CHeCS TB Entry Level Membership

CHeCS TB Entry Level Membership: is it for me?

TB testing for many farmers is a tense time with a break down costing on average £18,600, writes SRUC Veterinary Services; Helen Carty BVM&S, Cert AVP (Cattle), MRCVS. The stress surrounding such an event is unquantifiable. As many aspects of farming are out with our control, it is vital to manage those factors that we can control. CHeCS TB Entry Level Membership is about taking control and is therefore most definitely for everyone.

CHeCS launched its TB Herd Accreditation Programme in 2016 as the gold standard for TB control. The biosecurity measures necessary to participate in this programme may not be suitable for all cattle farmers and this is where the TB Entry Level Membership comes in. It is accessible for all cattle farmers and encourages collaboration with your vet, to make improvements where you can.

Vets are ideally placed to advise on biosecurity and infectious disease control. A specific training programme, devised by BCVA, is now available to vets to bring them up to speed on minimising risk of TB from both cattle and wildlife.

Once vets have completed their training and become BCVA Accredited TB Advisers (BATVA), they can engage with their farmers to design farm specific action plans to reduce risk of TB incursion, re-infection or persistence. These biosecurity measures do not need to cost the earth, and each year can be reviewed and improved. Perhaps in time, herds will choose to move to the full Accreditation Programme, however this is not necessary.

Although TB is under statutory control, it is important to remember that testing and culling alone is not enough to control this disease. Farmers also need to implement controls to minimise the risks that other cattle and wildlife pose.

CHeCS TB Entry Level Membership framework allows farmers to work with their vet to identify their preferred option for control of each of the six key risk factors. 1. Minimise TB risk from purchased cattle, eg only buy in cattle from lower-risk herds 2. Minimise TB risk from cattle in other herds, eg never graze cattle on contiguous grazing at the same time as a neighbour’s cattle 3. Minimise TB risk from your own animals, eg cull inconclusive reactors 4. Minimise the spread of TB through muck or slurry, eg no imported slurry or muck to be used on cattle grazing land 5. Reduce TB risk from badgers, eg monitor for badger activity with cameras or mapping 6. Have a TB test failure contingency plan, eg have a plan for youngstock to leave the farm CHeCS TB Entry Level Membership: how to sign up

Figure 1 explains the process but first off, speak to your vet. There will be vet fees for desiging the farm specific action plan, but this should be considered an investment in your herd’s biosecurity. The CHeCS-licensed health schemes will provide the necessary forms and charge approximately £10-£40 annually, depending on whether your herd is already testing for other diseases through CHeCS. For more information visit www.checs.co.uk/diseases/bovine-tb/

• SRUC Veterinary Services run the Premium Cattle Health

Scheme (PCHS), one of the largest CHeCS Licensed

Schemes serving pedigree and commercial, beef and dairy herds. For further information visit www.cattlehealth.co.uk 01835 822456 pchs1@btconnect.com

Figure 1: CHeCS TB Entry Level Membership, how it works

Farmer discusses with vet and decides to join

Farmer looks for participating health scheme on the www.checs.co.uk and gets in contact

Health scheme sends back CHeCS TB Entry Level Membership form

Form is signed off by farmer and vet, and returned to health scheme to retain on file

Farmer and vet discuss requirements and identify preferred options in each Risk Factor

Helen Carty Vet undertakes BATVA training through BCVA to be able to sign off CHeCS TB Entry Level Membership