BVD Stamp It Out initiative

In 2018, Defra announced a project focused on controlling bovine viral diarrhoea (BVD) in the national breeding herd in England. The project has become known as Stamp It Out. Run by SAC Consulting alongside Duchy College, Stamp It Out offers funding through the Rural Development Programme for England (RDPE) for cattle keepers in England to draw up plans to control the disease. The headline target for Stamp It Out is to engage 50% of the breeding herd in England in active BVD control planning; this equates to 911 764 breeding cattle. The overall budget for Stamp It Out is £5.7 million, of which £1.2 million is ring fenced for testing costs. This testing money is split into two available pots: £61.80 per herd to undertake a check test; £440 per SBI number to undertake a persistently infected (PI) animal hunt if check test shows active infection. With delivery having started in August 2018, as of May 2019, the following successes can be reported: 4187 farmers enrolled, 3483 of which have agreed to join BVDFree England, and their details have been sent across.