Farm Animal Vets
13 farm vet practices and groups across the UK, with what to ask first: the annual review, prescriptions, TB testing and the records a visit should leave you.
This page lists 13 farm and mixed vet practices and groups, UK-wide first and then by nation, each checked against its own website. Choose the practice, not the individual vet: ask who does TB testing in your parish, who covers nights and weekends, and whether a visit leaves the medicine detail in writing.
No paid placements. Run a UK business that fits here? Email hello@farmhq.ai with your business name, area covered and website.
How do I choose a farm vet?
Choose the practice, not the individual vet: the practice answers the phone at 2am. The Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS) advises checking that a practice treats your species, and its Find a Vet search can filter by species and show accredited practices. It also says to ask about out-of-hours charges early.
Then ask who does the TB testing for your parish, who covers nights and weekends, and whether a visit leaves you the product, batch and withdrawal detail in writing. The businesses listed above are a starting point, not a ranking. If you are Red Tractor assured, say so at the first call, as the practice will sign your health plan and annual vet review.
What should the annual vet visit and health plan cover?
The Red Tractor dairy standard says the nominated vet or practice must visit at least annually and see the livestock, and that the health plan is signed, dated and reviewed annually by the vet. The beef and lamb standard has the same shape; our guide sets out the clauses in both standards.
Book the visit early in the year, not the week before the audit, with treatments, deaths, lameness and culls to hand. The usual trap is a plan written on the day that does not match what you do. In England a funded vet review may cover part of the cost, so ask whether the practice does them and check the current GOV.UK guidance.
What must a vet do before prescribing, and what should the prescription say?
For a prescription-only medicine, paragraph 4 of Schedule 3 to the Veterinary Medicines Regulations requires a clinical assessment and the animal to be under the vet's care. For antibiotics in production animals, the RCVS says the vet should have inspected the premises and examined a representative animal, or done so recently enough to hold current information.
If the medicine comes from anyone but the prescriber, you need a written prescription. It must give the withdrawal period or say it is zero days, and must say if the product is under the cascade or is an antibiotic for prophylaxis. It is valid for six months unless it says shorter. Our Veterinary Medicines Regulations guide and withdrawal period guide cover the rest.
Who can carry out my TB test?
In England, APHA's letter names the organisation appointed to test. APHA asks a veterinary delivery partner to appoint an authorised vet or Approved Tuberculin Tester (ATT), and routine tests are free. You can ask another suitably qualified person, but may have to pay. Arrange it before the deadline in the letter, because an overdue test puts the herd under restrictions.
Pre-movement testing is separate. It is private, and your vet must be an Official Veterinarian on the APHA cattle testing panel, or an ATT in England and Wales. Not every practice is on the panel, so ask first. The other nations differ, and our bovine TB testing and movement guide has the timings.
What happens if I need a vet at night or on a Sunday?
RCVS guidance says vets in practice must take steps to provide 24-hour emergency first aid and pain relief. That does not mean the same vet is always on call. Cover can be shared with another practice or an outside service, but the practice should tell you numbers, hours and likely initial costs, even if an outside service covers nights.
If they cannot attend themselves, they should direct you to who can. So ask before calving or lambing, not during it: who answers, how far they travel, and what the call-out costs. Write the number on a card where the whole family can find it, not only in one person's phone.
What records should a vet visit leave me with?
When a vet gives a medicine to a food animal, regulation 18 of the Veterinary Medicines Regulations says that as soon as is reasonably practicable the vet must either enter the details in your records or give them to you in writing. They are the vet's identity, product and batch code, date, quantity, animals treated and withdrawal period. If you get them in writing, you make the entry.
The usual trap is an invoice reading "injection, three cows" with no batch or withdrawal. That is not a record, so ask before the vet leaves the yard. File the vet's note, prescription, TB52c chart and signed plan together. Our medicine book guide lists the fields, and the five-year rule says how long to keep them.
What do farmers actually ask?
Can I buy my medicines from somewhere other than my own vet?
Yes, if you hold a written prescription. A POM-V product can only be supplied by the vet who prescribed it or against a written prescription, and the supplier may only supply the product named on it. For food animals it must carry the withdrawal period. See our rules on prescriptions and medicine records.
Does my vet have to come out at night?
Practices must take steps to provide 24-hour emergency first aid and pain relief, though not always through the same vet, and must point you to whoever can help. For production animals under their care, the RCVS says the vet must be able to visit the premises on a 24/7 basis, and it is not enough for you to be registered at another practice.
Who pays for a pre-movement TB test?
You do, in most cases. Routine herd tests ordered by APHA in England are free, but a pre-movement test is a private transaction between you and your vet, unless a government-funded test counts as your pre-movement test. Book with a vet on the APHA panel and watch the 60-day window, which our TB testing guide explains.
What should I do with the vet's note after a visit?
Enter it in your medicine book the same day, with product, batch, animals and withdrawal end date, then file the note. FarmHQ, a farm office app for UK cattle and sheep farms now in beta and free to start, drafts the entry and you confirm it. Our free medicine book template gives the columns.
Sources
- Bovine TB: get your cattle tested in England (GOV.UK)
- Bovine TB pre-movement and post-movement testing (GOV.UK)
- Veterinary Medicines Regulations 2013, Schedule 3 (legislation.gov.uk)
- Veterinary Medicines Regulations 2013, regulation 18 (legislation.gov.uk)
- Red Tractor dairy standard: animal health and welfare
- RCVS: 24-hour emergency first aid and pain relief
- RCVS: Under care and prescribing
- RCVS: Choosing a veterinary practice