Ireland hopes to meet the conditions for BVD-Free status in 2023

Progress towards the eradication of BVD is being delayed by the failure of a minority of herd keepers to test their cattle

Screening a sample of home-bred young stock for BVD is more cost-effective than continued tissue-tag testing, in herds previously been found to be BVD-free, but researchers have shown it isn’t suitable for all Irish herds.

As the BVD finishing post nears, this is very likely to be the second last calving season with compulsory BVD tissue tag testing for the majority of dairy and beef farmers.

However, it is a different story north of the border. Eradication progress in Northern Ireland has levelled off.