Sheep & Beef

OUR APPROACH

Let’s work together to boost your stock’s fertility, performance and overall health

There’s a long history of sheep and beef farming in these parts. Our involvement goes back generations too. We understand what it’s like to farm these parts and the nuances of the land and environment that affect the performance of your flock or herd. 

Keeping an eye on animal health parameters that influence optimal ewe performance, lamb survival and lamb growth rates is one of the ways we work closely with you. We provide full service to sheep and beef farmers including: 

  • Production and growth support, 

  • Trace elements testing, supplements and planning, 

  • Disease diagnosis, treatment, control and prevention, 

  • Parasite management (worms, fly and lice), 

  • Ram management, 

  • Lamb survival support, 

  • Body condition scoring, 

  • Advice and support for restricted veterinary medicines, 

  • Technical support and advice for animal health services and products.  

OviGold is our flagship partner programme for sheep (and beef) farmers. We want to understand your farming business and work with you to get the most out of your stock through regular animal health reviews, testing and targeted treatment plans. Along with Faecal Egg Counts, selenium tests, ram palpations and more, the programme also offers great savings on many animal health products and vet fees. 

For beef farmers, our veterinarians can provide BVD eradication and control programmes, tailored for your farm, which can then increase pregnancy rates and decrease stock losses. Specific animal health calendars can be formulated for your farm to ensure important vaccines, drenches and trace element supplements are not missed. We’re involved with many monitor farms and farm discussion groups, and can provide up to date and accurate information for your farm and stock. 

THE BENEFITS

Why VetSouth is a great choice

We're locals

We’ve been in the lower South Island for decades. It’s where we’re from and where we raise our families.

Wide network

We’re plugged into the Veterinary world and our team can call on expertise from all over the world, then deliver it locally.

Handy clinics

We’re close to you for consults, supplements, supplies...whatever you need. Pop on in or organise a delivery.

   

INNOVATION & RESEARCH

A never ending quest for improvement and advancement

Researching animal welfare and pathology is a passion we share, with our work being used by industry bodies such as Dairy NZ, the Sustainable Farming Fund and Beef & Lamb.

FURTHER READING

Latest news

Assisted calvings stats

In the 2025-26 season so far, between July and mid-October, we have been called out to assist with 594 calvings. Of these, 587 have been for dairy cows and 7 have been for beef cows. In the 2024-25Read more

Managing parasites in calves

Once calves start eating grass and consuming less milk or meal, they’ll also start picking up parasites – and this will begin to impact them. Traditionally, drenches have been our go-to tool forRead more

Parasite monitoring

Monitoring is a key feature of an effective Parasite Management Plan.  The most accessible monitoring option is faecal egg counting (FEC). We’re running more and more tests here in ourRead more

Brucella ovis and accreditation for rams

Brucella ovis is an infectious bacterial disease that primarily affects the genital tract of rams. It spreads via infected semen (for example, ram-ewe-ram transmission) and can occasionally causeRead more

Mark Bryan is stepping back

Twenty years ago this November we formally created VetSouth. It was initially a merger of Gore & West Otago Vets (in Gore) and Central Southland Vets (in Winton). We then brought in Southern Vet CentRead more

Beef cattle mating and selenium impact

Earlier this year we sent out a survey to understand how long our farmers’ beef cows are typically mated in our region, how the animals perform during that time, and what trace element supplementsRead more

Vitamin B12 treatment options

We recently featured an article with the results of vitamin B12 testing on local lambs conducted earlier this year, as well as options for getting your stock tested. Now let’s take a look at what yRead more

Giving your lambs their first drench

With lambs now on the ground, you might be thinking: When should I give my lambs their first drench? And what type of drench do I use? Once lambs develop their rumen, they can host internalRead more

Our programmes for farmers

We believe great animal health performance comes from a strong partnership between the farmer and their vet clinic.    That’s why we have programmes to support and reward this relationship:Read more

Larval cultures give more insight 

Most of our farmers are familiar with bringing in 10 individual faecal samples for a FEC (faecal egg count). Many are now discovering even more by having a larval culture done.    A FEC identifRead more

Vitamin B12 testing

Earlier this year, our vets in the Clutha area tested liver vitamin B12 levels in lambs, prompted by farmers’ concerns about poor growth rates.  On all farms tested, at least some lambs had liver Read more

Tech talk: Disbudding

For us vet techs it’s when our calendars are packed with lots of disbudding work, which is a favourite of ours. Days disbudding are filled with calves, banter, great teammates, and amazing farmers.Read more
 

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