The national bovine TB Advisory Service for farmers was launched in October 2017 and is being delivered by Origin Group over a three year period. Cattle farmers in the High Risk and Edge Areas of England can register for the free service by telephone and email.
Due to the Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak and following the latest Government advice, the TB Advisory Service has temporarily suspended all on farm advice visits as of 25 March 2020. TBAS would like to remind you in these testing times, that their advisors are still on the end of the telephone or email. You can also follow TBAS on Twitter and Facebook. If you have any questions or would like advice on bovine TB issues, please get in touch using the contact details below.
The TB Advisory service provides free, bespoke advice to cattle keepers about practical, cost-effective measures to build herd resilience to bovine TB through:
- On-farm advice visits
- Telephone advice service
- One-to-one advice drop-in clinics
On-farm advice visits
The TB Advisory Service offers one-to-one on-farm advice visits, where experienced advisors provide bespoke recommendations to reduce the risk of TB infection in herds that are currently TB-free, whilst discussing trading options and measures to prevent repeated re-infection for farms that are currently under TB restrictions.
Eligible farmers can request an advisory visit with the service’s trained bovine TB advisors, provided by ADAS, Kingshay and Westpoint Farm Vets, at no cost.
Advisory visits normally take around two hours, and you are encouraged to invite your own vet along.
The adviser will ask about your farm business, concerns you currently have about bovine TB, and issues you may face in the future. The advisor will then walk around your farm buildings and fields with you to better understand your current situation and assess on-farm biosecurity. At the end of the visit, the adviser will discuss with you what they have seen and what they feel you can do to improve your herd's resilience to bovine TB.
After the visit you will receive a bespoke report including recommendations of practical measures you can implement to improve on-farm biosecurity and trading practices, if applicable. You are encouraged to share this report with your vet. You will also receive a follow up call and/or email to gather your feedback on the service, and to see how you are getting on with implementing the suggested recommendations.
Telephone advice service
If you contact the TB Advisory Service requesting telephone advice on bovine TB, your details and questions will be passed to an adviser who will call you back to discuss the issue. Following the phone call, you will receive a summary of the advice given, either by email or through the post.