A MAJOR sheep health event is to be held at Connachan Farm, Crieff later this month, to highlight advances in the prevention and control of diseases that affect the productivity and welfare of sheep.

Well known Blackface sheep breeder, Mary McCall Smith, will host 'Healthy hill sheep for profitable farming in the hills' in partnership with the Moredun, the National Sheep Association and MSD Animal Health, on Wednesday August 28, with a formal opening by the NSA’s Phil Stocker at 1.30pm.

Workshops will then take place throughout the afternoon led by a number of experts. and will include:

• Tackling OPA (Jaagsiekte) with a scan and cull policy and launch of the new Moredun OPA control by thoracic ultrasound scanning;

• 'Disease? Not on my farm!' – featuring Moredun’s pen-side sheep scab diagnostic and biosecurity case studies;

• Practical vaccination workshop – how, where and when to vaccinate, including MSD Animal Health’s revealing Fridge Check study.

The event will finish at 5pm with a barbecue provided by the Kitchen Farmer.

Moredun’s head of communications Professor Lee Innes said: “Farm events are integral to our knowledge exchange activities with farmers and vets, and we are delighted to be working with our partners NSA and MSD again to deliver such a high calibre event with interesting speakers and topics. We are particularly pleased to be launching our new film aimed at highlighting the technique of thoracic ultrasound scanning for OPA control at this event, and have been working with well-known film producer Simon Cousins to achieve this.”

Ms McCall Smith commented: “We’ve been conscious of this disease for about 15 years. It got to the stage where I knew I really needed to be doing more about it and that’s when I decided we must do the scanning.” The results of three years of scanning at Connachan will be discussed at the workshop.

Mr Stocker added: “There can surely never have been a time when sheep farming in the hills has been under greater risk or attack, while also actually holding some real solutions to global sustainability. We can win this sustainability argument but only if we take the challenges of improving productivity and the environment seriously. For sheep much of the answer will be in optimising health and reducing losses and waste, and I’m delighted to be involved in this important sheep health event."

MSD Animal Health technical manager Dr Paul Williams said: “It is estimated that 20% of animal production worldwide is lost as a result of disease. Animal health is critical to achieve long-term sustainability in the farming industry – a healthy animal will produce a higher yield per unit of input, while having also increased overall productivity and lifespan.”

This event is free of charge and open to all involved in the sheep sector – but on a first-come first-served basis. Contact beth.wells@moredun.ac.uk or 0131 445 6157 to book a place by Wednesday August 21.