At St Davids Farm Practice we are committed to the future of profitable beef production
in the South West. Efficiency is key to this and we seek to work with our clients
to maximise output and minimise loss through excellent health standards. We find
that this team approach of management advice and health planning pays dividends
in keeping animals on our clients farms healthy - healthy stock are productive stock.
Our suckler herds receive regular input to maximise fertility which is the main
factor contributing to output (as measured by Kg weaned calf/cow). Regular disease
monitoring is carried out to identify and control any diseases reducing cow fertility,
and bull fertility testing through St Davids Farm Practice is important for all
breeding bulls.
Important also to our suckler clients is calf health, and we make a lot of effort
to ensure our clients and their staff are well informed about how best to deal with
sick calves on farm. We work hard to prevent calf disease but also are quick to
attend with specialist veterinary care should sick animals require it.
Beef youngstock and fatteners growth needs to be optimum so we aim our health planning
at controlling diseases reducing growth. But it is not just disease that requires
measurement, actual performance of these animals needs measurement and recording
so comparisons can be made with targets and problems identified early.
Bull Fertility Testing
Bull fertility is vital to the success of many suckler and dairy herds. Too often
it is left to chance with sometimes disastrous consequences.
To address this issue St Davids Farm Practice has a bull fertility testing service.
We find this fertility test extremely useful for routine pre breeding checks of
all stock bulls as this facilitates confident planning of what bulls to run with
groups of cows. It is also widely used for investigation of suspect bulls in cases
of fertility failure.
The test is available on farm and all that is required is a decent crush with side
access, electricity and water.