaking voluntary testing. Strain said that AHWNI was keen to recognise these herds by giving them a status that acknowledged they have a low risk of BVD. The stumbling block relates to concerns about equality raised by DARD, as a system might differentiate one herd over another.
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From next Tuesday (1 March), all herds are required to tissue-tag newborn calves. Strain encouraged farmers to receive test results by text message instead of by post and said that results could not be given until the calf had been registered with DARD on APHIS. “In most cases, results are back in less than five days. Laboratories testing samples for the programme are required to have turnaround times for 95% of samples in seven days and 99% in 10 days,” he said.
A question raised was the possibility of compensation for PI calves. Strain said that DARD’s view was that BVD is a disease that affects productivity and so the costs of eradicating it should be met by the industry.
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Farmers who complied with the voluntary phase of the bovine viral diarrhoea (BVD) eradication scheme may yet receive some form of special recognition for their effort.
Speaking at a BVD information session in Enniskillen last Thursday, Dr Sam Strain from Animal Health and Welfare NI (AHWNI) said that the organisation is in discussions with DARD as to what might be possible.
At the end of 2015, over 4,500 herds were undertaking voluntary testing. Strain said that AHWNI was keen to recognise these herds by giving them a status that acknowledged they have a low risk of BVD. The stumbling block relates to concerns about equality raised by DARD, as a system might differentiate one herd over another.
From next Tuesday (1 March), all herds are required to tissue-tag newborn calves. Strain encouraged farmers to receive test results by text message instead of by post and said that results could not be given until the calf had been registered with DARD on APHIS. “In most cases, results are back in less than five days. Laboratories testing samples for the programme are required to have turnaround times for 95% of samples in seven days and 99% in 10 days,” he said.
A question raised was the possibility of compensation for PI calves. Strain said that DARD’s view was that BVD is a disease that affects productivity and so the costs of eradicating it should be met by the industry.
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