TB Testing & Advisory Visits

Here at Severn Edge, our team of dedicated, friendly TB testers offer full herd TB testing competently and professionally. Whether large or small herds, we are happy to accommodate tests of all shapes and sizes, including camelids. Test types catered for include DEFRA whole herd or trace tests, or private
pre-movement tests. We are pleased to offer our standalone TB testing services to non-clients in addition to our current client portfolio.

With the vast majority of our clients on 6 monthly testing, we are committed to supporting farmers to work towards the Government’s target of being TB free by 2035.

Testing on farm is often a good time to discuss any herd health or management queries. We can also provide other veterinary services during the TB test, such as blood sampling, pregnancy diagnosis or castration and dehorning.

To help us maintain a high throughput of animals, we encourage clients to book testing in good time. We advise that as soon as you receive notification from APHA that a test is due, please call the farm practise on 01746 713 911 to book your test. We will always try to accommodate your requested testing dates within your window.

More information and practical advice on how TB affects you and your herd can be found at www.tbhub.co.uk, supported by APHA.

​

TB Advisory Service (TBAS):

The TB Advisory Service is a DEFRA funded project that offers FREE, bespoke, practical and cost-effective advice to all eligible farmers in England to help reduce the risks associated with TB. Within the team at Severn Edge Fam we have a number of TBAS advisors that are here to support all our clients when tackling bovine TB.

If you are a farmer of cattle, deer, goats, camelids, pigs, or sheep in England you may qualify for free telephone advice or a free set of visits. Simply contact the practice and we will get the process started for you.

What’s Involved: 

The team at Severn Edge will ask about your farm set up (a lot of this we will already know), the concerns you currently have regarding TB, and issues you may face in the future. If you have a Farm Level Data Pack from APHA, it would be useful to share this with us. We will then have a walk around your farm buildings and fields to better understand your current situation. Throughout the visit we will identify potential areas where TB risk could be eliminated or reduced discussing why these are risks and how you can control them. At the end of the visit will agree on four recommendations you can carry out that we feel will help you and your stock.

There will be a second visit three – six months later to assess what recommendations have been concluded and what was involved in completing them including the time and monetary costs associated with each.

Please remember we are there to help and support you, as a high risk area in Shropshire we are very aware of the destruction that TB has caused. The idea of these visits is that we look at TB as an infectious disease and the recommendations are the start of an action plan to reduce your risk and length of a TB breakdown.

There is no penalty for not completing the recommendations, however the feedback we always have is simply “why wouldn’t you”. Many of the recommendations are “no- regrets” which means they should not involve a large financial or time commitment and can and do make a difference!

If you have any questions or concerns about having an advice visit, just call us on 01746 713 911.

You can contact the TB Advisory Service on 01306 779410 or email .