Recent research by Zoetis UK into beef farmers thoughts on clostridial diseases, revealed that 38 % of those questioned were not vaccinating.
This is despite the National Office of Animal Health (NOAH) Livestock Vaccination Guideline which categorises vaccination for clostridial diseases as a category one vaccination for beef, one of the highest priority vaccinations.
Zoetis said that 37% of farmers purchase vaccines for clostridial diseases from their SQP, which provides SQPs with a unique opportunity to offer advice on the issue and grow the market within the retail channel.
The Zoetis research identified that 46.8% of those questioned stated that time and labour was the top barrier to vaccination, while 21.3% selected cost, however there is a good cost versus benefit outcome.
Andrew Beckett from Crossways Farm in Porth-Y-Waen, Oswestry, Shropshire first started vaccinating for clostridial diseases about 10 years ago when he lost three calves to Blackleg, one of the most common clostridial diseases in cattle, and he has been vaccinating ever since.
Mr Beckett said: “We would have the odd calf loss each year, but about 10 years ago we lost three in the same year so we decided to call our vet, Simon Wilson from Cain Vets, and ask him to do a post-mortem which revealed that they had died from the clostridial disease, Blackleg, caused by the Clostridia bacteria, C. Chauvoei, which lives in the soil.
“I now vaccinate for clostridial diseases every year and we haven’t lost any calves since. We found that the cost of vaccinating far outweighs the cost of even one fatality a year and I’m pleased to say that even though I was initially skeptical about vaccinating for clostridial diseases, when I look back it was definitely worth it.”
Ally Ward, veterinary surgeon at Zoetis UK added: “Pregnant cows are often given a booster two to eight weeks before calving with a product like Covexin 10 to pass immunity to calves by increasing antibodies in the colostrum. This will help protect youngstock in the first few months of life, as well as the mother for a year.
“Now is a good time of year for farmers to vaccinate those calving in the autumn to provide protection in the longer term and SQPs are in an ideal position to provide advice to beef farmers on the many benefits of vaccination.”
