The George Farm Vets

15/06/2024

Scott Dewart made this short film 'Balance and Burnout' as his way of highlighting the importance of looking after our mental health and finding a healthy work-life balance on the farm.

He feels the hardest parts of working in agriculture is finding time away from the farm. And it was actually having to self isolate with COVID back during the pandemic that made him realise that there other people which can help share the load. Even though you may think there isn't anyone with time to help, there is a network of friends and family who will and want to step up when needed.

"You should never feel alone, never feel trapped or scared to say how you are feeling – farming is a wonderfully communal industry more than any I know, be it your neighbour, a pal at the market, or your family, there is always someone around to listen, and don’t forget the wonderful resources offered by The Farming Community Network" - Scott Dewart

All video credits to FCN.

12/06/2024

Thank you to everyone that came to our farm walk at Blakehill Farm last week and massive thank you to Jonathan, Charlotte, Chris and Nick at Wiltshire Wildlife Trust for hosting.

Really interesting to hear about how they balance the farming enterprise with conservation. Grazing cattle and sheep are so important for nature and biodiversity, and insightful to hear how they manage this with the Nofence collars.

The herd and the site have come along way from being just an WWII airfield, now having resident Curlews being their proudest achievement, but also abundant birds, invertebrate and plants. Plus health and performance of the herd is also doing better than ever.

One of biggest take homes was the team's mindset - being drive, open and adaptive to evolve, and harnessing different team members strength and contributions. It was wonderful to see how proud they are of their farm and want to share it, with the public and other farmers.

09/06/2024

🍰 Upcoming in aid of RABI, a lovely day out & cream tea 🍰

05/06/2024

Next Thursday! The south regional Women in dairy meeting @ 10.30am

For more info & to book your place - https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/women-in-dairy-spring-meeting-wiltshire-tickets-916136086697?aff=oddtdtcreator

03/06/2024

We're very excited to announce entries are now open for our 2nd year of charity calendar photo competition! - deadline 1st August

We had some fantastic entries last year and looking forward to seeing your photos for this year's calendar. All proceeds raised from the sale of the calendars will be going to The DPJ Foundation & Farming Community Network .

01/06/2024

🥛World Milk Day is to recognise the importance of milk as a global food, and to celebrate the dairy sector. 🥛
On this day, the benefits of milk and dairy products are actively promoted around the world, including how dairy supports the livelihoods of one billion people.

🐄 A 250 ml glass of milk, says FAO, can provide a 5- or 6-year-old 48 per cent of their dietary protein requirement, 9 per cent of calories and key micro-nutrients like calcium, magnesium, selenium and B vitamins.

🐄Did you know that India is the largest producer of milk and accounts for 22 per cent of global milk production? It is followed by the US, China, Pakistan and Brazil.

🐄There are approximately 340-350 udder squirts in a gallon of milk.

🐄Evidence shows that Neolithic farmers in Britain and Northern Europe may have been among the first to begin milking cattle for human consumption around 4000 B.C.

Let’s celebrate our dairy farmers in the UK and worldwide today and every day.

31/05/2024

Next Friday! A really interesting insight into farming @ Blakehill Farm, with nature at the fore front but without compromise in health and productivity in the beef herd.

We'll be covering various interesting aspects, from conservation grazing using the NoFence collars on species rich meadows, through to suckler herd fertility.

If you'd like to attend please ring to let us know for catering, on 01666 823035

29/05/2024

📣 Our upcoming training courses this summer! 📣
Various different courses on offer including: AI, foot trimming and some more specific areas of cattle care.

If you'd like more info or to book your place please ring 01666 823035 or email [email protected]

23/05/2024

Last week Ed, Geth and Ellie attended the launch of Wolfhall Farm as an AHDB strategic dairy farm. Interesting to hear how far they've come, what they've tried and what's to come over the next 3 years. Some key highlights included the use of tech with ear tags & shedding gates, benefits of split block calving, genetics / breeds, importance of constant body condition score monitoring and proactive veterinary input to drive fertility.

One of the key take homes was the importance of mindset and people on farm. Tom and Anthony have always been open to trying different ideas. So it'll be exciting to see what is to come during their time as an AHDB strategic dairy. They'll be hosting another meeting on farm later this year so watch this space.

20/05/2024

What a great finish to Mental Health Awareness week - our Women's Coffee Morning on Friday. It was lovely to have a room full of laughter and everyone catching up with people they hadn't seen for a while as well as meeting others for the first time.

Thank you so much to everyone that came & hope you enjoyed it. Talking really does help ❤️Our next Women's event will be wreath making in December so keep an eye out for the save the date.

As a final note thank you to our sponsors for their support.

19/05/2024

🪰We've recently seen some cases of flystrike and the NADIS alert indicates the risk is high - the recent weather has been perfect for flies and they're definitely about!🪰

It's better to be proactive with fly control and dag/shear animals sooner rather than later. Avoiding fly breeding areas is also important i.e. open water, mucky areas where animals congregate & defaecate.
If possible it's better to avoid fly treating before shearing due to the risk it poses to the shearer, otherwise treat well before shearing and warn your shearer that you've applied fly products.

We stock a few different fly treatment products, so please get in touch if you need something to treat your animals with. And if you find a case of fly strike in your stock please contact for veterinary advice.

19/05/2024

📣Latest Cattle Newsletter - Abortions and Upcoming courses📣

https://www.georgevetgroup.co.uk/georgevets/images/farm-vets-latest-news/2024/Cattle_Abortion.pdf

18/05/2024

🐐When was the last time you wormed or faeces tested your goats? 🐐
We've recently seen some high goat worm egg count results and a few cases of worm issues in goats (both haemonchus and 'gutworms').

Contrary to belief, goats aren't like sheep when it comes to worm control. They are affected by very similar species of worms but management and control is different.

🐐 Goats don't develop good immunity to worms vs. cattle and sheep which can, after 1-2 grazing seasons they can develop an immune response to worms allowing them to become resilient to them

🐐 Goats need different doses of wormer compared to sheep, and they can also be heavier than they look! So it's important to weigh goats and to seek advice on worming (this also helps us reduce the risk of wormer resistance)

🐐 Sheep/cattle are grazers (aka mostly eat grass), compared to goats which are browsers (preferring leaves, bark, green stems, buds, vines and shrubs). Long fibre such a hay, should play a big part of their diet and providing browser (e.g. tree clippings) gives them additional nutrients and enrichment. [beware of plants which can be toxic to goats].

🐐 Regular faeces testing is the best way to monitor worm issues before significant gut damage occurs - but we have to be mindful that haemonchus and nematodirus worms can cause problems before eggs appear in the faeces. Hence for haemonchus it's important to check the colour of their eye membranes for any paleness to indicate anaemia.

Goats do have some other difference vs. sheep when it comes to management, which is why having a health plan can be really helpful. If you'd like some advice or to discuss a small holder health plan please ring 01666 823035.

18/05/2024

🐄Please join us and other local industry professionals for an open day at Tresham Farm. We will be in attendance to support our clients, the Kingston Family. Come along and have a look round the farm!🐄

Sign up link - https://www.delaval.com/en-gb/learn/events/kingston-family-32x32-p2100-parallel-parlour-with-rapid-exit/

16/05/2024

Time to Talk - although the official Time to talk day is 1st Feb, everyday presents an important opportunity to take the time to talk, for you the share when you're having a rough time or to check in with someone else who might be have a tough time

All video credits to DPJ foundation

15/05/2024

- Rob sharing his story, a farmer from Gower who sadly lost his father to su***de. A really crucial point to think about this week and Rob really highlights the importance of talking. Su***de can be prevented and talking about your thoughts and how you are feeling can be the first step to feeling better

If you feel like you would benefit speaking to someone else who has also been bereaved by su***de there's survivors of bereavement by su***de / SOBS (who have an online group specifically for men), RABI, DPJ and FCN, plus we're always here to support. & listen.

14/05/2024

A poignant video that's an important any day of the year but in particular this week for

Don't take 'fine' for an answer. Every week 1 in 6 people experience mental health problems.

A study of 2,000 adults commissioned by the Mental Health Foundation has found that the average adult will say ‘I’m fine’ 14 times a week, though just 19% really mean it.

Our 'I'm Fine' campaign encourages us to open up about mental health and ‘bring back meaning’ to daily conversations.

All video credits to ukmentalhealth.

13/05/2024

💚We're proud to be supporting 💚- an important reminder, aiming to tackle stigma and help people understand and prioritise their and others' mental health.

The theme this year is movement, and I know a lot of you are very active in your day to day life. But taking the time to do movement you enjoy, whether that's a walk with the dogs or friends, a bike ride, a team sport, dancing, whatever it may be. Moving for your own wellbeing and making time for yourself is key.

Please take some time this week to think about your own and other's mental health. There's always someone ready to listen, whether that's us, friend, neighbour, family or someone at RABI, DPJ or FCN.

💚

12/05/2024

Upcoming foot trimming courses! - both are LANTRA accredited and run by Sarah Smith (BCVA accredited foot health trainer) and Tim (Morris' Moo Shoes Ltd)

For more info or to book your place please email [email protected]

12/05/2024

📣Excited to announce our upcoming farm walk, which will be kindly hosted by the Wiltshire Wildlife Trust @ Blakehill Farm.📣

A really interesting insight to farming at WWT with hopefully lots of discussion, ranging from - grazing species rich grasslands & hay meadows using 'NoFence' collars through to suckler herd fertility. Moreover, there'll be a walk of their wildlife rich hay meadow before cutting!

Lunch & refreshments will be provided, so if you'd like to attend please let us know for catering by ringing 01666 823035

Look forward to seeing many of you there.

11/05/2024

🐑Its getting to that time of year when young lambs are at risk of Nematodirus worms and Cocci. 🐑

The SCOPS forecast for cocci is currently low, but it can quickly change so it's important to frequently re-check it and should be considered with your local conditions e.g. altitude, south vs. north facing, previous grazing history etc.
SRUC reports various cases of cocci in lambs and calves already this year, particularly because of the long wet spring.

Both of these can be checked with a faeces test, with the caveat that Nematodirus can cause serious issues before egg appear in the faeces so often treatment is guided by risk assessment and with Cocci there are some non-harmful species which make sometimes make interpreting cocci egg counts more challenging.

Please ring for advise and to organise faeces testing.

10/05/2024

☕Reminder that next Friday we'll be doing our 2nd Women's Coffee morning of the year ☕ - let us know if you'd like to come so we can gauge numbers for food.

Next week is also mental health awareness week so keep an eye out for posts & content.

09/05/2024

🌸April Round Up🌸 - Feels like the sun is slowly but surely making an appearance, and some animals are making it out to grass 🤞

It was great to see so many of you at our annual Cow Convention - hopefully some helpful take homes from down cow management to parasite control.

Joe , Jonah and Ellie attended a really useful communications based training course in Cardiff - highlighting the importance of active listening amongst other key communications skills

We had an foot trimming and lameness clinical club for all the vets & vet techs this month. Running these help all of us to keep up to speed with the latest information and updates.

27/04/2024

We had a super useful clinical club this week, refreshing foot trimming with the latest research based updates on best practice. Thank you to Sealy's for letting us come along to demo on your cows and for Andrew for sharing his tips/tricks.

26/04/2024

We're proud to support the 14th year of the annual 'Great British Beef Week' to highlight the versatility and exceptional taste of the beef produced by Britain’s farmers as well as raise awareness about the importance of supporting the British farming community with the challenges they face.

We've seen some great posts so far this week, and there's still time to join and share!

24/04/2024

This winter has been long and very wet, with lots of challenges from Schmallenburg to limited forage stocks. A poignant and helpful video, that is well worth a watch and is by one of our own clients Richard.

The Resilient Farmer - https://www.farmwell.org.ukThe Farming Community Network - https://www.fcn.org.ukThe Yana Project - https://www.yanahelp.orgThe DPJ Fo...

19/04/2024

📣We've seen a number of Schmallenburg cases both in cattle and sheep. Testing is really important for surveillance, so that APHA know how many cases are truly occurring. If we don't test and report, we simply don't know country wide prevalence or spread 📣

Classic evidence of Schmallenburg are calves/lambs born with fused joints but they can also have brain deformities and nervous signs (blind, wobbly, seizures, unable to stand/suck).
You can also get acute disease in cattle with high temperatures, drop in milk yield, inappetence, diarrhoea, loss of condition - we have seen presentation as well as deformed calves.

APHA are subsidising testing, so the testing of samples is free. Sampling deformed lambs/ calves if preferable to confirm Schmallenburg but we can also blood test dams if that isn't an option.

If you think you are experiencing this and want to test, please ring 01666 823035 to discuss it with a vet.

19/04/2024

☕Upcoming is our 2nd Women's Coffee Morning of the year! ☕- it would be wonderful to see old and new face, even if you feel like you can just pop in for a cake or breakfast buttie, everyone is more than welcome.

If you would like to come please ring 01666 823035 or speak to Bridget, Zoe, Fien or Ellie.

18/04/2024

Upcoming DIY AI course, on 1st-3rd May @ Malmesbury, Kemble & Marshfield.
Covering the reproductive theory, handling straws/ flask care and doing the job itself!

If you'd like to attend please ring 01666 823035 or email [email protected]