Health issues in hot weather: check stock regularly and know the signs of heat stress and pneumonia. Sore eyes can become an issue in prolonged periods of very hot weather. This may spread where meal feeding is carried out and needs to be treated to prevent further infection. A simple penicillin treatment should work, but seek vet advice before you treat.

Once animals have access to feed, water and some shade they will be content in the current conditions. Conception rates may be lower in the current hot temperatures. Bulls may also be less active in very hot conditions.

Summer mastitis: there has been an increased incidence of summer mastitis over the past week, with some cases in autumn cows due to calve shortly.

Summer mastitis is less common in spring-calving cows as the calf is sucking the cow regularly, but it can occur in late-calving cows where calves are unable to suck all four quarters and mastitis develops.

Particularly high-risk areas are those with trees, close to water or that have plenty of shelter from hedges, as this will attract flies.

Prevention is better than cure. Treating cows with a pour on insecticide can help prevent the problem, but the cover period varies with different products. As the peak risk period is normally in late July and August, cows may need a second treatment.

Applying tar can work, but that’s less practical as it needs to be reapplied every three to four days. Cows with summer mastitis will have a swollen udder and flies around the teat.

When drawing a quarter, the characteristic thick, clotted secretion is present. If an antibiotic tube is being used to treat an infected quarter, make sure you clean the teat and use a glove. Good hygiene and preventing further infection is very important.

SCEP weighing: with autumn born claves being sold earlier than usual this year, it’s important that you tick all the boxes to make sure you get your SCEP payment. You must weigh at least 80% of the cow/calf pairs on your farm to be eligible for payment.

Calves born between 1 July 2024 and 30 June 2025 are eligible for this year’s payment. Each live calf must be un-weaned and weighed with its dam on the applicant’s holding on the same day. Where a calf dies before five months of age or its dam, this must be recorded on AIM and the 80% does not include such a pair.

Calves being submitted for weighing must have been born in the herd within each scheme year. All calves being submitted for weighing must be in the ownership and possession of the applicant since birth and maintained on the holding. It must be alive at the time of weighing.

The calf must be a minimum of 50 days old before they are eligible to be weighed. Weights should be submitted to ICBF within seven days of weighing and no later than 1 November annually.