Written by:

• Harriet Chapman MRCVS
  Verterinary Surgeon - Coast 2 Coast Vets, Helston

The long summer days can feel like breathing space on autumn-calving units, but they are also one of the most valuable management windows in the dairy calendar. While breeding may still feel some way off, the foundations for next season’s fertility are already being laid. Good fertility does not begin at mating. It starts months earlier, with transition cow management, body condition control, disease prevention and close attention to environment.

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Harry Gulley
trainee poultry specialist

Heat stress is one of the most significant environmental chal- lenges affecting laying hens, particularly during prolonged periods of hot weather. Chickens maintain a body temperature of around 40.5–42°C but, unlike mammals, they cannot sweat to cool themselves down.

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Mark Tucker
forage specialist

For most livestock farmers, an empty slurry store signals one thing: relief. The last load has been spread, the tanker has been washed (or at least parked somewhere convenient!) and thoughts quickly turn to silaging, harvest and everything else the summer throws at us. The slurry store won’t get much attention again until autumn.

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Stuart Gough
ruminant specialist

Challenge: Lean on a gate and look at your freshly calved heifers.

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