Farmers across the UK are being urged to work with their vets to incorporate blood testing as an essential part of their annual cattle health plans.

By collaborating with their vets, farmers can gain valuable insights into their herd’s health, identify trace element deficiencies early, and make more informed decisions on nutrition and supplementation prior to turnout.

Linda Morgan of Marches Farm Vets, an independent practice working across Herefordshire Shropshire and Worcestershire, advises farmers to incorporate blood testing as part of their ongoing strategy to help identify issues before they impact productivity and profitability.

“As a vet, you can’t advise properly if you don’t know what the animal’s current status is – just because there isn’t obvious disease doesn’t mean everything’s fine,” she says.

“Low trace elements and deficiencies can impact fertility, productivity and disease resistance causing underlying clinical and subclinical problems. The most straightforward way to establish a baseline is a blood sample and that can often be incorporated as part of the Animal Health and Welfare Pathway, a government funded advisory scheme available to farmers.

“It’s important to view blood testing as part of a proactive health-plan – once you know what you’re working with, you can adjust treatment and target supplementation, investing where it matters most, rather than supplementing for the sake of it.”

She adds that while there are different forms of supplementation on offer, the important thing is knowing the animal is receiving it at the correct level.

“If you’re forage-based and not feeding a commercial ration, then boluses are probably the most reliable option because you know it’s been administered directly and will release over time in the rumen. Once you’ve given a bolus, it’s worth retesting three to five months later to check you’ve corrected the deficiency.

“While there is some upfront investment in the blood work, you often only need to do a full investigation once. After that you’ve got a repeatable strategy, whereby bolusing becomes a simple routine - for example during pre‑calving, pre‑turnout or at key youngstock stages.”

Shropshire farmer, Nigel Lloyd, has recently benefited from adopting this approach by working with Marches Farm Vets.

“I saw that some of my cattle weren’t getting into calf and I know this region is generally thought to be selenium and iodine deficient,” he says.

“I wanted to understand what was going on and get a baseline rather than supplementing blindly, so I spoke to Linda, who advised doing blood tests at scanning to check for common deficiencies.

“The results confirmed copper and selenium deficiencies across the cows and the bull, and Linda recommended bolusing as the most reliable and practical way to correct this within our grass-based system and ahead of calving.”

For farmers like Mr Lloyd, working closely with his vet and incorporating blood testing into his health plan has made a significant difference in herd management.

“For me, the blood testing took the guesswork out of it” he says.

“We’ve since bolused the cows with Tracesure Advanced Cattle XL to cover calving and into serving and it means I know they’re getting what they need at a key time.”

The boluses are designed to deliver a sustained release of cobalt, iodine, selenium and copper, alongside levels of manganese and zinc, directly into the rumen for up to six months and are suitable for year-round use.

Good supplementation of cows during late pregnancy will also benefit the new born calf, providing good liver stores of these essential trace elements to help it grow well and remain healthy.

Mr Lloyd concludes: “I’d definitely recommend other farmers to work with their vet and do the same, it's a straightforward, preventative step and it’s better than just hoping for the best.”