For the first time in months Foot-and-mouth-disease is not the main problem reported by veterinarians regarding cattle. With the availability of vaccines that can be privately acquired from later in August through private veterinarians on the RMIS ordering system, farmers will also have the opportunity to protect their own herds if they were not vaccinated by the state veterinary services before.

In beef cattle we are now at the start of the main calving season and reports regarding calving and problems like difficult calvings and prolapses do dominate the reporting by veterinarians who are very involved in providing a support service.

Blue tick numbers remained unexpectedly high even now in July which is a specific trend that will need specific management during the spring in order to break the life cycle of these ticks.

Pneumonia cases reported during July were lower than expected due to the winter that was milder than expected, except for severe cold fronts that swept over the country but most of them only lasted for 3 to maximum 5 days. In most areas the total number of days with frost was less than normal. The involvement of the veterinarian is very important in the choice of vaccine to prevent or antibiotic to treat effectively.

In sheep, internal parasites and specifically wire worm remained the leading disease problem, even in July which is a very abnormal trend, and possible resistance of these parasites against deworming remedies must be investigated.

More integrated parasite management, in consultation with the flock veterinarian will be needed on sheep farms where wireworm became the first limiting factor to sustainable production.