Disease is a hot topic at NDS

VISITORS to the National Dairy Show can get up to date with efforts by the food industry and farmers to tackle the ever-present threat of animal diseases.

Experts and farmers agree on main disease worries — bovine viral diarrhoea (BVD), infectious bovine rhinotracheitis (IBR), and paratuberculosis under the biosecure heading; and fertility, udder health/milk quality, lameness, and calf health in the non-biosecure category.

The adverse impact of biosecure diseases is currently considered relatively minor, but would increase substantially in time.