Nick Bell - Contributor Profile

Bio

Nick is an independent herd health veterinary consultant based in Dorset, UK and Honorary Associate Professor at Nottingham University. 

He grew up on a small sheep and beef farm in Herefordshire, qualified from Cambridge University in 1999. In 2002 he took on a PhD project at Bristol on dairy lameness control programmes in 2002-2006 followed by the Healthy Feet Project in 2007 and then the Cow Tracking project at the Royal Veterinary College in 2011. 

Nick is a member of the European Board of Veterinary specialists, RCVS recognised specialist. He has interests in claw trimming approaches in dairy cows supervising a Dartington Cattle Breeding Trust project (Sophie Mahendran masters student) and the latest AHDB funded project (Sara Pedersen PhD). He also has an interest in automatic monitoring of cow behaviour and welfare working with researchers at Writtle College, Essex University and Exeter University in the Cow Tracking project and more recently IceRobotics and CattleEye. 

He still enjoys nothing more than treating a lame cow and fixing a cubicle shed. 

Published Papers

• Anzuino, K. et al., 2010. An assessment of welfare on twenty-four commercial UK dairy goat farms based on direct observations. Veterinary Record, 167, pp.774–780.
• Archer, S., Bell, N.J. & Huxley, J.N., 2010. Lameness in UK dairy Cattle: A review of the current status. In Practice, 32, pp.492–504.
• Atkinson, O.C.D. et al., 2013. Using a balanced scorecard approach to lameness reduction in dairy herds. In Proceedings of 17th International Symposium and 9th International Conference on Lameness in Ruminants. H. R. Whay & J. Hockenhull, eds. Mariot Hotel, Bristol, UK.
• Barker, Z.E. et al., 2010. Assessment of lameness prevalence and associated risk factors in dairy herds in England and Wales. Journal of Dairy Science, 93(3), pp.932–941.
• Bell, N.J. & Huxley, J.N., 2009. Locomotion, lameness and mobility in dairy cows (letter). Veterinary Record, 164(23), p.726.
• Bell, N.J. & Huxley, J.N., 2009. The use of rubber floor matting on dairy units: a critical review. Cattle Practice.
• Bell, N.J. & Main, D.C.J., 2011. Case report: Engaging farm staff in a lameness control programme. Livestock, 16(3), pp.33–38.
• Bell, N.J. & Main, D.C.J., 2012. Case report: Reducing lameness through active screening, attention to details and skilled staff. Livestock, 17(1), pp.14–19.
• BELL, N.J. & THOMAS, S., 2001. Use of sterile maggots to treat panniculitis in an aged donkey. Veterinary Record., 149(25), pp.768–770.
• Bell, N.J. & Walker, A.M., 2016. Technology: are we any closer to automated lameness detection or automated mobility scoring? Livestock, 21(3), pp.152–159.
• Bell, N.J. et al., 2003. Applying principles of the Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) system to reduce lameness in UK dairy heifers. Cattle Practice, 11, p.385.
• Bell, N.J. et al., 2006. Herd health planning: farmers’ perceptions in relation to lameness and mastitis. The Veterinary record, 159(21), pp.699–705.
• BELL, N.J. et al., 2007. The impact of farmer and veterinary surgeon concordance on the effectiveness of a lameness control programme for primiparous dairy heifers. In British Society of Animal Science. Southport.
• Bell, N.J. et al., 2009. The development, implementation and testing of a lameness control programme based on HACCP principles and designed for heifers on dairy farms. The Veterinary Journal, 180(2), pp.178–188.
• Bell, N.J. et al., 2013. Digital dermatitis: treatment and control. Livestock, 18(2), pp.6–12.
• Bell, N.J. et al., 2014. The use of disinfectant foot-bathing agents for the control of bovine digital dermatitis in dairy cattle. Livestock, 19(1), pp.6–13.
• Bell, N.J. et al., 2015. Challenges facing automatic lameness detection: Combining biotelemetry sensors to improve algorithm performance for determining cow behaviour used for early detection of lameness. In proceedings of 18th International Symposium and 10th Conference on Lameness in Ruminants. N. Taditch, ed. Valdivia, Chile.
• Bell, N.J., 2004. Assessment of prevalence, treatment and control of lameness-related disease in dairy heifers on 30 farms in Southwest Britain. In proceedings of 13th Symp. Lameness in Ruminants. B. Zemljic, ed. Maribor, Slovenia, pp. 39–40.
• Bell, N.J., 2005. Lameness: Evaluation, hazards and interventions. Cattle Practice, 13, pp.103–112.
• Bell, N.J., 2006. The alleviation and prevention of lameness in dairy heifers. PhD Thesis. University of Bristol.
• Bell, N.J., 2007. Cow tracks. Cattle Practice, 15, pp.184–187.
• Bell, N.J., 2012. Using foot lesion prevalence data in an investigation of lameness associated with Palm Kernel in a Dairy Blend. Livestock, 17(2), pp.37–41.
• Bell, N.J., 2014. The farm audit: foot health, lameness and footcare. In P. Cockcroft, ed. Bovine Medicine.
• Bell, N.J., 2015. Evidence-based claw trimming for dairy cattle. Veterinary Record, 177(9), pp.220–221.
• Bell, N.J., 2016. Early lameness detection, cow comfort and infectious lesion control: lessons from the UK (invited presentation). 16th International Conference on Production Diseases in Farm Animals.
• Brown, P., Fews, D. & Bell, N.J., 2015. Teaching Veterinary Histopathology - a comparison of microscopy and digital slides. Journal of Veterinary Medical Education, In Press.
• Brown, P.J., Fews, D. & Bell, N.J., 2009. A comparison of student learning using microscopes and glass slides or digitized images. Journal of Comparative Pathology, 141(4), p.270.
• Clegg, S.R. et al., 2016. Isolation of digital dermatitis treponemes from cattle hock skin lesions. Veterinary Dermatology, Online.
• Collins, S. et al., 2015. Evaluating the concept of iceberg indicators for on-farm welfare assessment of dairy cattle by farmers. Cattle Practice, 23(2), pp.300–301.
• Collins, S. et al., 2016. Improving the feasibility of welfare outcome assessments for dairy herds – exploring the potential of “iceberg indicators.” In UFAW Animal Welfare Conference. The Merchant Adventurers’ Hall, Fossgate, York, UK.
• Dyson, S. et al., 2013. Suspected chemical burn on the digital skin of dairy cows following foot bathing with 5% formalin solution. In D. B. W. and D. J. Hockenhull, ed. Proceedings of the 17th International Symposium and 9th International Conference on Lameness in Ruminants. Bristol Marriott City Centre Hotel, Bristol, UK.
• Groenevelt, M. et al., 2014. Measuring the response to therapeutic foot trimming in dairy cows with fortnightly lameness scoring. The Veterinary Journal, 201(3), pp.283–288.
• Horseman, S. et al., 2013. Farmer responses to questions about how quickly they treat lame cows-comparing two methodological approaches for interviewing farmers. Cattle Practice, 21, p.90.
• Horseman, S. V. et al., 2013. A survey of the on-farm treatment of sole ulcer and white line disease in dairy cattle. Veterinary Journal, 197(2), pp.461–467.
• Ivemeyer, S. et al., 2015. Farmers taking responsibility for herd health development – Stable Schools as a tool for dairy health and welfare planning in Europe. Organic Agriculture, 5(2), pp.135–141.
• Leach, K. et al., 2012. Activities of organic farmers succeeding in reducing lameness in dairy cows. Agriculture and Forestry Research, (362), pp.143–146.
• Leach, K.A. et al., 2011. A facilitation approach to reducing lameness in dairy herds. Best-Practice Knowledge Transfer, p.24.
• Leach, K.A. et al., 2012. The effects of early treatment for hindlimb lameness in dairy cows on four commercial UK farms. The Veterinary Journal, 193(3), pp.626–632.
• Mahendran, S. & Bell, N.J., 2015. Lameness in cattle 2. Managing claw health through appropriate trimming techniques. In Practice, 37(5), pp.231–242.
• Mahendran, S.A. et al., 2017. Randomised controlled trial to evaluate the effect of foot trimming before and after first calving on subsequent lameness episodes and productivity in dairy heifers. The Veterinary Journal, 220, pp.105–110.
• Mahendran, S.A., Booth, R., Beekhuis, L., Manning, A., Blackmore, T., Vanhoudt, A., Bell, N. (2017) ‘Assessing the effects of weekly preweaning health scores on dairy calf mortality and productivity parameters: cohort study’, Veterinary Record, 181(8), 196–196.
• Mahendran, S.A., Booth, R., Bell, N.J., Burge, M. (2017) ‘Randomised positive control trial of NSAID and antimicrobial treatment for calf fever caused by pneumonia’, Veterinary Record, 181(2), 45–45.
• Main, D.C.J. et al., 2010. Sampling strategies for monitoring lameness in dairy cattle. Journal of Dairy Science, 93(5), pp.1970–1978.
• Main, D.C.J. et al., 2012. Evaluating an intervention to reduce lameness in dairy cattle. Journal of Dairy Science, 95(6), pp.2946–2954.
• Manning, A., Mahendran, S. & Bell, N.J., 2016. Evidence base behind foot trimming in UK dairy cattle. Livestock, 21(1), pp.6–14.
• Manning, A.D., Mahendran, S.A., Hurst, B.S., Blackmore, T.L., Bell, N.J. 2017 ‘Effect of a prewash on footbath contamination: A randomised control trial’, Veterinary Record, 180(5), 121.
• Mottram, T.T. & Bell, N.J., 2010. A novel method of monitoring mobility in dairy cows. In The First North American Conference on Precision Dairy Management. Toronto.
• Newsome, R. et al., 2016. Linking Bone Development on the caudal aspect of the Distal Phalanx with Lameness during Life. Journal of Dairy Science, 99(6), pp.4512–4525.
• Potterton, S.L. et al., 2012. A descriptive review of the peer and non-peer reviewed literature on the treatment and prevention of foot lameness in cattle published between 2000 and 2011. The Veterinary Journal, 193(3), pp.612–616.
• Rossiter, J.E.R. et al., 2013. Inter-observer agreement between foot trimmers on foot lesions in cattle. In proceedings of 17th International Symposium and 9th International Conference on Lameness in Ruminants. H. R. Whay & J. Hockenhall, eds. Mariot Hotel, Bristol, UK, p. 119.
• Stoye, S.C. et al., 2014. Quantifying transitions between levels of mobility score in dairy cows. Veterinary Record, 174(26), p.659. Available at: http://veterinaryrecord.bvapublications.com/archive/.
• Thomas, H.J. et al., 2013. Investigation of early and effective treatment interventions for claw horn lesions in UK dairy cows. Cattle Practice, 21(PART 2).
• Thomas, H.J. et al., 2015. Evaluation of treatments for claw horn lesions in dairy cows in a randomized controlled trial. Journal of Dairy Science, 98(7), pp.4477–4486.
• Thomas, H.J. et al., 2016. Recovery of chronically lame dairy cows following treatment for claw horn lesions: a randomised controlled trial. Veterinary Record, 178, p.116.
• Vanhoudt, A. et al., 2015. Monitoring cow comfort and rumen health indices in a cubicle-housed herd with an automatic milking system: a repeated measures approach. Irish Veterinary Journal, 68, p.12.
• Vázquez Diosdado, J.A. et al., 2015. Classification of behaviour in housed dairy cows using an accelerometer-based activity monitoring system. Animal Biotelemetry, 3(1), p.15. Available at: http://www.animalbiotelemetry.com/content/3/1/15.
• WHAY HR et al., 2006. Development of a lameness control programme for dairy heifers. Cattle Practice, pp.157–159.
• Whay, H.R. et al., 2004. Prioritising risk factors for dairy heifer lameness through iterative consultation. In B. Zemljic, ed. 13th International symposium and 5th conference on lameness in ruminants. Maribor, Slovenia, p. 207.
• Whay, H.R. et al., 2006. Development of a lameness control programme for dairy heifers. Cattle Practice, 14, pp.157–159.
• Willshire, J.A. & Bell, N.J., 2009. An economic review of cattle lameness. Cattle Practice, 17(2), pp.136–141.