CATTLE HEALTH SCHEMES
Cattle Health Schemes Provide programmes for the monitoring, control and ultimate eradication of disease, working closely with herd owners and their veterinary surgeons.
The schemes also provide certification of accredited-free status when a herd meets the agreed CHeCS cattle health standards.
There are currently programmes for the four most important non-statutory diseases that are prevalent in both beef and dairy herds in the UK and Ireland.
Bovine Viral Diarrhoea (BVD)
Infectious Bovine Rhinotracheitis (IBR)
Leptospira hardjo
Johne's Disease
Herd owners may test for any or all of the diseases at the same time.
Where to start depends on a herd's individual circumstances, and should be decided in conjunction with the owner's veterinary surgeon.
The entry level to a Cattle Health Scheme only requires routine monitoring (which in dairy herds is by regular bulk milk testing). This will give a good assessment of the health status of the herd.
Once the health status for any of these diseases is known, then a herd may progress through a programme of screening and eradication to eventual accreditation of disease free status.
