Veterinary Consultant Chris Watson was clear that the dairy industry has a big problem with medicine wastage. Treating the wrong animals, treating at the wrong time, and using the wrong product not only costs more, but won’ t give the expected results

Transition is a period that requires particular attention

“ Around 20 % of a vet bill will be for treating diseases that could have been better controlled via good farm protocols and processes,” says Chris.“ Often medicines are prescribed when a problem is apparent, rather than at the optimal time to prevent clinical disease and production loss. Prevention is almost always cheaper than the cure!”

Farmer, and Merial ABDM Rob Howells agrees, and adds:“ The cost of a vet’ s services can seem high, but in reality the cost per litre of milk is very low. It is a false economy to wait until there is a serious problem before involving your vet – speak to them early or better still, involve them in designing a farm-specific proactive health plan that protects herd health and optimises each individual cow’ s potential.”

Efficient and cost-effective heifer performance is the next biggest challenge.“ There are multiple

opportunities throughout the calfrearing phase to give heifers the best chance of efficiently reaching the milking herd at 24 months,” says Chris.“ Proactive management can prevent neonatal scours, pneumonia, parasites and promote a lifetime of good fertility.

“ The cost benefits of producing heifers that calve at 24 months are significant, and include reduced culling and increased lifetime profitability. Lifetime production can increase by an extra quarter to half a lactation, which could amount to £ 400 and significantly reduces lifetime cost, while increasing profitability. Retain only the most efficient heifers on farm, those calving at 30 months will never recoup the yield from those lost months of production and will ultimately cost more per litre over their lifetime.”

Ruminant Nutritionist Rob Watkin’ s approach involves identifying the most profitable animals and managing them for peak performance.“ Your highest yielding cows are not always the most profitable, but if you don’ t measure their productivity you won’ t know,” says Rob.“ We advocate using a‘ Performance Platform’ which records the performance of individual cows against targets for yield, lameness, mastitis and fertility.”

Getting nutrition right is a vital part of this process. Ageappropriate nutrition for growing calves and heifers will prevent growth checks, and simple, inexpensive changes can dramatically improve production without adding cost. Rob says:“ We look at what could be achieved for under £ 10. Small things like ensuring feed rails are at the correct height, promptly removing stale feed, ensuring water troughs are scrupulously clean and providing a consistent total mixed ration( TMR) according to performance needs – no matter who fills the feed wagon.”

Transition is a period that requires particular attention. Rob says:“ The dry period is critical for setting a cow up for her next lactation and pregnancy so it pays

to get it right. The nutritional aim should be to keep cows full, with a high fibre, low energy ration that will help promote good rumen health while preventing excessive weight gain from fat. Trimming feet, implementing appropriate dry cow therapy, and controlling parasites are also vital in setting up for a good production period.”

And Rob Howells from Merial agrees, He says:“ Getting the ration right is one thing, but cows have to eat the full amount to realise the benefit. Cows which carry parasites eat less forage and those at grass will graze for less time than wormed cows, so it’ s really important to treat for gutworm and fluke. In heifers this is vital, since reduced feed intake slows growth and reduces the likelihood of calving at 24 months. In trials, heifers that had been treated to remove gutworm gained 0.8kg / day compared to untreated heifers which gained only 0.65 kg / day1.”

At grass, cows that have been wormed to remove gutworm will graze for an additional 47 to 50 minutes, 7.5 % more than untreated cattle. In heifers this can result in additional growth of 15.5kg over a 28 day period2. Worming can also improve fertility by improving the conception rate

and reducing the number of services required3.

When it comes to accessing the right advice from the right place, farmers can forget that their local farm store often employs an SQP. These people are trained animal health advisers that can provide free advice, and offer services above and beyond prescribing a wormer and selling farm supplies. Gemma Webster says that having a conversation with your local SQP and involving them in conversations with the vet, and the nutritionist, can help provide the best overall advice and service for the farm:

“ SQPs are ideally placed to work with other advisors to help find the right solution, especially when it comes to putting day-today management protocols in place. We are on hand to protect farmers’ interests by providing best practice advice and ensuring they use the correct medicines, both from an animal health and a regulatory perspective. We know that any herd health plan needs to be easily understood and used by everyone on the farm, and we can help farmers make practical changes that result in real improvements.”