Livestock
Cattle Diseases in the UK: Signs, What You Must Report and When to Call
How to spot the notifiable cattle diseases, who to call if you suspect one, and the signs of BVD, IBR, Johne's, mastitis, calf scours and pneumonia.
From the fields and beyond
Livestock farming in the UK
UK livestock coverage from an editor’s seat: beef, sheep, dairy and pigs — gate-price policy, bTB testing changes, antibiotic targets and the welfare standards under debate. Tim Harfield doesn’t run livestock himself, but livestock policy sets the rural-economy weather for every farm.
Livestock
Hay, Straw, Haylage and Silage: Bale Weights Table, Bales per Acre, Making and Storage
Hay, haylage and silage explained: dry matter, how each is made, hay bale and round bale weights, stacking, fire risk and silage storage rules.
Livestock
Cattle Breeding Guide: Heifers, Heat Detection, AI and Bulls
A practical UK guide to breeding cattle: bulling heifer targets, heat detection, AI or the bull, bull fertility tests, calving interval and sexed semen.
Livestock
Worming Treatment for Sheep and Cattle: Wormer Groups and Resistance
Worming sheep and cattle: the main worms and fluke, the five wormer groups, faecal egg counts, resistance, quarantine treatment and dosing correctly.
Livestock
Sheep Tupping Season UK 2026: Dates, Ram Ratios and Your Lambing Date
When tupping season starts in the UK, when to put the tup in for the lambing date you want, ram-to-ewe ratios, condition targets, raddle and teasers. With.
Livestock
Sheepdog Breeds: The Border Collie, the New Zealand Huntaway and Which Dog Fits UK Farms
A dog, a flock, and a conversation you can barely hear.
Livestock
Soay Sheep of St Kilda: Britain’s Most Primitive Breed
Meet the small island sheep that kept her independence.
Livestock
Swaledale Sheep: Yorkshire Dales Hill Breed and the Mule Ewe
Swaledale sheep are the horned, white-muzzled hill breed of the Yorkshire Dales and northern Pennines, and the dam of the North of England Mule. Swaledale sheep in…
Livestock
Blackface Sheep: The UK’s Most Numerous Breed and Why the Hills Run on It
Tim’s take: Stand on any Scottish hill road long enough and the sheep that walks out in front of the car will be a Blackface. No breed…
Livestock
Orf in Sheep and Lambs: Symptoms, Treatment, Vaccination and Protecting Yourself
Orf (contagious pustular dermatitis, or “scabby mouth”) is a contagious viral skin disease of sheep and goats, caused by a pox virus that survives for months in…
