Nimrod Veterinary Products Ltd provides innovative veterinary solutions, with the SELEKT brand focusing on clinical nutrition and oral fluid therapy for ruminants. Nimrod is committed to advancing animal health and welfare through science-based products and expert support.

SELEKT comprises a range of products for oral fluid therapy and recuperation from metabolic diseases in farm animals. They have been developed by veterinary surgeons with expertise in these fields, and are manufactured in the UK by Nimrod Veterinary Products Ltd.

SELEKT RE-EWE-VENATE is a new drench for recuperation from pregnancy toxaemia, also known as twin-lamb disease, in ewes and goats. It includes calcium propionate, as pregnancy toxaemia is often accompanied by a calcium deficit, which can be fatal. Compared with other drenches, it provides more glycerol and propylene glycol for conversion to glucose. This means that its effect lasts for at least twelve hours, as demonstrated in an independent university study, saving farmers the time and trouble of more-frequent dosing.

NoBACZ Healthcare have combined science and practical benefits to develop novel products that are changing the way we manage lesions and wounds. Being antibiotic free, non-colonisable and preventing microbial ingress, the groundbreaking patented formulas are hydrophobic in nature, repelling water and providing an almost instant waterproof barrier layer. The biodegradable nature means the products are as safe for the planet as they are for the animals whilst being tough enough to withstand a farm environment.

Founded in science and with extensive in field trials NoBACZ products are proven to be effective physical barriers, that are easy and safe to use and provide an alternative to topical antimicrobials.

Nadav Galon studied Veterinary Medicine at Pretoria University, South Africa, received MPA (master’s in public administration, Health Systems) degree from Clark University, USA, and is an Israeli-certified specialist in Cattle Medicine. He worked over 20 years as a clinician at Hachaklait veterinary cooperative in Israel. Served for seven years as the Chief Veterinarian of Hachaklait; managed 50 vets, around 1,500 ruminant herds, including more than 1,000 intensive dairy farms. From 2011 to 2017 he served as Israel national Chief Veterinary Officer (CVO), director of the Veterinary Services and a delegate of Israel to WOAH (World Organization for Animal Health).

He is a consultant to FAO, WOAH, EU and other national and international organizations, companies and startups. He is a non-faculty lecturer at the Koret School of Veterinary Medicine in Israel on risk-analysis and regulatory-veterinary-medicine and is a frequent invited speaker at national and international conferences.

After graduating in 1996 from The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel, Yoav spent 7 years working in a 38 vets farm practice in Israel. In 2003 he got fed up with the sun and decided to move to the UK with his young family where for 5 years he worked as a Senior Farm Clinician at the Royal Veterinary College, London.

In 2008 he joined Friars Moor farm vets team, where he enjoys all aspects of progressive farm work but admits having a strange fascination with milking sheep and goats. He holds a RCVS certificate in Sheep Health and Production and is a recognised Israeli Specialist in Small Ruminant Health & Production.

During his spare time, he practices Tai Chi and loves spending time with his wife and two children, their cat ‘Layla’ and their accident-prone Springer Spaniel, ‘Chilli’.

John Bailey BVSc MRCVS qualified from Liverpool University in 1975. Heather Benbow BVetMed MRCVS qualified from the RVC in 1978. After a few years working in various practices around the country they established Ambivet Veterinary Group in 1980 and stayed in full time general practice until 2017. Following retirement in May of that year they bought Wakebridge Farm and began work to establish Wakebridge Manor Creamery. They are now full time farmers, remain on the veterinary surgeons register but are not in general practice.

Session - Starting Up a New Sheep Dairy and Creamery

This presentation will run through the hurdles to be overcome in setting up a dairy flock and creamery, the breeding, feeding and milking of the sheep, a look at disease and production statistics and an overview of farmhouse cheese production.

James Barnett was a Veterinary Investigation Officer for what was then the Animal Health and Veterinary Laboratories Agency (AHVLA, now APHA) in southwest England for 8 years before joining Axiom Veterinary Laboratories in 2013. He is involved in all aspects of farm animal diagnostic work with a particular focus on cattle, sheep and camelids. Outside of Axiom, he is veterinary pathologist for the UK Cetacean Strandings Investigation Programme in Cornwall.

Session - Laboratory diagnosis of production limiting diseases

The talk will aim to cover the diagnosis of a range of production limiting diseases seen in goats and sheep, young and old, of which there are many. The range of tests applicable to each disease will be discussed, their relative merits considered and pointers given as to how they can be used to control disease in the flock or herd.

Heather Benbow BVetMed MRCVS qualified from the RVC in 1978. John Bailey BVSc MRCVS qualified from Liverpool University in 1975. After a few years working in various practices around the country they established Ambivet Veterinary Group in 1980 and stayed in full time general practice until 2017. Following retirement in May of that year they bought Wakebridge Farm and began work to establish Wakebridge Manor Creamery. They are now full time farmers, remain on the veterinary surgeons register but are not in general practice.

Session - Starting Up a New Sheep Dairy and Creamery

This presentation will run through the hurdles to be overcome in setting up a dairy flock and creamery, the breeding, feeding and milking of the sheep, a look at disease and production statistics and an overview of farmhouse cheese production.

David is the International Business Development Manager (Ruminant) for NoBACZ Healthcare, a RCVS recognised Advanced Practitioner in Sheep Health and Production and an experienced farm veterinary surgeon. Before joining NoBACZ in 2024 he was the Veterinary Sciences Manager for a UK-based veterinary pharmaceutical company working on technical support and training for a global brand. Before this he worked at a large farm animal practice in the Midlands for several years, and established Midlands Advanced Breeding Services. He holds the CertAVP (Sheep) from the University of Liverpool, and was the recipient of an RCVS Knowledge Quality Improvement Award for his work on ovine obstetrics. Outside of his work with NoBACZ he continues to offer some small ruminant consultancy to local farmers, delivers CPD internationally, is a trustee of RCVSKnowledge, and is an external lecturer at two UK vet schools.

Session - Neonatal lamb management; What did we learn from the largest ever navel hygiene study?

The best flocks achieve 10 – 12 % lamb losses from scanning to rearing, and it is an accepted fact that almost half of those losses occur within the first two days of life, with another 10 % occurring in the first two weeks. As well as fatalities, other conditions such as umbilical infections or infectious suppurative polyarthritis (‘joint-ill’) caused by Streptococcus dysgalactiae subsp. dysgalactiae (SDSD) can contribute to poor lamb health and welfare.

Prevalence rates of up to 50 % and subsequent mortality rates of up to 20 % are reported, and it is not uncommon for lambs with either of these conditions to be euthanised on welfare grounds. Bacteraemia has also been observed after routine management procedures (such as tagging) create an entry point for infection.

Until now best practice has been to apply ‘strong iodine’ to the umbilicus, and sometimes ear-tagging sites, by dipping or spraying. The aim is to provide desiccation of the umbilicus and disinfection of the surface. Prophylactic antibiotic use still occurs on as many as 19% of farms, which is not best practice or good antimicrobial stewardship (AMS). There is little published evidence for the prevention of SDSD or reduced mortality rates using iodine as a preventative approach. Farmers often report that it is licked off, or drips off, and re-applications are required.

Throughout the 2023 – 2024 lambing season, FlockHealth Ltd ran a randomised-control trial (RCT) with eleven flocks in the UK enrolled on the study producing a cohort of 6840 lambs. Odd numbered lambs receiving strong iodine and even numbered lambs NoBACZ navel. Survival and weights up to eight weeks of life were monitored.

NoBACZ navel demonstrated superior protection compared with iodine in the study. Evidenced by the 21% reduction in mortality that was observed in the NoBACZ navel group compared with the iodine group (p=0.005).

This session will delve into the results of this study, considering the impact on mortality, joint-ill, growth rates, and the impact of dipping versus spraying the navel.

Paul has followed an unusual career path having started out in the hospitality industry before studying veterinary medicine as a mature student later in life. Paul has worked for Friars Moor Livestock Health for nearly 8 years now and has myriad clinical interests including small ruminant health and production. He has a passion for researching esoteric subjects such as goat meat quality and is part of the Dairy Sheep and Goat Consultancy team.

Session - Improving Neonatal Survivability on Farm

Patrick and Paul describe how they worked together over the course of 12 months to reduce lamb mortality and improve the health and growth rate of neonatal lambs on a large organic sheep dairy.

Qualified from Liverpool Vet School in 2008, Bryony arrived at Tyndale in 2009 after working in Cheshire at the University of Liverpool Farm Practice. She enjoys all aspects of being a farm vet but especially small ruminant work – sheep and dairy goats. Following a brief stint in New Zealand in 2014-15 she has also developed an interest in grass-based dairy farming.

Nick qualified in 1989, spent five years in mixed practice in Devon before moving to concentrate on dairy cattle work in Somerset. From early in his career, Nick developed a keen interest in goats and worked with several large dairy goat herds as well as the usual client mix of pet and small pedigree goat keepers. Nick joined the Goat Veterinary Society as a member early in his practising life, later joining the committee where he is currently President. After 24 years in practice, Nick joined the Veterinary Defence Society as a Farm Animal Claims Consultant.

Session - The GVS/MGA/BGS Johnes Control Programme. An overview of its development, where are are now and where to go next.

Dr Janet Roden, has 35 years experience in the development and application of genetic improvement strategies in sheep and cattle. She now oversees the breeding programme at Innovis breeding sheep to meet the needs of commercially minded farmers focused on forage fed sheep, provides genetic support to the Welsh Sheep Genetics Programme and heads up the Breed for CH4nge research project.

Session - Breed for CH4nge - breeding sheep with a lower carbon footprint

Janet Roden (Project Manager) and Alexandria James (member of Centurion Group of Dorset Sheep Breeders) will talk about the Breed for CH4nge project which aims to identify the best breeding strategies and tools for breeding efficient maternal sheep that can help contribute to a lower carbon footprint and to disseminate the knowledge and technologies to the industry.

After finishing college in 2023, Patrick went o to work as a contract shepherd in Wales and Scotland before going on to manage beef and sheep farms across the UK. Before coming to Friars Moor, Patrick was head shepherd at a large, organic sheep dairy in North Dorset.

When not at work, Patrick enjoys working sheep with his three collies and enjoying the countryside.

Session - Improving Neonatal Survivability on Farm

Patrick and Paul describe how they worked together over the course of 12 months to reduce lamb mortality and improve the health and growth rate of neonatal lambs on a large organic sheep dairy.

Ben Strugnell qualified from the Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies, Edinburgh in 2002 and spent 6 years in rural mixed practice in North Yorkshire. He then joined the Veterinary Laboratories Agency VI Centre/ diagnostic laboratory in Thirsk, where he worked as a Veterinary Investigation Officer for 6 years. In 2010 he obtained the RCVS Certificate in Pig medicine. In 2014 he undertook a pilot project with the Beef and lamb Levy Board in England (EBLEX), which established a carcase-based post mortem diagnostic service for farmers and their vets at a large fallen stock collection centre in North East England. He has remained at the same centre ever since, performing post mortem examinations on various classes of livestock, in what is now a sustainable enterprise. Since 2014 over 12,000 carcasses have been examined, and accumulated data on causes of death has been of use to the industry and government. He has also been a visiting lecturer at the Universities of Nottingham and undertakes regular teaching of veterinary undergraduates and post-graduates, farmers and allied professionals.

Session - The art and the science of feeding lambs/ kids on artificial milk replacer, with an emphasis on abomasal bloat

This session will attempt to outline the science and practice behind feeding lambs and goats on artificial milk replacer. It will include a review of the literature, explanation of anatomy and physiology and current nutritional recommendations in terms of amounts fed, how often, and constituents of milk powder. This is an area where physiology, pathology, nutrition and management interact, so for best results input from more than one person will be required, and only in this way will mortality be minimised while achieving optimal growth rates during this period of potentially efficient feeding of youngstock and future flock/ herd replacements.

Katherine grew up in Leicestershire and went to the Royal Veterinary College, graduating with honours in 2007 before working in mixed practices in the Midlands with dairy, beef and equine clients. Katherine joined Ceva Animal Health in 2014 as part of the technical team, covering the UK in the role of veterinary advisor for the ruminant part of the business. Katherine has a busy home life being married to a beef and sheep farmer with three children and having an active involvement in rural life.

Session - Coxiella burnetii: Born to cause trouble

Q Fever is a disease caused by infection with the bacterium Coxiella burnetii, which can infect goats, sheep, cattle and many other mammals as well as reptiles, birds and people. Q fever has been a problem in the UK for numerous years and is zoonotic, with those in direct contact with ruminants at most risk.

We will explore the clinical signs, diagnostics and best methods to prevent it to help reduce the impact this disease has on the UK.