BACKGROUND Phillip Jones runs a spring calving, organic suckler herd of 110 Limousin cross cows, plus followers at Lan Farm, located in Carmarthenshire, South Wales. In the past, his ambition to increase the herd to 140-150 cows had been hampered by a BVD outbreak, which not only caused a decline in cow numbers and impaired the herd’s productivity, but also put significant financial strain on the farm business. CHALLENGES In 2009, Phillip was running 120 cows as a flying herd. However, persistent health issues, including a particularly bad outbreak of pneumonia, were having a detrimental effect on the herd’s fertility and growth rates. “As well as the obvious signs associated with pneumonia, we were also seeing symptoms such as dull and lifeless newborn calves which wouldn’t suc

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