This is a subscriber-only article
The percentage of BVD tissue tags classified as empty has grown again this year.
Up to 28 March, 13,116 tags presented for testing were assessed as empty, 1.45% of all those sent to labs. This is up from 0.97% at the same time last year.
Over a million samples have been delivered to the labs so far this year, 12,000 more than the same week last year.
In total, 691 persistently infected (PI) calves have been identified this year, another fall since testing began in 2013.
Some 309 herds have been identified as BVD positive, just 0.65% of all herds.
Just 24 herds have retained a PI for more than five weeks after the first test in 2018, an improvement on the 32 herds which retained PI animals last year.
BVD postage costs rise to €1.80
Cattle farmers face €1m hit on empty tags
SHARING OPTIONS: