CHeCS

Cattle Health Certification Standards
The way to a healthier and more profitable herd
Herdcare
Tel: 0131 445 6294
Fax: 0131 445 6102
e-mail:david@biobest.co.uk
www.herdcare.com

HI Health
Tel & Fax: 01463 811 125
www.hi-health.co.uk

Premium Cattle Health Scheme
Tel: 01835 822 456
Fax: 01835 823 643
e-mail: g.caldow@ed.sac.ac.uk
www.cattlehealth.co.uk

Cattle Health Certification Standards (UK)
Dairy House, 60 Kenilworth Road, Leamington Spa, Warwickshire CV32 6JX
Tel: 01926 887477  Fax: 01926 887585

Cattle Health Schemes

Cattle Health Schemes provide programmes for the monitoring, control and ultimate eradication of disease, working closely with herd owners and their veterinary surgeons.

The scheme also provide certification when a herd meets the agreed national cattle health standards.

There are programmes for the four most important non-statutory diseases that are prevalent in both beef and dairy herds in the UK.

Bovine Viral Diarrhoea (BVD)
Infectious Bovine Rhinotracheitis (IBR)
Leptospira Hardjo
Johne's Disease

Herd owners may test for any or all of the diseases at the same time.

Where to start depends on a herd's individual circumstances, and should be decided in conjunction with the owner's veterinary surgeon.

The entry level to a Cattle Health Scheme only requires routine monitoring (Which in dairy herds is by regular bulk milk testing).  This will give a good assessment of the health status of the herd.

Once the health status for any of these diseases is known, then the herd my progess through a programme of control and eradication to eventual accreditation of disease free status.

Why Improve Your Herd Health Status?

Many herds in the UK have a good standard of health, having worked closely with their vets over a number of years to control mastitis, lameness, fertility and production diseases.

Further improvements are happening with the introduction of Herd Health Plans to meet the requirements of Farm Assurance Schemes.   Beef and Dairy herds have already achieved freedom from many of the diseases subject to State control, such as Brucellosis and EBL.

Strict controls to keep out highly infectious diseases, like Foot and Mouth, are now widely understood and practised; but many herds still do not know their own particular health status for BVD, IBR, Lepto and Johnes's.

Many European countries have either eradicated, or have embarked upon national control and eradication programmes for BVD, IBR, LEPTO and Johne's disease.

If we do not keep pace with these improvements we will find ourselves, as individual herd owners, unable to compete in the UK or with the rest of Europe.

Herd health will increasingly become a consumer-led issue, which could prevent milk or beef being sold from non-compliant farms.

What Are The Benefits?

DISEASE CONTROL
A greater public awareness of farming methods has resulted in ever mounting pressure to reduce the use of antibiotics and other treatments in all herds, not just those which are organic.  This means that greatly improved methods of disease control are now very much more necessary than in the past.  Testing to the standards of a CHeCS licensed Cattle Health Scheme is the first step forward to achieving this.

FINANCIAL GAIN
Controlling the considerable problems caused by disease will show a very  noticeable reduction in annual losses.  For example, it is known that in just 10 years, uncontrolled BVD in a 100 cow herd can cost at least £45,000, and for Johne's Disease more than £20,000.

HERD HEALTH PROTECTION
CHeCS licensed Cattle Health Schemes advise straight forward health measures, specifically designed to protect the herd from re-infection.  These are equally effective in keeping out other infectious diseases such as TB, Digital dermatitis, and Strep-agalactiae mastitis.  CHeCS herd health planning is especially effective in protecting the overall health, welfare and profitablility of the herd.

RECOGNISED CERTIFICATION OF HERD HEALTH
Buying cattle only from herds that are known to be healthy is becoming ever more important.  In this respect, herds in CHeCS licensed Cattle Health Schemes are able to provide an owner's declaration of health status.  This gives buyers the confidence that they are not buying in disease.

Testing cattle to the CHeCS recognised standard, results in a health certificate, which is a tradeable asset of added value.