News March -April 2020
Cow monitoring for long-term farming With the world’s population growing and prosperity increasing, sustainable milk production is more important than ever. At the same time, rules and regulations get stricter while raw materials, labor and energy become more expensive. Accurate information about cow health is imperative to managing, keeping and passing on a successful business. The more you accurately know how your dairy cows are performing, the better equipped you are to make effective management decisions. CowManager’s revolutionary ear sensor provides that real-time information for each individual cow by measuring cow behavior and ear-temperature. Early intervention results in reduced treatment costs, improved milk production, less labor and an overall healthier herd.
“The decisions we make are for our future,” says Tiffany Schneider, herdsperson at family farm Paulus Dairy and mother of three young children. “With the dairy industry changing so rapidly, the farming community has to adapt. Everything we do today will affect tomorrow. That’s where family comes into the family farm – we want to be here, we want to pass it on,” says Andy Paulus, owner of Paulus Dairy. Throughout the years, Paulus Dairy has grown from 33 cows to today’s 1,500-cow
operation in Fredonia, Wis. They manage 1,500 youngstock and farm 2,000 acres, all while making decisions that advance and innovate their operation. In May of 2018, they installed CowManager® as a tool to facilitate long-term success. “The system gives us a good snapshot of what that cow is doing,” says Mike Paulus, owner Paulus Dairy, “It is an easy program and once you get going, it’s not overthink-it, it’s work-it!” When planning for long term sustainability and profitability, it is important to focus on the overall health of the herd. Where most cow monitoring systems only focus on heat detection, CowManager also concentrates on monitoring cow health. The activity tracker in CowManager’s ear sensor measures activity and resting time, rumination and eating and ear temperature. Monitoring cows 24/7 allows for earlier intervention, which results in quicker recovery, reduced cull rates, treatment costs, and labor, ultimately increasing profitability. At Paulus Dairy each day starts with a review of CowManager reports. Not only does the system save time from walking the pens, but it offers a more precise observation than what can be achieved with a brief glance from the human eye. The Paulus crew recalls a case in which the system flagged a cow for going off feed. “There is no way that even the best herdsman would have picked that cow out as having a DA,” says Mike. “But she was in early stages and we got her fixed up and away she went.” With this early detection, treatment was less invasive and less costly, her recovery was much quicker, and she remained in production. With the system in place for two years Andy shares, “CowManager is another tool in our arsenal to be more profitable, productive and efficient.”
Save time by finding and treating sick cows early.
CowManager’s Health module Monitors each cow 24/7 by combining behavior and ear temperature. Identifies sick cows 1-2 days before visual detection. Provides insights into the recovery of sick cows. Saves costs through reduced cull rates, treatment costs and labor. Visually displays health alerts for items needing action. Early intervention results in a healthier herd, fewer cow losses and improved production. Ask your CentralStar team how you can try CowManager for 90 days!
800.631.3510 | www.mycentralstar.com
Unlock the Value
of your milk samples
Unlike traditional methods, testing milk samples to gain insights for production, health and physiology, eliminates on-farm labor to find, sort and lockup cows, improving cow comfort, while saving time and money. Ask your CentralStar DHI Specialist to add any ELISA* test to routine DHI samples. Multiple test discount when conducted on same sample: 2 ELISAs = $10, 3 ELISAs = $13.50. Learn more from your CentralStar DHI Specialist or call 800.631.3510.
Pregnancy*
Leukosis*
Use 28-days post breeding and beyond to confirm pregnancy. As effective as traditional methods. $4.50/sample.
Finds infected animals, including those most likely to spread disease. High disease prevalence in the U.S. with negative impacts on production, longevity and salvage value. $6/sample. To identify the most infectious (super-shedders) animals in a herd use the BLV SS1 PCR test.
Johne’s*
Detects infected animals so actions can be taken to avoid further transmission. Prevalent in U.S. dairy herds; negatively affects production, causes chronic diarrhea and death. $6/sample.
A1/A2
An unofficial test to assist with breeding decisions, that does not require genomic testing. Call 800.631.3510 for sample submission guidelines. $10/sample.
BVD*
Identifies persistently infected (PI) cows using individual milk samples. Infected cows are the main reservoir of new infection. BVD control requires identification and elimination. $6/sample. High analytical sensitivity of the BVD PCR test allows pooling of samples to reduce whole-herd testing costs. Call for PCR pricing.
Neospora*
Use to confirm or refute Neospora infection as cause of mid-gestation abortion outbreaks. $6/sample.
Mastitis PCR
Identifies contagious and environmental mastitis causing pathogens for targeted management. More sensitive than culture, results in 48 hours. Test available as Complete 16, Contagious 4 or Single Organism (M bovis or Staph aureus). Call for pricing, and pooling stratagies. Single Organisim test as low as $3 per cow.
Ask your CentralStar DHI Specialist to add any test during your next DHI test day.
800.631.3510 • www.mycentralstar.com
1 800.631.3510 • mycentralstar.com