---
title: "ES RDE 104 - Dry Cow Therapy"
ocid: "ocds-h6vhtk-0780f9"
canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-0780f9"
markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-0780f9.md"
json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-0780f9.json"
source: "Find A Tender Service"
current_stage: "Award"
buyer: "DEPARTMENT FOR ENVIRONMENT, FOOD & RURAL AFFAIRS"
published: "2026-10-05"
---

# ES RDE 104 - Dry Cow Therapy

Buyer: DEPARTMENT FOR ENVIRONMENT, FOOD & RURAL AFFAIRS  
Current stage: Award  
OCID: ocds-h6vhtk-0780f9

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## Summary

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs commissioned research and development services on dry cow therapy. The work is intended to support the Veterinary Medicines Directorate’s antimicrobial resistance stewardship performance measures by communicating and promoting good practice in dry cow therapy, and to contribute to delivery of the National Action Plan on antimicrobial resistance. The procurement is for a single service requirement, rather than separate work packages. The buying organisation is Defra, a central government department. The award identifies research and development as the service category; no delivery location is stated.

The procurement is complete and the contract was awarded to the University of Bristol. The route was a selective award under a framework, described as below threshold and non-competitive, using a direct award. The contract was signed on 4 September 2026 and runs from 1 October 2026 to 31 March 2027. Its stated value is £69,940.16 excluding VAT (£83,928.19 including VAT). There was one lot, covering the dry cow therapy research and communications requirement. The published contract information does not give an evaluation formula or scored award criteria; the selection was made as a direct award under the framework.

For suppliers assessing comparable future work for Defra, this award demonstrates demand for research and development paired with practical veterinary communications: translating evidence and good practice on dry cow therapy into activity supporting antimicrobial resistance stewardship and the national action plan. A credible competitor would need relevant expertise in dairy cattle health and dry cow therapy, a sound understanding of antimicrobial resistance and stewardship policy, and the ability to communicate recommendations to the relevant veterinary and farming audiences. Research capability alone may not be enough; delivery would also need to connect evidence with clear promotion of good practice. The selected provider was a large university, indicating that an established research organisation was considered suitable for this requirement, although the award does not set out formal accreditation, staffing, or experience thresholds.

## Notice

VMD Self-Service Direct Award. The project will seek to support the VMD KPIs in AMR Stewardship through communication and promotion of good practice in DCT, and the wider delivery of the National Action Plan (NAP) for AMR.

## Key Details

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication source | Find A Tender Service |
| Latest notice | https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/093925-2026 |
| Notice type | UK7 - Contract Details Notice |
| Procurement type | Standard |
| Procurement category | Services |
| Procurement method | Selective |
| Procurement method details | Below threshold - award under framework |
| Tender suitability | Not specified |
| Awardee scale | Large |
| All stages | Award |

## Dates

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication date | 5 Oct 2026 |
| Submission deadline | Not specified |
| Future notice date | Not specified |
| Award date | Not specified |
| Contract period | 1 Oct 2026 - 31 Mar 2027 |
| Recurrence | Not specified |

## Values

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender value | Not specified |
| Lots value | Not specified |
| Awards value | Not specified |
| Contracts value | £69,940 |

## Status

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender status | Complete |
| Lots status | Complete |
| Awards status | Active |
| Contracts status | Active |

## Buyer

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Main buyer | DEPARTMENT FOR ENVIRONMENT, FOOD & RURAL AFFAIRS |
| Locality | LONDON |
| Postcode area | South West London |
| Postcode | SW1P 4DF |
| Country | England |
| ITL 1 | TLI London |
| ITL 2 | TLI3 Inner London - West |
| ITL 3 | TLI35 Westminster and City of London |
| Local authority | Westminster |
| Electoral ward | St James's |
| Westminster constituency | Cities of London and Westminster |
| Delivery location | Not specified |

## Supplier

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Number of suppliers | 1 |
| Supplier names | University of Bristol |

## CPV Codes

### Divisions

- 73 - Research and development services and related consultancy services

### Codes

- 73000000 - Research and development services and related consultancy services

## Release History

- 5 Oct 2026 at 15:22 - Award - UK7 - Contract Details Notice - https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/093925-2026

## Documents

- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/093925-2026
  5th October 2026 - Contract details notice on Find a Tender

## Notice URLs

- https://defra-family.force.com/s/Welcome
- https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/api/1.0/ocdsReleasePackages/ocds-h6vhtk-04ef64
- https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2023/54/contents

## Provenance

This Markdown file is an alternate public rendering of the D3 Tenders contract record. The canonical page is https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-h6vhtk-0780f9. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-h6vhtk-0780f9.json.