Farmers turning cows out to grass are being urged to check trace element balance in dry cows, after goitre was listed among the top 10 abortion diagnoses recorded by the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) between April and June last year (2025)1. Paddy Gordon, veterinary surgeon at Shepton Vets, says farmers should be aware… Continue reading Farmers urged to check iodine status as goitre linked to late abortions
Testing ewe colostrum quality should become standard practice across all flocks, say experts, to help safeguard lamb health and productivity. Independent sheep consultant Kate Phillips says testing colostrum — particularly at the start of lambing — can provide a useful indicator of overall flock health and nutrition and allow management changes to be made early.… Continue reading Farmers Urged to Check Ewe diets and Test Colostrum for Stronger Lambs
Suckler producers are being urged to review their cow supplementation programmes after data reveals widespread trace element deficiencies in suckled calves. A review by SRUC Veterinary Services of 1,662 post-mortems carried out between 2016 and 2020 on calves less than six months old found that more than half showed signs of vitamin E and selenium… Continue reading Data Showing Calf Deficiencies Highlights Need for Trace Element Review
Mixed forage quality and variable ewe condition scores this year are putting extra pressure on farmers to analyse forage and adjust diets to maximise lamb survival. Across the country, grass growth from March to August was 20% lower than average. However, there was significant variation between regions, depending on rainfall and soil type. Forage quality… Continue reading Mixed Forage Quality Puts Pressure on Ewe Condition Ahead of Lambing
During a couple of challenging years for forage, sheep farmer James Horn has turned to blood testing his flock pre-tupping to identify deficiencies in essential nutrients including selenium, cobalt and iodine to help target supplementation whilst also ensuring his sheep maintain a healthy body condition score. James lambs 1000 Romneys on 400 acres of rented… Continue reading Blood testing identifies forage deficiency
Beef and dairy farmers are being advised to test their forage after the latest silage analysis data reveals declining levels of trace elements in forage. Data from 1,500 silage samples¹ highlights that while dry matter levels tend to be higher in 2025, there has been a continued decline in magnesium, copper and zinc over the… Continue reading Cattle farmers urged to test forage as data highlights trace element decline
Trace element deficiencies during winter consistently rank among the most frequent diagnoses in sheep submissions, according to government data — posing a stark warning to farmers to ensure ewes are properly supplemented. Data from the Sheep Disease Surveillance Dashboard1, issued by the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) and SRUC, shows that between 2015 and… Continue reading Government data highlights winter risk of trace element deficiencies in ewes
