Most livestock farmers have seen firsthand the value of having an effective vaccination plan in place for the cattle in their herds.

There are vaccinations available for a large variation of diseases that impact cattle and sheep.

When developing a vaccination plan for your herd, it is advisable to contact your local veterinary practitioner to identify the key diseases to vaccinate for.

At a recent Teagasc DairyBeef500 farm walk, two sample vaccination plans were highlighted as a guide for farmers.

Table A and Table B below detail two separate sample vaccination plans for dairy-calf-to-beef farms:

Table A: Subcutaneous and intranasal programme:

Table B: Intranasal and delayed pneumonia vaccination:

Pneumonia is one of the most common diseases in calf-to-beef systems and is the main cause of death in animals over one month old.

Particularly high risk periods for pneumonia are at the calf-rearing stage - just after arrival and also at winter housing.

Ideally, animals should be vaccinated at least two weeks prior to the risk period so where cattle are being housed for the winter, the advice is to vaccinate at least two weeks prior to housing.