Accreditation scheme is key to Colleton’s success
Disease control has helped one Devon herd establish, expand and improve pedigree sale results, leading to a healthier and more profitable operation. Melanie Jenkins reports
QUITTING London life to build a farming business near Chulmleigh in North Devon proved a steep learning curve for Grania and Simon Phillips.
But 31 years later, they have a thriving business rearing grass-fed beef for specialist outlets - and cattle disease control is a key part of their success.
When the couple took over the 160ha farm at the end of the 1980s, its main enterprise was a large flock of commercial sheep. However, once they realised the quality of grass the land could grow, they decided to add cattle, opting for Red Ruby Devons as a breed they could finish off grass.
The couple ran sheep and cattle together for a while but eventually dropped the sheep flock, frustrated with unreliable retail contracts and competition from New Zealand imports. They then focused on building the beef herd.
The Colleton herd has now been going for over 25 years and numbers 80 head plus followers and finishers, with the couple selling pedigree breeding stock and box beef from animals finished off grass at 30-36 months. However, they admit the earlier days weren’t all plain sailing.
“Once we had our first 20 or so cows, we noticed one or two calves not doing so well,” says Mrs Phillips. “We decided it might be Bovine Viral Diarrhoea (BVD) but we couldn’t find a Persistently Infected (PI) animal so started to wonder whether it could be Johne’s Disease.”
A vet in their local practice was keen to look more closely at disease control in cattle so they worked with him for three years to get started on testing and control through the CHeCS-accredited Hi-Health cattle scheme.
The couple soon found that, being unable to find PIs, their best course of action was to vaccinate for BVD. As the cattle all have access to water from the River Taw and much of the land is flood plain, they were also advised to vaccinate for Leptospirosis as eradication would have proved near impossible. “We now test every breeding animal then vaccinate for BVD,” explains Mrs Phillips.
“All the cattle are vaccinated for Leptospirosis, meaning we stay on our toes for the pedigree sales side of the business. For Johne’s we tested and culled affected animals to bring it under control, and we test regularly for Infectious Bovine Rhinotracheitis (IBR). We’ve never had a positive result for IBR – if we did we would seriously consider vaccinating.”
The herd is at the lowest risk for Johne’s Disease – Level 1 – although they occasionally get an animal testing positive on blood samples. Faecal tests from those animals have always been negative, and if any of the cows get a repeat positive blood test, then it’s culled.
Mrs Phillips believes that accrediting for disease has helped improve pedigree sales - and the breed society now requires disease certification as default.
“This is a constant reminder of the value of controlling disease, but what you more easily forget are the times when you were struggling to finish a steer, had a calf that just wouldn’t grow, or the odd cow aborted. Those are the more hidden but costly effects of cattle disease.”