Cowmanagement december 2015

V O LU M E 13 N O 8 DE CE MBE R 2015

IN THIS ISSUE

C O W H E A LT H

C A LF REA RIN G

BU LL P ROOFS

Protect your herd from multiple disease threats

Milk feeding tips to maximise health and growth

Highlights from the December sire rankings

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08457 22 88 53 info.uk@forfarmers.eu www.forfarmers.co.uk

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CO NTENT

FEATURES

Cow Talk Overalls off: astronomer Roger Evans CRV Avoncroft Breeding Information Vet column: anthrax NMR Dairy Management News ForFarmers Nutritional News/ Thompsons Nutritional News 46 Events and contacts 5 10 18 32 37 39 43

REPORT

12 New set up, with robots, allows Dorset-based herd to expand BREEDING

14 Genomic testing young heifers paves the way to rapid progress 34 December bull proofs FEEDING

20 Dry-cow therapy: a method of reducing SCC/Assess the basics on your unit to maximise productivity and profitability

Max Frampton “Economies of scale are possible, thanks to our robots” 12

Editor Rachael Porter Raise a milk glass to 2016...

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s CowManagement went to press there was news of further milk price cuts. Hardly the early Xmas present that many producers were hoping for, on the back of rumours that world prices are supposed to be firming up.

But we hope that this issue will offer some positive respite, and food for thought, as we head into winter and face the feeding and management challenges that lay ahead.

Accurate calf feeding should be a top priority on all units, particularly as temperatures begin to fall. So we’ve a timely article, which starts on page six, with pointers on how to ensure that young calves, in particular, are fed enough milk (at the correct concentration) to facilitate good growth rates and optimal health.

We focus on cow health in our special and take a look at how to tackle the multiple disease threat that, as a recent survey has highlighted, is being faced by many UK herds. Take a look at page 23 and see if you could improve your

biosecurity protocols. Or perhaps it’s time to revise your vaccination policy?

We also take a closer look at adopting selective dry-cow therapy and find out how it can help to reduce costs and improve udder health.

Technology is the focus of our herd report. Installing four double-robot units, as well as investing in a few other innovative products, has helped one Dorset-based producer to expand his herd without labour worries.

And NMR has launched GeneTracker – a tool to identify replacement heifers with the most potential when they’re just a few months old. Find out more about its benefits, which include an increased rate of genetic gain, on page 14.

Roger Evans’ column is on page 18 and we feature a vet with a fascinating hobby on page 10. He says that star gazing is the perfect way to keep his day-to-day worries in perspective.

CowManagement wishes you a happy Christmas and here’s to a better milk price and a prosperous 2016!

Main article Calf feeding

Special Cow health

Breeding Herd health

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Tips and pointers to make sure that you’re feeding your calves enough milk

The latest on selective dry cow therapy and how to tackle a multi-disease threat

Genetics have a key role to play in reducing disease and increasing cow longevity

COW MAN AG E ME N T

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Protecting productivity and preventing disease

T-shirt competition winners It’s chilly outside, but our competition winner Christine Leedham, from Leicestershire, still manage to get her sons Thomas (left) and Henry to pose in their new ‘Milk Must Have A Future’ T-Shirts, which CowManagement gave away in a recent Facebook competition. Both work full time on the family’s Desford-based dairy unit.

Coccidiosis impact on bottom line Coccidiosis can have a two-pronged effect in dairy herds, impacting on both performance and profitability. So says vet Anna Patch, from Somerset-based Shepton Vets in Somerset, who added that there are costly implications of failing to put a coccidiosis control plan in place.

“Unnecessary vet call-outs can be avoided by approaching coccidiosis in the right way at the right time,” she said. “The vet is often called out when calves are scouring, but at this point the damage has already been done. Once calves start scouring, growth rates have been knocked and they will never catch up.”

She added that many producers are unaware that, before reaching the stage of clinical symptoms, subclinical coccidiosis dramatically hampers growth rates and also prevents calves from achieving their full potential. This means that they often miss key growth targets.

Ms Patch said that producers should work proactively with their vet to set up a detailed and farm- specific coccidiosis plan.

“Producers should pay attention to hygiene, avoid mixing calves of different ages, feed from racks rather than on the floor, weigh calves regularly and, if calves are scouring, ask your vet about taking dung samples.”

Producers’ view of calf pneumonia vaccination is shifting towards lifetime productivity gains and is no longer merely about tackling disease, according to the findings of a recent large-scale survey.

Data compiled at three national livestock events this summer, involving 262 producers, showed that 49% were between 80% confident and ‘certain’ that vaccinated calves had better lifetime performance than unvaccinated ones. And another 13%, quizzed in the independent survey conducted on behalf of Zoetis, expressed confidence levels of between 60% and 80% that this would be the case.

The findings are consistent with a review of published research, conducted by the company and summarised in an advisory booklet for producers and their vets.

“The foundation of every calf’s lifetime performance begins at birth,” said the company’s vet Carolyn Hogan, who added that the first two months are particularly important.

“A calf that doesn’t grow effectively in early life is often unable to catch up later,” Ms Hogan explained.

“So proactive management of calves

is critical to maximise future productivity.”

Good respiratory health is essential to ensure they grow to their full potential, yet an estimated 67% of pneumonia cases occur in calves less than three months of age.

Alarmingly, one UK study found an average of 14.5% live-born dairy heifers failing to reach their first lactation at all, with pneumonia the biggest known cause of mortality in calves aged between one and six months.

In addition, Ms Hogan warned that some calves will be infected, but not show obvious clinical signs and therefore go unnoticed, the effect being that underlying lung damage can limit growth rates “Compared to dairy heifers with underlying lung damage, optimum respiratory health has the potential to reduce age at first calving by two weeks, increase first- and second-lactation yields, and extend longevity in the herd.

“In contrast, those with poor respiratory health are either at risk of not completing their first lactation at all, or likely to average 109 fewer days in milk during their lifetime.”

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Calves require more milk when temper atur

Baby, it’s co As temperatures drop it’s vital to make sure that young calves are fed more milk to maintain growth rates and health. And many producers should also be reviewing how much milk they feed to young calves, regardless of the weather. text Rachael Porter

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eeding young calves is all about energy – not just volume. So says vet Fi Boothby, from the Devonbased Vale Vet Group. “One of the biggest issues our practice sees is producers under feeding dairy calves because they’re just following the ‘two litres whole milk twice a day’ approach,” she says.

“Calves on ad-lib systems will take in up to 12 litres of milk per day, and calves on the cow are feeding at least six times a day, so quite clearly whenever we raise calves off the cow, we aren’t feeding them anywhere near what they’d get as a suckler calf.”

Calves need energy to maintain basic body functions, to keep warm, to power the immune system and to grow, so it’s absolutely vital that they get enough energy. “Without it they are not growing – and that’s the best case scenario,” says Miss Boothby. “Worse case is that they’re succumbing Fi Boothby: “Total solids consumed to infections and losing per day are what’s important when weight because they ensuring that young calves are being aren’t getting enough fed enough energy” energy to maintain basic body function, keep warm and fight off infectious pathogens. In cold weather this becomes an even bigger issue as more energy is used by the calf to warm.”

False economy She adds that heaters and calf jackets help: “But they don’t completely negate the need for extra milk powder. The old argument was that feeding them less milk powder meant they would eat more concentrates and so would be weaned quicker onto cheaper feed. But this is a misnomer and a false economy because the feed conversion efficiency of calves on milk is considerably higher than at any other point in their lives.

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mper atures fall, so check your feeding levels

’s cold outside ambient temperature

Winter top-up: it is essential that producers feed calves additional calf milk replacer in cold weather

calf aged < 3 weeks (50kg) (%)

calf aged >3 weeks (65kg) (%)

0 15 25 33 50

0 0 7.5 15 30

20°C 10°C 5°C 0°C –10°C

Table 1: Additional calf milk powder required (%) in cold weather.

“Producers are getting far more for their money when they are milk feeding compared to feeding any other feed later in life.”

The optimum temperature range for calves is typically between 10°C and 20°C, which is known as the thermo neutral zone. “At temperatures in this range, the calf will not have to use any additional energy to maintain its body temperature, leaving maximum energy available for growth,” says ForFarmers’ Nick Berni.

“At 10°C and below, calves will be suffering from cold stress and using increasing amounts of energy to help maintain a constant body temperature. This is the lower critical temperature.”

Limited reserves He says that producers should be aware that the lower critical temperature (LCT) for a calf will depend on its age. Calves that are fewer than three weeks old having an LCT of 20°C compared to calves that are more than three weeks old, which have an LCT of 10°C. “Young calves only have limited reserves of energy to call upon when exposed to low temperatures. In a newborn calf these reserves will be depleted in just 18 hours, leaving them highly susceptible to infection and disease.

“It is essential that producers provide calves with additional calf milk replacer to boost energy and protein levels. Feed higher concentrations of CMR, for example between 15% and 17%, and not extra litres.

Miss Boothby says that litres of milk drunk are less important than energy intake. All calves should have access to water from three days old – restricting it inhibits the development of the rumen.

“It’s the total solids consumed per day that is the important thing to think about,” says Miss Boothby.

“With milk powder this is easy because we can weigh it. For calves fed whole milk, producers should assume milk solids are around 12.5% or 125g per litre.

“After colostrum, calves need 600g per day, moving

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up to 900g per day by three weeks of age to support themselves and achieve good growth rates. If producers mix milk powder at 125g per litre or less, which is often the rate specified on the side of the bag, they need 7.2 litres of milk per day. But if you mix at a rate of 150g per litre, which is what we would typically recommend as a minimum, producers need to feed just six litres to get the same energy intake. This concentration is fairly standard and I would encourage everyone to do it.

“You can mix at higher concentrations – we have a client who mixes at 175g per litre and another mixes at 200g – but it’s important to take care that the powder is mixing well with the water and that calves don’t suffer with osmotic scour.”

Miss Boothby stresses that, as with any change, it’s important that the increase is gradual: “If not, the calf’s stomach will react. Jumping from 125g per litre in the morning to 175g per litre in the evening would be a disaster.”

Scour scare

Wrap up: jackets can help but don’t negate the need for extra milk powder

She believes that some of the barriers to producers feeding more milk include their perception that it will push up costs. “But it’s an investment and feeding more milk is, indirectly, less costly once you factor in improved health and growth.

Producers also believe that feeding more makes calves scour. It will make calves produce more liquid faeces simply because more milk is being fed, but this isn’t necessarily scour.”

Scour can be caused by nutritional and nonnutritional factors that are unrelated to the quantity of milk fed. “Viruses, bacteria and protozoa are obviously causes of scour, but there are also many factors that influence the closure of the oesophageal groove, which is vital to avoid scouring.

If the groove does not close properly, which can be the result of stress or inconsistent feeding, then it will fail to direct milk into the abomasum.

“Instead it will spill into the other stomachs, which are not designed for milk digestion, and this will result in scours, and also reduce the energy the calf

gets from the milk because it has not been digested.”

Miss Boothby says that for the groove to close properly calves need to be stress free: “And milk need to be clean, well mixed, at the correct temperature, and fed at the same time and at the same concentration.”

Even producers who try to ensure that their calves are fed enough milk can fail to get it right because they don’t know what they’re feeding. “Producers often add 150g powder to a litre of water and mix it up and assume that they’ve got milk at 150g per litre concentration. They actually have 150g in 1.15 litres, so concentration per litre is lower.

“It’s all about attention to detail and this means weighing milk powder every time they mix it, ideally with digital scales. Using a scoop that you’ve pre-weighed out doesn’t work accurately. I have actually demonstrated this using the same container and the difference is alarming.

“I always talk to producers about the difference in density of a bag that has been sat compressed at the bottom of a pallet for a month, compared to one that’s been thrown around and ‘fluffed up’. So, to avoid underfeeding, you really do need a set of scales next to the bag of feed, so the powder can be weighed out.”

Milk powder quality is also vital to successful calf feeding. “It really is a case of ‘you get what you pay for’. Less expensive powders are usually made from ‘cheap’ ingredients and will offer poorer results.

The mineral content and energy content of milk powders don’t tend to vary much. Around 18% fat/ oil is a decent benchmark for energy requirements.

“What producers do need to look out for on the label is the protein content and quality should be assessed. Crude protein is important for lean muscle growth,” says Miss Boothby.

“Milk powder containing 20% protein will support growth rates of 450g per day, so those wanting to aim for target growth rates of more than 800g per day need to feed a powder with 26% crude protein.

Protein sources “The type of protein is also important. Calves need predominantly milk-based protein sources to achieve good digestibility. Soya is an excellent protein source for adult ruminants, but a milk powder containing 26% crude protein comprising mostly soya is unsuitable for calves.

“The amino acid profile of soya does not match calf requirements, and also it has been shown to have nutritional factors in it which contribute to ‘nutritional’ scour. Whey- and skim-based powders are good sources of milk based protein for calves and are easily digestible.”

She adds that another ingredient to note is the crude ash content: “Milk powders with more than 8% ash are not only likely to contain poorer quality ingredients, but will also contribute to diarrhoea. The ash is not absorbed, and passes through the calf, drawing out water and causing nutritional scours.” l

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B E D R I J F S R E P O RTA G E

O V E R A L L S

Name: Location: Occupation: Hobby:

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Alistair Macpherson Shrewsbury, Shropshire Dairy vet Astronomy

Alistair Macpherson: “I find the ‘deep sky’ stuff really interesting”

Star gazing text Rachael Porter

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hen it comes to escaping from the day job, there’s little to beat star gazing. This is literally an ‘out of this world’ experience, as astronomy enthusiast and Shropshire-based vet Alistair Macpherson will testify.

He’s been searching the skies and taking photographs of galaxies and nebulas for the past five years. But he says that his interest in astronomy was sparked when he was a boy, back in the 1970s and 1980s, during the ‘space race’ and particularly when the US Space Shuttle was launched for the first time.

“It’s only relatively recently that I’ve found the time to take astronomy up as a serious hobby,” he says. “I bought my first telescope five years ago – a second-hand one to keep the cost down, particularly as I wasn’t sure if I’d get on with it. I did, but within six months I’d sold it and bought a better one!”

He says that the most important aspect is the quality of the glass and mirrors. Magnification comes from using different eye pieces: “The better the lens, the better the vision. So it’s well worth spending a little more if you want a good view!”

Alistair, who works as a cattle vet at Shropshire Farm Vets near Shrewsbury, spends any spare time he has searching for and photographing galaxies and nebulas.

The latter are clouds of gas and dust in outer space, visible in the night sky either as an indistinct bright patch or as a dark silhouette against other luminous matter. “That’s really ‘deep sky’ stuff and it’s what I find interesting and exciting,” he says.

“When you realise just how vast the universe is – and how small and insignificant our planet is among all that – it really puts things into perspective.

“It’s quite scary to think that there are hundreds of billions of stars in our galaxy alone and that there are also hundreds of billions of galaxies out there. It blows your mind when you really think about it.”

As well as being escapism in one of its purest forms, Alistair also finds astronomy extremely challenging. “It’s not easy to find a galaxy or a nebula, even when using an electronic telescope. There are several computer programs that you can use to help to line up the equipment, but it takes a lot of time and patience to get the hardware and the software working together.”

He shares his hobby with his father and his son, although they’re more interested in the ‘end product’ – the photographs that he takes as opposed to the process of taking them.

“I enjoy both. Nebulas, in particular, are beautiful to look at and well worth the effort involved in searching for them. And taking photographs allows me to capture what I find. It’s a way to make something so vast and far away into something real that you can see with the naked eye.”

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H E R D

R E P O RT

Unit is benefiting from economies of scale and increased automation

Max Frampton Building a new set up to aid herd expansion has kept this Dorset-based producer extra busy for the past 18 months. And he’s beginning to see rewards for his efforts Herd size: Average yield: Robotic milkers: Annual milk sales:

Double – without the trouble Robots have allowed one forward-thinking producer to rapidly Owermoigne

600 cows 11,200 litres Four double units Seven million litres

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ax Frampton’s Dorset-based unit has changed beyond all recognition during the past 12 months – not least because he’s installed four double-box robots to help milk his still-expanding 600-cow herd.

His unit, at Owermoigne near Dorchester, was the first in Britain to install this type of robotic system, manufactured by Denmark-based SAC, in December 2014.

It differs from others on the market, not least because each robotic unit can milk two cows at a time. “I first saw these robots in operation via an on-line video.

I’d never heard of the manufacturer before, but I was drawn to its machines because the robotic arm is industrial strength – it’s the same design and spec as the ones used in car manufacturing plants – there are more than 100,000 of these in use across the world. It’s a well-proven

expand his high yielding herd – and significantly increase milk output – without the worry of relying on sourcing additional labour for three-times-a-day milking. text Rachael Porter

design and over engineered or ‘too good’ for milking. So I think it’s the most robust design available and more than up to the job.”

Robot route Max visited units with SAC robots in operation in The Netherlands and Germany before taking the plunge. And he’s so impressed with how the robots are performing on his unit that he’s planning on installing another doublebox unit in 2016.

“When I first started to plan the new set up for an additional 400 cows, which is built on a green-field site just 30 metres away from the original dairy unit, I decided that taking the robotic route was my only option. This is because it was becoming increasingly difficult to find reliable labour for milking our existing

Helping hand: a robot pushes feed up to the barrier every two hours

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200 cow herd – particularly because we were milking three times a day.

“And the robots certainly take a lot of pressure off the staff at the unit. We are still milking 300 cows, three times a day, through the unit’s 24:24 herringbone, but the 300-cow higher yielding group is milked automatically and there’s capacity to milk 400 cows through the robots.

“Installing an additional robot in 2016 will allow us to push cow numbers up further still. We currently have the space and facilities to milk and manage up to 800 cows across both the old and the new units.”

He says that once the robots were up and running in February 2015, he sat down with his consultant and looked at the figures. “We looked at the economics of running a 400-cow herd in the new site and the economics of running a total of

Cow comfort: gel-filled mats are topped up with compressed air

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Self-cleaning slats: cambered mats move when the cows walk

700 cows across the old and the new.

Economies of scale diluted the impact of the lower milk price and we saw that the business would be more profitable if we continued to run cows on the older unit, as well as the new.

“We run the new set up as a ‘fresh cow’ unit, with the higher yielding proportion of the herd. And the lower yielders, those post 250 days into lactation, are housed at the other unit and milked through the conventional parlour, three times a day.

“We move cows to the conventional group in late lactation and when their daily visits to the robots begin to fall to less than 2.5. Moving them at this point ensures that they are milked three times a day and we’re maximising milk yields for as long as possible.”

High yields The herd’s average yield was 12,600 litres in 2014, but this has fallen to 11,200 litres, at 3.2% protein and 3.7% butterfat, during the past few months because 200 heifers, imported from Germany, joined the herd. “But they’re about to calve again

Over engineered: the SAC unit has an industrial strength robotic arm

and so yields should start to creep up.

Because the ‘fresh’ group are milked more than four times a day by the robots, I’m expecting them to average between 13,000 and 13,500 litres.”

Yields are certainly impressive across the herd, which calves all year round to maintain a level supply for milk buyer Dairy Crest. Cows in the ‘conventional’ group are averaging 36 litres a day, which is not to be sniffed at. Combined milk sales from the two units is now more than seven million litres per year – up 2.8 million litres since the beginning of 2014.

The new cow housing also comprises some of the latest technology. The floor is slatted and has rubber slatted mats that are cambered. “They’re ‘self cleaning’ – when the cows walk on them they move slightly and this pushes the muck down between the slats. We never have to scrape out,” explains Max. The new cow shed has feed fences along three sides and the robots along the fourth. The cubicles are laid in double rows of 20 and face each other. These are bedded with mats, supplied by Wilson

Agri, which are filled with silica gel and topped up with compressed air. There’s also a Lely Juno robot that pushes the TMR up to the feed barrier every two hours. “This is another invaluable timesaving device that helps me and my team to manage a large herd more efficiently and effectively,” says Max.

Minimal labour He’s able to manage 600 cows with help from one ‘conventional parlour’ manager and one ‘robot’ manager. And there are six people who come in, two at a time, to milk three times a day through the conventional parlour. Everything else, across the two herds, is handled by Max. “It’s amazing to see one man doing the job of five on the conventional set up.

It really brings home just how much more time efficient an automatic milking system is. And I can see a time, if a shortage of milking labour was to become a problem, when I’d consider switching to an ‘all-robot’ system. But, for the time being, things are working well and we can continue to expand with confidence.” l

New building: the cow house was built on a greenfield site, just metres from the farm’s existing unit

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Genomic testing young heifers paves the way to rapid and reliable progress

Spot your top girls early on Genomically testing young dairy heifers will be as important as AI in the next decade. Whether you’re running a large-scale or a family-sized unit, pedigree or purely commercial, using genomic testing on heifer calves is cost-effective. Lucy Andrews-Noden explains how one simple test can steer the direction of the herd. text Karen Wright

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very producer’s aim is to breed and rear heifers that out-perform their older herd mates and to minimise the risk of any disappointing stragglers.

And this ideal scenario is all the more achievable in herds that are genomically testing young heifers where potential performance data is available at four

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months old; data that would previously not have been available until the end of her second lactation when she is, at best, four years old.

“We’re providing producers with a CV for their young heifers,” says Lucy Andrews-Noden, who has helped to develop NMR’s GeneTracker service.

“You’d want to see a CV for a new member of staff before you committed to employing them. So why not extend this to the milking herd and make sure that the young heifer is going to earn her keep and make you some money?”

Tissue sample GeneTracker is hassle-free and uses a tissue sample from the calf’s ear from four days old without leaving any tag or plastic behind. This sample is enough to provide predictions for 31 UK traits, including a Profitable Lifetime Index (PLI), Type Merit and key health and management criteria. The sample can also be used for a BVD test.

“How the producer and breeding adviser use the genomic report depends on the herd policy,” adds Lucy. “No two herds are the same and their breeding goals

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GeneTracker

Lucy Andrews-Noden: “Genomic reports are essentially a CV for each heifer”

Andrew and Jenny Jones are now using genomic tests on young dairy heifers

and targets will vary. While some may focus on PLI, others may want to target cell counts, fertility or lifespan more specifically. Every producer needs to identify their goals. Then they can look at the young heifers’ genomic report and see if they are likely to meet the grade.”

She points out that it’s not a ‘pass or fail’ report. “It’s a breeding tool – it will identify those heifers that you may want to use more expensive sexed semen on, for example, to secure the highest quality replacements. It can also ID heifers that look good, but not exceptional, which you can justify rearing but would put to AI or those you would put to a beef bull.”

Using genomic daughter information in herd breeding programmes can shorten the genetic interval and improve genetic gains. “Importantly, it is a means of controlling costs by rearing fewer but higher quality animals.”

With the cost of each heifer genomic test around £30, 100 young heifers could be tested for £3,000. “If 3% were identified as ‘poor’ and taken out of the herd, then significant savings could be made. Based on rearing costs of £1,500 to £2,000 per dairy heifer, this would save between £4,500 and £6,000, making a net saving of between £1,500 to £3,000 after the cost of the test. And there are also the longer-term financial benefits of breeding a more efficient and healthy dairy herd to factor in.”

particular traits and make improvements in specific areas then they can refer to these predictions on the genomic report.

“The information on each heifer can be used for corrective matings. So if she’s got great yield and fertility predictions on her genomic report, but is slightly down on somatic cell count or a type trait prediction is a bit out of kilter, the appropriate sire can be selected for her mating. You can make sure you are protecting against any ‘minuses’ in the herd.”

For GeneTracker customers, the CV doesn’t just stop at the 31 traits.

“We’re including results on key genetic recessives, like fertility haplotypes, polled and coat colour plus many other traits, free of charge,” adds Lucy.

Good base Lucy also stresses that you don’t need to be a cattle breeding expert to take advantage of genomic testing of heifers.

“Don’t let the wealth of genetic information put you off,” she says. “A predicted PLI for each heifer is a good base for making improved breeding decisions. And it’s very straight forward.”

But for those wanting to look at

Actual prediction The test will also verify parentage and if a mistake with the AI sire selection has been made, then the results will help to suggest a bull that will correct the earlier mating. “And, for those cattle breeding enthusiasts, they can also access International indexes such as GTPI and Net Merit.”

Having ‘dabbled’ with genomics, Wrexham-based Andrew Jones, from Rossett Holsteins, is already convinced that it has a role to play in his young female heifers. Andrew and his wife Jenny have 100 milkers, producing A2 milk and they also sell surplus dairy young stock.

“We’ve tested a group of young heifers through GeneTracker and the results give us a detailed and reliable picture of the animal. It means that we’re looking at the actual animal’s prediction, rather than a prediction based purely on her ancestors,” he says.

“Genomics has dominated the male population for the past five years. In another five years I can see it dominating the female side too.”

Andrew got off to a good start – he tested

• Available to all officially milk recorded herds • Ear notch tissue sample taken from four days old • Specially designed GeneTracker packs to streamline the service • Validated test results available between four and six weeks • Report provides predictions for 31 UK traits, including PLI and Type Merit • iReports via NMR web site can be customised with specific herd breeding targets • Report includes genetic recessive data, such as polled and coat colour, and for diseases including BLAD and DUMPS • Additional data is available for lethal recessives, major genes, congenital disorders and international indices such as GTPI and BVD For more information on GeneTracker, visit the web site: www.genetracker.co.uk

five one-month-old heifers and one came back with a type prediction putting her in the UK’s top 50. “I’d never have known this without her genomic test report – not until she reached about three years old and her classification came back well above the breed average.

Knowing her true potential this early makes a difference in my breeding decisions.

“It’s another management tool – and it’s not restricted to pedigree breeders and those selling young stock. It’s good for any dairy producer to know the make-up of these young heifers and set them against the herd’s own goals, whether it’s production, health fertility or lifespan. It means that we start to look forwards rather than referring to historic data.”

Andrew knows that, for him, genomic testing of heifers stacks up, even with the current low milk price.

“It will be even better if and when milk prices improve. It means that any herd with genomic reports on young heifers has the potential to make far quicker progress towards our business goals than in the past. We’ll be genomically testing more heifers from now on.” l

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04-12-15 15:18

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Award-winning columnist and Shropshire-based dairy producer Roger Evans is looking for some light at the end of the tunnel and is awaiting the arrival of his Single Farm Payment – so he can pay some bills.

Baby boom?

C

ow management – managing cows – is a bit of a challenge these days and not least because you’ve got to try to manage them so that your costs of production are relevant to the price you receive for your milk. And if there is a negative gap between cost of production and milk price then very few of us can go on producing milk without trying to narrow that gap. Indeed, very few of us can carry on doing things the way we always have, waiting for things to get better.

The only slight glimmer of light that I can see on the horizon, which might improve milk prices, is the move by the Chinese to allow couples to have two babies instead of one. My bank manager is due for a visit before long. I don’t think she’d be impressed if I budgeted for a price increase next year and put ‘more Chinese babies’ in brackets next to it!

My main worry is that, as we consciously search wherever we can for cost savings, at what stage do these savings have an impact on the welfare of the cows. Inevitably they will. The gap between milk price and the cost of production manifests itself in so many other ways.

Litres of milk buy fewer of your essential inputs than they used to.

It takes many more litres of milk to pay my rent than it did two or three years ago. And because your litres of milk have less buying power than they did, you have to juggle your cash flow to match. So, inadvertently, your suppliers are sharing the cash flow issues and the problems of milk price with you.

Most have been supportive and understanding. I wonder if they would have been as supportive and understanding if the Single Farm Payment wasn’t due soon. I can remember when this was first introduced and we were advised, by almost everyone, to invest this money outside the farm business. Some chance of that now.

When mine arrives it will soon go again, with a visit to my unpaid-bills file. I was paying a supplier the other day. He was just being a bit tetchy about the late (ish) payment. I told him my milk price was at about the same level that I was receiving in the late 1990s and that if he invoiced his supplies to me at similar prices in that era then we would get along just fine.

The ultimate low-cost milk production model is the spring-calving, cross-bred, high-component milk off grass that is managed to very high standards. But that is not for everyone.

The UK should be one of the best places in the world to produce milk, not least because around half of our milk goes into the liquid (tea, coffee and cornflakes) market.

The spring-calving production profile does not fit that important market place. So while you and I think about getting our costs of production to fit a low milk price, the processors and retailers who need that liquid milk profile need to start giving some thought to paying a milk price that is above the cost of production if they want that milk to continue turning up. We’re all in this together, but it doesn’t feel like it.

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F E E D I N G

Assess the basics on your unit to maximise productivity and profitability

Key data aids planning

With low milk prices looking set to stay well into 2016, now is the time for producers to plan their strategy for the winter

reduce productivity and profitability, and to agree objectives for the winter months.

months and to ensure that they maximise herd performance.

Milk quality

We spoke to a dairy nutritionist and producer to find out more. text Lauren Chambers

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his autumn, feed manufacturer ForFarmers launched an assessment scheme for producers that looks at basic finances, feed costs, utilisation and forage availability on a dairy unit.

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The assessment, known as the Dairy Triple F Assessment Scheme, allows producers to work alongside the feed supplier to look at performance, to identify any limiting factors that may

The assessment gathers information in a simple paper-based system and provides data on feed rate, feed costs and feed costs as a percentage of milk income.

This data is used to help producers to make more informed feeding decisions and it is also used to benchmark the unit against businesses of a similar size to allow producers to see how they are performing and identify any areas that can be corrected before the winter feed

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regime is set. The scheme is now well underway and producers up and down the country are benefiting from taking part.

One business that has found the assessment useful is a father-and-son partnership run by Harry and Harry Gregory.

The Gregorys manage Normanton Farm, near Telford in Shropshire, and the unit has been steadily expanding herd numbers since the family first bought the farm eight years ago.

Despite the challenging milk price, the unit is doing well and still expanding.

With new cubicle housing being used for the first time this winter, more space has been created to enable further growth of the herd between now and February 2016. The unit’s 180-cow herd is averaging 9,200 litres. As suppliers to cheese maker Belton quality is important and butterfat averages 4.16% and protein is 3.44%.

Feed costs “Harry and Harry run an efficient unit,” explains their ForFarmers nutritionist Roger Marley, who has been working with the family since they came to the area. “They already pay close attention to dairy costings and we review these together regularly. But as all producers know, every year is different on a dairy unit. So it’s important to understand performance while you can still make a difference to decisions for the winter, when feed costs typically rise. The assessment provides a good opportunity to do just this.”

The unit comprises of 125 hectares of owned land, plus a further 50 hectares

Harry and Harry Gregory: “We’re splitting the herd into two groups”

Roger Marley: “It’s vital to know exactly how your dairy herd is performing”

of rented ground. The Gregorys grow cereals (winter barley and winter wheat), maize and fodder beet, all of which is used on farm.

The unit rears its own heifers and some have also been bought in to help speed up herd expansion. Calving takes place for nine months of the year, with a break between March and May. This system helps to manage milk production through the ‘spring flush’ and helps the unit maintain a level production profile. It does mean that some heifers are slightly later getting into calf than the unit’s 24-month target – having to be held back to 27 months to fit in with the calving pattern. “This is an area we are looking to focus on,” explains Harry junior. “Our calving index of 410 days looks high due our calving pattern and we want to reduce it.”

more than 9,000 litres. “We try to grow as much feed as we can to help keep bought-in feed costs as low as possible,” says Harry senior.

This strategy is working well with the unit’s concentrate feed costs just 6.75ppl, which is well below the 7.56ppl average. The assessment suggests that the unit’s feed rate is on the high side for a 9,000-litre herd, and this is an area where savings could potentially be made.

While there is plenty of housing to meet the Gregorys’ plans to expand the herd to 200 milkers, the bottleneck will be the unit’s collecting yard. After analysing the assessment results with Roger, the pair are considering splitting the herd into two groups according to yield – a group of 100 ‘highs’ and a group of 60 ‘lows’. “This will help to manage the pressure on the collecting yard and groups will remain largely the same throughout their lactation so there will be limited movement of cows between the groups.

“This system also means that the yield of the high group can be increased by balancing the ration using the unit’s out-of-parlour feeders, and savings can be made by not overfeeding the lows,” adds Roger.

Herd assessment The unit took part in a Dairy Triple F Assessment in mid October (see Table 1).

For feed costs and feed costs as a percentage of milk income, the Gregorys are in the top 25% of herds producing

Table 1: Normanton Farm assessment results (October 2015)

measure feed rate (kg/litre) feed costs (ppl) feed costs as % of milk income calving interval (days) forage stocks tonnes grass silage tonnes maize silage tonnes fodder beet ration review

key unit objectives

Normanton Farm assesment results

benchmark figures (for 9,000 litre + herds)

0.38 6.75 28 410

0.34 (average) 7.56 (top 25%) 27 (top 25%)

1,881 810 390 good energy density available, important to balance protein increase milk yield to 9,600 maintain good milk quality increase herd size to 200 by February 2016

Protein balance The high yielders’ diet comprises: 25kg grass silage, 15kg maize silage, 0.75kg straw, 10kg fodder beet, 3kg wheat, 3kg rape/soya, 1.5kg SBP/soya hulls, and 0.1kg urea. Concentrate is fed to yield, via out-of-parlour feeders, to maintain the required protein balance.

“The Triple F assessment was a good opportunity to perform an MOT on the unit,” concludes Harry senior. “We had a good idea of where we were from the regular costings that we do, but seeing where we are compared to other units is a good exercise and it’s always good to get a different viewpoint on what we can do to improve.” l

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• Proven and cost-effective BVD control2 - trusted by vets and farmers for over 15 years • The ONLY BVD vaccine with demonstrated safety and efficacy when given at the same time as an IBR or leptospirosis vaccine, reducing cattle handling and improving on-farm efficiency*

Scan to see mixing video tutorial or visit www.msd-animal-health.co.uk *Refers to UK BVD vaccines that protect the foetus against transplacental infection. Bovilis® BVD may be mixed with Bovilis® IBR Marker Live for use in cattle from 15 months of age (i.e. those that have previously been vaccinated separately with Bovilis® BVD and Bovilis® IBR Marker Live).

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REFERENCES: 1. Ceesa Data Q1 2015, 2. Patel, J.R. et al (2002) Prevention of transplacental infection of bovine foetus by bovine viral diarrhoea virus through vaccination.

Archives of Virology, 147:2453-2463. Bovilis® BVD is an inactivated vaccine containing 50 ELISA units (EU) and inducing at least 4.6 log2 VN units per dose of cytopathogenic BVD virus strain C86. Leptavoid®- H is a vaccine containing Leptospira interrogans serovar hardjo 204 (inactivated). Bovilis® IBR Marker Live contains BHV-1 strain GK/D (gE-). Legal categories: POM-V Available from your veterinary surgeon from whom advice should be sought. Bovilis® BVD, Leptavoid®- H and Bovilis® IBR Marker Live are the property of Intervet International B.V. or affiliated companies or licensors and are protected by copyrights, trademark and other intellectual property laws. For information regarding side effects, precautions, warnings and contra-indications please refer to the datasheet at www.noahcompendium.co.uk Further information is available from MSD Animal Health, Walton Manor, Walton, Milton Keynes, MK7 7AJ. Tel: 01908 685 685 • vet-support-uk@merck.com ©2015 Intervet International B.V., also known as MSD Animal Health. All rights reserved.

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Multiple challenge: data highlights need for a planned approach to tackle key diseases. Page 24 Dry-cow therapy: selective use benefits udder health and producers’ pockets. Page 26 Transition-management update: udder health and ‘just in time’ calving. Page 29

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Holistic approach is key to improving and maintaining cow health

How ‘safe’ is your herd?

The importance of protecting dairy herds against multiple infectious disease challenges has been brought into sharp focus with the publication of the latest data from one leading animal health company’s monitoring scheme. So what can producers do to help to safeguard cow health? text Matt Mellor

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he results of tests on milk samples, collected from nonvaccinating British herds by their vets from January 2014 to October 2015, make interesting – and shocking – reading. The data, gathered by MSD Animal Health’s EXPERTIS DairyCheck diagnostic

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scheme, show that 64% of dairy herds were antibody positive for Bovine Viral Diarrhoea (BVD), which means they have been exposed to the disease. And more than 60% of these BVD positive herds were also antibody positive for Infectious Bovine Rhinotracheitis (IBR) or bovine leptospirosis, and almost

half were antibody positive for both these diseases, meaning they had been exposed to BVD, IBR and leptospirosis (see Table 1).

BVD, IBR and leptospirosis can all cause serious issues and economic losses.

Depending on the disease, this may include reduced milk yield, infertility, abortion, respiratory disease and an increase in other conditions, such as calf pneumonia and scours. Employees are also at risk of contracting leptospirosis from infected cattle, which causes flulike symptoms, but may also result in organ failure.

Planned approach According to MSD Animal Health’s John Atkinson, the results send a clear message about the importance of working with your vet and

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number of percentage of herds positive herds positive BVD and IBR BVD and leptospirosis BVD, IBR and leptospirosis

482 468 361

65 63 49

Table 1: Incidence of other diseases in 741 non-vaccinated BVD infected herds (source: MSD Animal Health DairyCheck data)

taking a planned approach to disease management. “It is significant to see that so many dairy herds have been exposed to these three important diseases in the UK, with many likely to be suffering the consequences of infection,” he says. “But the fact that we are seeing multiple challenges is logical given that there are common risk factors for these different diseases. And one of the effects of BVD is to suppress the immune response, making cattle more susceptible to other disease challenges, such as IBR,” he says.

“The good news is that a properly planned and co-ordinated approach will impact the herd positively by reducing the risk posed by all these major threats.

Herd health: plans should encompass robust biosecurity and, where necessary, a vaccination programme

This reduces the need to deal with each one in isolation. “Time taken with their vet to plan a disease prevention and control strategy really will be well spent on many dairy farms. This planning should include: a review of biosecurity, to reduce the risk of disease entering the farm; the implementation of appropriate disease monitoring, to quickly detect any disease entering the herd; and the improvement of herd immunity through vaccination, where required, to help prevent certain diseases damaging health and productivity.”

Poor biosecurity One of the most common risk factors implicated in the spread of infectious diseases is a lack of effective biosecurity.

This is an area for improvement on many British dairy farms, according to Mr Atkinson, and therefore represents an opportunity to eliminate risks and reduce disease incidence.

“Biosecurity is your first line of defence against infectious disease,” he says. “The biggest risk to your cattle is often other cattle. So think about the risks of buying in cattle of unknown health status, as well as the potential for contact with neighbouring cattle over fences. Both BVD and IBR can be spread simply through nose-to-nose contact, so doublefencing may be a recommendation.

“Then there is the risk of disease being spread in water courses, in the case of leptospirosis, and some diseases can also be transmitted through bull semen.

Every farm is different so make sure you review your own circumstances with your vet to ensure you are aware of all potential risks.”

A closed herd is a good way to avoid bringing in disease, but may be unrealistic in many situations. So where buying in stock is unavoidable, his advice is to minimise risk in the first instance by only buying from known sources.

“It is always a good idea to enforce a period of quarantine,” Mr Atkinson adds. “This enables you to get animals tested, and administer any vaccines or other treatments.”

On most dairy units, vaccination will play an important role in disease prevention and control. And vaccination often fulfils two important roles.

“Effective vaccination helps protect the individual vaccinated animal from the damage caused by a specific disease, but can also reduce the spread of disease within the herd,” he says.

John Atkinson: “Vaccination should be considered as a preventative measure”

Information from testing to determine the disease status of the herd, together with the assessment of risks posed by various diseases, will help determine which vaccines are most appropriate for each herd.

Vaccination benefits “If your herd is positive for a particular disease, then vaccination can help protect uninfected animals and reduce disease spread. If your herd is negative, then steps should be taken to protect its status, including a review of herd biosecurity.

“Where biosecurity is sub-optimal and there is a risk of disease entering your farm, then vaccination should be considered as an important preventative measure.”

In many cases, as highlighted by the recent DairyCheck data, there may be a need to vaccinate against more than one disease, and in these cases it is important to understand how vaccines can be administered.

“It can sometimes be difficult to administer several vaccines when they all have to be given at separate times,” explains Mr Atkinson. “Fortunately, some of the vaccines that help protect against the key infectious disease have been licensed to be given to the same animal at the same time.”

For example, the market-leading vaccines Bovilis BVD and Bovilis IBR Marker Live can be mixed together for booster doses, meaning that only one syringe and injection is needed. And the UK’s leading leptospirosis vaccine, Leptavoid-H, is licensed to be given at the same time, but at separate sites, as Bovilis BVD. “These license claims give producers the peace of mind that the combinations have been proven in terms of efficacy and safety, as well as helping improve on-farm efficiency, by saving labour time and reducing stress.” l

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Targeted use can help to protect delicate ‘udder’ balance

Selective approach pays dividends

Individual approach: SCC test data and udder health history are key to selecting cows that require antibiotic therapy at drying off

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Selective dry-cow therapy is gradually being adopted on more UK units. We spoke to a producer, her milk buyer and a vet to find out more about a scheme that’s set to increase the number of herds taking the selective-use route. And we look at the benefits of switching from a blanket-treatment approach. text Rachael Porter

I

t’s been seven years since Arla suppliers Angela and Douglas Rhodes began using dry-cow therapy selectively on their 320-cow herd. And the couple have not looked back since.

Today just 20% of the herd is dried off using both dry-cow therapy and teat sealant – rather than teat sealant alone.

“And we may be able to reduce that even further,” says Angela, adding that getting it down to that level has been a gradual process and it’s not a figure that herds could hope to achieve overnight.

“Less than 10% of our herd has a somatic cell count score of more than 200,000 cells per ml, on a rolling 12-month basis, so there is scope to get down to less than 10% usage of dry-cow therapy. But we started at around 70% back in 2008.”

Not only is the Warwickshire-based business saving money – always an attractive prospect regardless of milk price – but Angela says that they are also reducing the risk of losing cows to severe E coli infections in the following lactation.

“It costs around £8 to dry off a cow using antibiotics, so by using just teat sealant on 20% – that’s 240 cows with a 25% replacement rate – we’re saving around £1,500 each year. But that wasn’t the key driver for us.

“Following advice from Nottingham University vets, we decided to take the selective dry cow therapy route. We’d contacted them about problems with acute E coli in low somatic cell count cows in early lactation. The suggestion was that the dry cow therapy was upsetting the udder flora and this was increasing the risk of E coli infection.

Since following this advice we’ve seen far fewer cases of severe E coli mastitis in our very low somatic cell count cows.“

infection, which is vital during the dry period. Antibiotic dry-cow therapy is just that – it’s ‘therapy’. It’s to treat existing infection in the udder. If there’s no infection, as in a low somatic cell count cow, then it makes no sense to infuse the udder with an antibiotic dry-cow tube.”

Initially she and Douglas set their ‘threshold’ for selective use at 200,000 cells/ml and a strict ‘no cases of mastitis during the lactation’ prior to drying off.

But confident that selective use has had only a positive impact on udder health and milk quality, the couple have recently ‘relaxed’ the ‘no mastitis’ rule.

“We no longer dry-cow tube cows that had mastitis in early lactation, if their three monthly somatic cell count checks prior to drying off are below 200,000 cells/ml. Using NMR and Interherd plays a key role here.

“We also look at cows on an individual basis. If we know, for example, that a particular cow is ‘risky’ – perhaps, for example, she doesn’t always lie in the cubicles – then we’ll probably use dry cow therapy even if her somatic cell count is below the threshold.

“There are no fixed rules. Our approach is flexible and that’s how it needs to be if it’s going to work.”

The Rhodes’ efforts pre-date Arla’s quality assurance scheme – Arlagarden – which began in October and requires all Arla suppliers to demonstrate that they’ve either adopted selective dry cow therapy use or are developing a plan, in conjunction with their vet, during the next 18 months to start using dry-cow tubes selectively on their herd.

Thorough planning “It’s not something that producers can just start doing overnight. It requires a change of mindset – dry-cow therapy has been viewed, wrongly, as an insurance policy against new mastitis infection in the dry period for several decades,” she adds.

“But more and more producers are starting to think about it and are ‘putting their toe in the water’. As more producers adopt this approach and they see the results in terms of cost savings and udder health, their confidence – and that of other producers – will grow.

Getting your vet involved is absolutely vital according to vet James Breen, an associate at Nottingham University. And looking at both herd and individual cow somatic cell counts and mastitis incidence is also crucial. “All herds

Angela Rhodes: “We’re saving money and reducing our E coli mastitis infection risk”

Teat sealant The couple have been using teat sealant Orbeseal on their herd at Wormleighton Grange Farm since it was first launched, 11 years ago. And it’s certainly added to their confidence when using dry cow therapy selectively. “It’s a barrier to new

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Therapy free: this low somatic cell count cow was dried off using just teat sealant

can look to using selective dry cow therapy successfully – without compromising udder health, milk quality and, ultimately, productivity.

That’s not to say that all cows are suitable candidates for being dried off with teat sealant alone. It really is key to look at the herd as well as individual cow data.

Dr Breen says that herd data will allow the producer and vet to set a ‘threshold’ for selective use, as well as understand the impact of current dry-cow management.

“Many producers assume that it’s not something that a high somatic cell count herd should even consider, but there will be lower somatic cell count cows within that herd that would benefit from being dried off without dry-cow therapy. The key in these herds is to set a low threshold.

“Remember a high somatic cell count means that there is infection in the udder that can and should be treated with dry-cow therapy – tubes should be targeted where they can cure.”

Delicate balance It’s certainly not a case of ‘one size fits all’ and that’s why Arla has been careful not to set a threshold to be applied to all its suppliers’ herds – and why the vets and producers involved in the scheme have also stressed that setting somatic cell counts limits for dry-cow treatment across all herds could be counter productive.

“Every herd is different. But what is key to the success of selective dry-cow therapy is individual somatic cell count tests. Other tests, like the California Milk Test or bacteriology at drying off, are just not suitable for this purpose. ”

He stresses that selective dry cow therapy is not just about making cost savings either. “It’s more about protecting the delicate balance of microflora – the microbiome – in the udders of lower somatic cell count cows. A healthy udder is teaming with bugs, even in very low somatic cell count cows, and they’re bugs that should be there.

“If we upset that balance by using antibiotic dry-cow therapy unnecessarily then that can leave the door open to new infection – typically E coli – in early lactation. What Angela was seeing in her herd has been seen in many herds in the UK and Europe. Dutch research reported an association between clinical mastitis rate and antibiotic dry-cow therapy use back in the 1990s, and UK research showed antibiotic dry cow therapy use in low cell count cows increased the risk of E coli mastitis, so it’s nothing new.” l

Arla scheme to reduce antibiotic use Introduced on October 1, 2015, Arlagarden is the milk producer cooperative’s global farm standard – a mark of quality assurance that applies to all its 3,000 UK members and 13,000 across the group.

The scheme’s focus on selective drycow therapy is to promote the responsible use of medicines and to reduce antibiotic use among Arla’s membership, which gives its

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customers greater confidence in its milk and dairy products.

“We’re introducing the selective drycow therapy element gradually and we’re working closely with our members and vets, including some of the UK’s leading cattle vets, to develop practical guidelines,” says the company’s Tim Hampton.

“We recognise that this isn’t something that can be adopted overnight or that

can be applied with strict parameters to all herds. And for the first 18 months, before the second audit in 2017, we are asking our members to have either begun adopting a selective-use approach, which has been signed off by their vet, or we want to see evidence that they have begun planning a selective dry-cow therapy use policy in conjunction with their vet.”

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Reducing antibiotic use and ‘just in time’ calving

Transition-cow update Selective dry-cow therapy was a topic discussed at this year’s British Mastitis Conference and delegates at the Transition Cow Conference, organised by Premier Nutrition, heard about the latest dry-cow management research. text Rachael Porter

U

dder health remained good, and in some cases improved, during a study that looked at reducing antibiotic use in dairy herd through selective dry-cow therapy.

That was the finding of a trial, carried out in Belgium across four herds, by Karlien Supré from the Flanders Milk Control Centre. She said that she hoped the work would give producers more confidence to take the selective-use approach “We saw bulk milk somatic cell counts either remain stable or fall,” she told delegates at the British Mastitis Conference, which was held in Worcester in November. “And, during the trial, the percentage of clinical mastitis cases was either unchanged or actually fell,” she added.

The majority of antibiotics used in dairy herds are for the treatment of udder health problems. “Tackling udder health issues by increasing preventative measures and drying off health cows without using antibiotics would support the responsible use of antibiotics,” said Dr Supré, explaining the rationale behind her work.

She added that Belgium has to work on reducing the antibiotic use in its dairy herds. “It was falling, but we saw a slight increase – 1.1% – in 2013/2014. I think that’s because treatments are not always well considered and some producers are still very much taking a blanket approach – particularly when it comes to using drycow therapy.”

Four herds, comprising around 250 cows in total, took part in the study and the producers registered all clinical mastitis cases and drug usage.

Udder health was assessed at the start of the project and then again on a monthly basis throughout the 18-month study.

“There was also monthly contact and

discussion with the vet, either in person or by phone, to discuss the udder health of the herd and to also ensure that preventative measures were being taken effectively and that the producer was happy with progress,” explained Dr Supré.

“Working closely with the producers to improve management at ground level was very important. Communication, education and guidance can reduce udder health problems – and therefore antibiotic use – on most units.”

Transition management Among the speakers at November’s Transition Cow Conference was the University of Wisconsin’s Nigel Cook. He explained that when a cow is dried off and joins the dry cow group, she has to firstly identify where she is in the hierarchy. “As a result she won’t be eating or sleeping as much, because the cows already in the pen have the seniority,”

he said, adding that one study had shown as much as a 9% decrease in dry matter intake when a cow was moved into the group.

“This 9% could be the tipping point between negative and positive energy balance. This effect is influenced by stocking density – so could be mitigated by ensuring plenty of space in the dry cow pen. Alternatively, in large herds, cows could be dried off in batches to form a group that stayed together until calving.

Many large herds in the US employed a ‘just in time’ calving strategy. This involves moving cows from the dry-cow group into an individual calving pen when they were just at the point of calving. This provided the cow with a ‘quiet, private place to calve’.

However the move needs to be made only once the water bag or calf’s feet are showing. If cows are moved too early, this can have a negative impact. Professor Cook added that adopting a ‘just in time’ calving approach required hourly checking of close-up cows and ensuring that staff were well trained on when to move cows.

This research was the inspiration behind the development of Premier Nutrition’s transition-cow monitoring service – TMS. This is available to producers throughout the UK. TMS allows producers to practically monitor the success or failure of their transition-cow management. l

‘Just in time’ approach: cows should be moved once the water bag or calf’s feet are showing

COW MAN AG E ME N T

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BREEDING INFORMATION

Stable national herd performance in turbulent market In a year in which the milk quota system disappeared and heated debate raged on manure legislation, CRV’s annual statistics for 2015 reveal that the longevity of Dutch cows has remained stable and economic performance has increased.

The lifetime production of Dutch dairy cows in the past year (see Table 1) at 30,868kg of milk, more or less equals the figure of the record year 2014. Just like 2014, the average calving interval

Delta Atlantic: almost 47,000 calves Topspeed Kodak has lost his position of having the most registered herd book calves in The Netherlands during the past financial year 2014/2015. After two consecutive years at the top of the list, Kodak has to settle for second place with almost 17,000 calves. According to CRV, Delta Atlantic holds the record for 2014/2015, with 46,742 calves.

(see Table 2) was reduced by one day and now stands at 415 days. Calving interval has been gradually falling for the past five years.

Breed average The appendix (Table 2) shows the average production for: black-andwhite Holsteins, with an average production of 9,770kg of milk, at 4.28% fat and 3.51% protein, in 355 days; and red-and-white Holsteins.

year

kg milk

% fat

% protein

kg fat

2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 2010

30,868 30,999 30,751 30,536 30,318 30,482

4.35 4.36 4.37 4.37 4.36 4.37

3.52 3.52 3.52 3.51 3.51 3.50

1,343 1,352 1,344 1,333 1,323 1,331

kg protein kg fat+protein 1,087 1,091 1,083 1,073 1,063 1,067

2,430 2,443 2,427 2,406 2,386 2,398

Table 1: Lifetime production of culled Dutch herdbook cows (September 1, 2014, to August 31, 2015) Table 2: Lactation milk production Dutch herdbook cows (September 1, 2014, to August 31, 2015)

year breed

Delta Atlantic

black and -white 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 red and white 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011

Kodak daughter Gert 21, 4th calver

number of cows

days

kg milk

% % fat protein

597,312 601,038 579,768 558,427 558,508

355 356 358 359 358

9,770 9,717 9,719 9,888 9,928

4.28 4.31 4.32 4.33 4.32

125,540 122,246 114,134 105,528 101,992

349 349 350 349 347

8,972 8,904 8,901 9,052 9,079

4.49 4.54 4.54 4.55 4.56

kg fat

kg protein

3.51 3.53 3.51 3.52 3.51

418 419 420 428 429

343 341 341 348 348

3.60 3.62 3.61 3.60 3.60

403 404 404 412 414

323 322 321 326 327

AMS index for bulls available from April 2016 Three robot indices – robot efficiency, robot interval and robot habituation – will be combined into one AMS index from April 2016.

CRV’s animal evaluation unit manager Gerben de Jong was heavily involved in the development of the AMS index and says that it was a challenge to combine the indices in such a way as to ensure that milk production and udder health did not decrease. The production and udder health indices correlate in a

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C OWMANAGEMENT

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negative way with the characteristics required for robot efficiency and robot habituation of heifers. “To balance this, we have put in weighing factors,” he says.

“This means that the producers knows for sure that they are breeding ‘robot’ cows that are suitable for milking through an automatic system, without compromising milk production or udder health.” The characteristic ‘robot efficiency’ is based on kilogrammes of

DECEMBER

milk per total milking time in minutes.

The characteristic ‘milking interval’ is based on the time between two consecutive milkings. The characteristic ‘habituation of heifers’ is based on the equation between milking interval of successful milkings in the period just after calving and the period later on in lactation.

The information of these characteristics comes from data compiled by milking robots.

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B R E E D I N G

Proven and genomic ‘movers and shakers’ create interest in new bull lists

Too close to call Lancashire-based Holstein breeder and former NMR/RABDF Gold Cup finalist James Tomlinson tells us what’s grabbed his attention in the latest December sire rankings, in both the daughter-proven and genomic lists. text Rachael Porter

T

here are plenty of ‘new entries’ in the proven and genomic sire rankings to catch the eye in the latest proof run, according to Lancashire-based producer James Tomlinson.

And he says that some including the new number-one Holstein Kings-Ransom Erdman, who heads the AHDB Dairy proven list, are worth a closer look more than others. James has used Erdman on his herd: “And he just keeps on improving, which is why he’s made it to the top,” he says. “I have cows in calf to this sire – one of the best daughter-proven bulls of the breed for transmitting longer lifespan.

And he also excels for daughter fertility, with an index of +12.4, and reduces cell counts, with a score of –18.”

Transmitting smaller than average stature to his daughters, this Planet son out of a Ramos dam also scores well for reducing the costs of maintenance (Maintenance Index –19), all of which earns him a Profitable Lifetime Index of £603.

“He’s a good all rounder and I think he’s a great choice for commercial producers.”

Erdman edges ahead of the former number one daughter-proven sire, Gen-

James Tomlinson: “There are so many to choose from – producers can be picky”

I-Beq Lavaman, whose index continues to feature an impressive Predicted Transmitting Ability (PTA) for protein at 23.1kg based on 163 UK daughters milking. His PLI remains high at £599. DeSu Ransom retains third position with a PLI of £591 and is the highest of many Roylane Socra Robust sons to feature near the top of the rankings. “But for me there’s just not enough milk. But he’s still an excellent sire,” says James.

Co-Op Robust Cabriolet is another son of Robust and, as a new entrant in fourth position, he is the highest ranking of five sires which were offered last proof run

Gen-I-Beq Lavaman

34

with genomic indexes and are making their debut in the top 10. Features of Cabriolet’s December index include outstanding milk solids, with a PTA for fat of +29.8kg. With a PLI of £573 he exactly confirms the genomic index he earned as a young sire. “But, again, for me this sire falls down on somatic cell count score – he’s +2 – and I won’t use any sires that are plus on SCC. He does have extremely high milk though, at 547kg.”

Rounding off the top five and climbing from 10th position is the Massey son, NoFla Alta Everglade, who is the highest top 10 daughter fertility improver with a FI of +14.0. His PLI is £570. “This is a significant climb and I think it’s because of his fertility score. But I do have concerns about his cow family. I’ve said before that I won’t use any sires with a dam that is anything less than VG. It’s important to me and, in past proof runs, I’ve flagged up sires with G and G+ dams and, interesting, they don’t stay around.”

Genomic graduates The ones to watch, and that really excited James this time around, are full brothers Cashcoin and Cashmoney (Observer x Goldwyn), rank eighth and ninth with PLIs of £545 and £543 respectively. Both have graduated from the genomic young sire list and both also transmit strong type, with Type Merit scores released by Holstein UK today at +2.62 and +2.82.

“I used them as genomic sires and they’re both the highest on type – by a mile – in the top 10.”

Looking to the genomic rankings and James says that, again, producers will be

No-Fla Alta Everglade

C V CO EOEW W TM EMEA ALN N TA AJG GAEENM MUEEAN NRTTI SD 1 E/EP2CTE2 EMM 0 B0BE9ERR 22001059

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+23.0 +19.6 +15.4 +29.8 +25.7 +12.4 +21.7 +19.1 +16.6 +19.8

+15.4 +23.1 +13.7 +21.2 +19.1 +16.3 +17.7 +15.0 +12.1 +19.1

+0.04 +0.07 +0.11 +0.10 +0.13 –0.09 +0.02 –0.01 +0.06 +0.16

–0.01 +0.14 +0.10 +0.04 +0.08 +0.00 +0.01 –0.02 +0.03 +0.17

603 599 591 573 570 553 546 545 543 541

–19 –2 9 –13 20 –1 –20 –12 — 6

–18 –4 –17 2 –13 –29 –16 –15 –19 –8

0.7 0.1 0.7 0.5 0.3 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.4

12.4 13.8 10.9 6.6 14.0 12.3 11.1 7.9 8.3 7.9

1.1 1.4 1.4 1.6 1.9 1.1 0.3 1.7 0.5 1.3

0.40 1.13 2.46 1.16 1.38 1.15 –0.45 1.82 2.64 0.89

67 67 67 67 67 67 67 67 67 67

+637 +129 +485 +282 +301 +514 +219 +533 +397 +156

+29.0 +25.3 +33.8 +24.0 +25.7 +28.3 +20.4 +33.0 +35.4 +21.4

+26.2 +11.2 +22.3 +15.8 +19.9 +20.2 +14.9 +19.5 +23.7 +14.9

+0.05 +0.25 +0.18 +0.16 +0.17 +0.10 +0.15 +0.14 +0.24 +0.19

+0.07 +0.09 +0.08 +0.08 +0.12 +0.04 +0.10 +0.03 +0.13 +0.12

724 683 682 674 665 660 649 649 649 648

17 –2 15 8 6 — 2 0 9 9

–17 –16 –16 –28 –19 –16 –22 –14 –11 –26

0.7 0.8 0.6 0.6 0.4 0.7 0.5 0.6 0.4 0.6

12.3 11.8 9.3 11.1 11.9 11.5 14.1 9.9 9.1 9.7

0.4 1.6 0.6 1.8 0.4 0.7 1.7 1.1 0.2 0.9

1.89 2.48 1.95 2.58 1.66 1.73 1.67 1.36 0.78 2.16

TM

F&L

+490 +359 +177 +547 +376 +513 +514 +505 +288 +177

udder

dCE

85 96 81 81 82 82 78 79 77 96

fertility

lifespan

in

SCC

Numero Uno Semex Freddie Semex Goliath Genus Levi Genus Iota Genus Robust Alta Brigeen RussellGenus Shamrock Genus Sudan Semex Numero Uno Cogent

maint.

Enforcer Predestine Rocky Balisto Pesky Camaro Racer Tango Flame Bettman

£PLI

genomic sires Sandy-Valley-I Penmanship Stantons Checkers Apina Nadal No-Fla Junket Topcroft Pesky Trix Peak Alta Firebird Ballycairn Darius De-Su 12365 Endeavor Comestar Loic Cogent Peak Alex

Bullsemen.com Semex TAG UK Bullsemen.com Alta Genetics Bullsemen.com AI Services NI King Street/Molecare King Street/WFE Bullsemen.com

% prote

Ramos Goldwyn Ramos Planet O Man Ramos Wizard Goldwyn Goldwyn Goldwyn

% fat

Planet Man-O-Man Robust Robust Massey Observer Erdman Observer Observer O Man

kg prote

proven sires Kings-Ransom Erdman Gen-I-Beq Lavaman De-Su Ransom Co-Op Robust Cabriolet No-Fla Alta Everglade Co-Op Rb Obsr Indy United-Pride Erdman Evan Farnear-Tbr-Bh Cashcoin Farnear-Tbr-Bh Cashmoney Prehen Omen

kg fat

mat. grandsire supplier

milk

sire

rel.

name

conformation

ind.

functional traits

in

production

0.27 0.36 1.14 1.19 0.98 1.70 1.07 1.13 0.62 0.92 1.29 1.48 0.08 –0.22 2.42 2.62 2.39 2.82 0.71 0.82

1.59 1.85 1.98 1.61 1.71 1.47 1.52 1.79 1.15 2.12

1.91 2.41 2.32 2.28 2.14 1.84 1.94 2.02 1.13 2.44

Table 1: Top 10 daughter-proven and top 10 genomic sires available in the UK, ranked on PLI (source: DairyCo breeding+ and Holstein UK)

hard pushed to pick between them. Every one of the new top 10 sires not only transmits outstanding health and fertility but they also offering positive milk quality.

The bull which does this better than any other is Sandy-Valley-I Penmanship (Enforcer x Numero Uno), who retains his number one position with a PLI of £724.

“As PLIs go, that’s massive and miles ahead of any other sire,” says James.

Impressive PLI With high protein production (+26.2kg) among his many virtues he remains the only sire to break the £700 barrier.

“I’ve used a lot of Shottle sires on my herd already, so unfortunately I can’t use him.

Farnear-Tbr-Bh Cashcoin

“But I am spoilt for choice in the top 20 in the genomic rankings. There are some excellent bulls, so I can be picky.”

Also unchanged in second position is Stantons Checkers (Predestine x Freddie) whose Lifespan Index of +0.8 is the best of the breed. But it’s the third-position sire – Apina Nadal (Rocky x Goliath), who combines one of the highest PTAs for weight of fat with solid daughter fitness, who has caught James’ eye. “I’m definitely going to take a closer look at him and his pedigree. And I may add him to my AI flask,” he says.

The highest British-bred sire Topcroft Pesky Trix (Pesky x Alta Iota), with a PLI of £665 and who remains in fifth place, is another bull that James is watching, not

least because he’s already used him on his herd. “I think it’s important to have a British-bred bull from a British cow family.”

The top 10 is rounded off by three sires that share equal positions. De-Su 11756 Octavian, All Nure Uno Placebo and De-Su Firewall each have a PLI of £643. Octavian has the best SCC index of the top 10 sires (–30); Placebo transmits the highest type of the top £PLI bulls (Type Merit +2.46); and Firewall excels for fitness, type and fertility across the board.

“I’ve already used Octavian and I’m looking to buy more. And I’m definitely enquiring about some Placebo semen too.

They’re both Numero Uno sons and I like their sire stacks,” says James. l

Peak Alta Firebird

C COOWWMMA ANNA AGGE EMME ENNT T S D E P E C T EE M M BB EE R R 22 00 01 95

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NMR622-advert_3_print.pdf

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15/04/2015

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F R O M

T H E

V E T E R I N A RY

M A A RT E N

P R A C T I C E

B O E R S

West Sussex-based dairy vet Maarten Boers, from The Livestock Partnership, gives us the lowdown on an extremely rare, but fatal, disease that struck on a unit in Wiltshire this autumn.

Fatal disease is rare, but recent cases in Wiltshire highlight risks

Anthrax alert I

t’s been almost 10 years since anthrax was seen on a British farm, so confirmation of two cases in cattle on a Wiltshirebased dairy unit in October came as a shock. It’s a notifiable disease so the unit was closed down, as a precaution, for 30 days. The good news is that there have been no further cases.

Vet investigations to identify the source of the outbreak were on going as CowManagement went to press.

The most recent outbreak prior to this was in Wales, back in 2006, when two cattle died from the disease. In that case the anthrax outbreak was the result of disturbing a carcass burial site during building works on the farm.

Infection is either through ingesting or inhaling the spores and, once inside the animal, they multiply extremely quickly and release toxins. Like other clostridial diseases, it’s these toxins, rather than the bacteria themselves, that do the damage. In anthrax, the toxins cause multiple organ failure.

The disease is highly infectious and contagious. In cattle the disease is acute and usually results in sudden death without any symptoms. If symptoms are seen they can easily be mistaken for other diseases and conditions.

Any ‘sudden deaths’ should be reported to DEFRA, via your vet.

It’s then up to them to determine the cause of death. A blood sample is taken from the ear of the dead animal, in the first instance, and tested for anthrax.

If cattle with anthrax are seen alive, symptoms include malaise, a high temperature and blood coming from both nostrils. But the spores, once inside the body, act very quickly and animals are typically dead within a matter of a few hours.

The encyclopaedia Anthrax Cause A bacterium from the Clostridium family, anthrax spores can survive in the soil for decades, if not centuries.

Ground or building works can disturb the spores and release them into the environment.

Symptoms It’s rare to see symptoms as the onset of anthrax is sudden and progresses to almost certain death within hours. Producers may see listless, depressed cattle with a high temperature.

But these symptoms also fit many other non-notifiable diseases. One tell-tale sign is bleeding from both nostrils.

Diagnosis and treatment Diagnosis is typically post mortem. All ‘sudden deaths’ must be reported to DEFRA, but remember that the disease is extremely rare. Rarer still is finding an animal with ‘clinical’ anthrax – most die too quickly for symptoms to be seen.

Prevention Keep cattle away from areas where ground works are being carried out – such as digging ditches and drains. It’s also important to find out, if you don’t already know, where any former carcass burial sites are on your unit. Keep cattle away and avoid disturbing the soil in these areas.

COW MAN AG E ME N T

CM08_VetColumn.indd 37

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V C EOEW T EMEAL N T AJ GA ENMU EANR TI

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DAIRY MANAGEMENT NEWS

Award for Silent Herdsman The advanced technology used in the latest mySilent Herdsman impressed judges sufficiently for it to be highly commended at Agriscot in November in the New Product Innovation Award.

The new mySilent Herdsman Health Alert option is an eating and rumination monitoring service. It is added to the Silent Herdsman collar and enables the average eating and rumination time for each cow to be monitored and then analysed. Serious deviations from an established ‘norm’ for each cow serve as a health alert that can be picked up on a mobile phone, tablet or any other mobile device.

“The health monitoring option within the Silent Herdsman collars is clinically proven to give advanced warning of health issues ranging from mastitis to ketosis, acidosis to lameness,” says Silent Herdsman product manager Andy Paine.

The latest Health Alert option provides easy access to key fertility management including vet reports on cystic cows, non-cycling cows and PD check lists.

And, for ease of use, full smart phone and tablet functionality via mySilent Herdsman mirrors all system

management functions available on the farm PC. “It is unique among dairy management systems. The fact that we’re able to use a single sensor within the Silent Herdsman collar significantly reduces the cost of this type of monitoring product.

“A typical herd can access mySilent Herdsman Health Alert for around £600 per year. This cost can be justified if just one involuntary cull is saved per year as a result of the eating and rumination analysis. In reality, those using the new option will expect to save the cost at least a few times over.”

Judge and dairy producer David Homer said: “More producers are being presented with data and are expected to perform the role of a data analyst, but mySilent Herdsman Health Alert does this analysis and presents the results in a straightforward, accessible and useful way. This represents great value-added information to the producer.”

Units using Silent Herdsman now also have the added product assurance of a five-year full warranty as standard on all new collars plus a new collar rental option.

mySH takes highly commended at Agriscot, left to right: the Silent Herdsman team of Andy Paine, Alanna Cousar, Malachy Devlin and managing director Drew Sloan

Top cows A total of 117 recorded cows with NMR passed the 100-tonne milestone during September and October. Ranked on lifetime daily yield (LDY), here are the top three: 1. Cow 747 from Church Farm Partnership, based at Gillingham in Dorset, with 105,273kg of milk in five lactations and a LDY of 31.52kg/day.

2. Cow 480 from TN Beeston and Son, based at Market Drayton in Shropshire, with 111,981kg of milk in seven lactations and a LDY of 30.67kg/day.

3. Grosvenor H Principal Rosa, from Grosvenor Farms at Hatton Heath in Cheshire, with 100,452kg of milk in six lactations and a LDY of 30.5kg/ day.

A full list of all cows reaching 100 tonnes of milk in their lifetime to date is on the NMR web site.

Stocking filler NMR’s Herd Management Diary 2016 is available from NMR Customer Services.

It includes a herd health plan and management section.

Priced at £27.50 plus VAT, copies can be ordered directly by calling 03330 043043, or by emailing customerservices@nmr.co.uk.

Calling all advisers

Easy-read HerdWise HerdWise users now have easy-tofollow guidelines to help them get the most out of their Johne’s disease reports. “The guidelines offer bite-size explanations of the HerdWise reports that can be used by the dairy team,”

says NML product manager Nicola Hares. “The pack also provides Johne’s disease information and highlights the role of regular testing and risk-based management.” Literature is available online or in print on request.

The NMR group is holding a forum day for vets, nutritionists and advisers on January 27, 2016 at the Manor Hotel, Yeovil.

Organised as a ‘drop-in’ day from 1pm to 7pm, the event will demonstrate the role of its products and services that can support advisory work on dairy units including the selective dry cow therapy tool.

Contact NMR Customer Services for more details.

For more information on NMR products and services contact customer services, 03330 043 043, NMR web address: www.nmr.co.uk, NMR email address: customerservices@nmr.co.uk COW MAN AG E ME N T

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B R E E D I N G

LON GE V Insight

in performance and genetic capacity

HERD

MANAGEMENT Improve by applying solutions

Plan

progress in performance and genetic capacity

HEAL TH

IENCY FIC EF

ION CT DU

Y IT

PR O

BREEDING WITH A PURPOSE

F E RTILIT Y

Every producer sets goals for his farm. These goals may differ, but the herd is always at the heart of the business. In this six-part series we set out to help you to improve your herd. Our sixth article focuses on breeding to improve health.

Part 1: Introduction Part 2: Production Part 3: Efficiency Part 4: Fertility Part 5: Longevity Part 6: Health

Selecting for health traits plays a vital role in running a profitable and sustainable herd

Healthy cows, ‘healthy’ business Good cow health is key to maximising longevity and, through breeding, it is possible to select for bulls that sire ‘trouble free’, efficient and profitable daughters to build a ‘robust’ herd. We spoke to a County Durham-based producer to find out more. text Rachael Porter

C

ounty Durham-based producer Andrew Pounder knows only too well the importance of breeding for health or, in his particular experience, udder health. He runs the 200-cow pedigree Stainton Hill herd, near Barnard Castle, with help from his wife Pam and son Scott, his father in law Dennis, and his

40

parents Joe and Margaret. And around 10 years ago, with their help, he really began to focus on selecting sires based on udder conformation in a bid to improve udder health – and longevity.

“We felt that our heifers were calving down with too much udder condition – udders were too ‘fatty’ and conformation

Andrew Pounder: “Cows are now averaging at least six lactations”

wasn’t good. They didn’t milk as well as they should, only lasting for between two and three lactations. We like to see at least six lactations, if not more,” he says.

“And udder health was suffering too. We were seeing more cases of mastitis because udders were not milking out properly. There was too much ‘heft’ in their udders as heifers and the central ligament support just wasn’t there. The udders were extremely ‘loose’ by the time they reached their second and third lactations.”

Because the udder is so central to what makes a productive, healthy and profitable dairy cow, it’s little wonder that Andrew was seeing poor longevity.

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“But once we pin pointed the problem, we could start selecting sires to help reduce and eliminate it – in just a generation or two,” he says.

Closed herd He breeds all his own replacements for the Holstein Friesian herd, which is currently averaging 9,100kg at 4.14% butterfat and 3.32% protein. And he’s been working with CRV Avoncroft’s SireMatch program for the past 15 years.

It was this tool that allowed him to alter his selection criteria, with some advice and support from the company’s Iain Brown, in order to increase the number of lactations he was seeing from individual cows and improve the overall longevity of the herd.

“The rear and central ligaments in many of Andrew’s heifers were simply not strong enough and, as a result, he was seeing far too many cases of mastitis and ‘blown bags’,” says Iain. “Breeding has a role to play in helping to prevent and reduce the number of cases of mastitis where udder conformation and condition is less than ideal. So

Healthy herd: trouble-free cows will, ultimately, be more efficient

name

Better Life Health (%)

Delta Atlantic, Delta Anthony Delta Titanium Delta Bookem Danno, WD Reminder De Vlottenburg Fantasy-Red, Cookiecutter MOM Hunter, HJR Windstar-Red Delta Wifi, Vero Startrek Debutant-Red

Table 1: CRV Avoncroft top Better Life Health bulls (Better Life Health is compiled from the following breeding values: udder health, daughter fertility, sire calving ease, vitality, maternal calving process, maternal calf vitality, hoof health, calf survival and ketosis)

Andrew and I set about improving udders through breeding. Breeding for better udder conformation and udder health will result in a healthier cow that will last longer in the herd. And a herd comprising healthier cows will, ultimately, be more efficient.”

The longevity or life span of a dairy cow determines how many productive lactations she completes within a herd – and how happy a producer is to have her in the milking herd. “Aside from mastitis, other issues such as hoof problems can also be a health ‘issue’ that result in involuntary culling,” says CRV Avoncroft’s David Matthews.

“Good legs and feet are just as important as udders – both udder shape and udder health help to determine the longevity of the cow. Producers need to breed for good functional traits to enable cows to live a long and healthy life.”

Selection criteria Indeed, Andrew also selects sires with good feet and legs. His only other key criteria when choosing bulls to use on his herd are chest width and fat and protein percentage. Today he’s milking daughters by udder and health improving sires including Impuls, Goli, Fiction and Fidelity. And he has sires including G Force, Nilson, Mobile and Wanted in his AI flask at the moment.

Herd health, particularly udder health, has improved since he began selecting for better udders. SCC is down to around 100,000 cell/ml and the mastitis rate per 100 cows has fallen to 11 cases per year from 30 cases.

“Longevity has definitely improved,” says Andrew. “We’re averaging at least six lactations from our heifers now, as they mature through the herd. We have some cows in their eighth and ninth lactations and they’re still producing extremely well, with nice tidy udders.”

A reduced replacement rate means that his requirement for heifers has also fallen and he’s able to sell some surplus young stock – a welcome additional stream of income. “We rear between 60 and 70 a year and typically sell between 15 and 20 head.”

He says that ultimately, productivity and profitability aside, it’s more satisfying to manage a healthy and longlasting herd of cows. “Milking ‘trouble free’ cows makes the job a lot more rewarding. And the investment in rearing heifers is money well spent – rather than an expensive ‘hit and miss’ exercise that invariably ended up in disappointment. My heifers and cows have tidy, well-attached udders that can last for many years – rather than just two or three problematic lactations.” l

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Experts, at your service!

George Collins Program Support Manager VAS UK

Meet the VAS UK team!

As Valley Agriculture Software (VAS), we have delivered the worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s leading herd management software to a growing and loyal customer base in the UK. DairyComp 305 is a proven tool that will do its job faster, easier and with more sophistication than any other method.

The increasing demand for our DC305 program results in a rapidly expanding group of enthusiastic customers. To deliver the same quality of services and attention to all current and new clients, we have chosen to fully support all VAS programs through our VAS UK team.

This VAS UK team will be headed by George Collins, Program Support Manager VAS UK and by Rick Rocha, Support Specialist VAS.

Please feel free to contact George Collins: Office: 01727 88 46 47 Mobile: 07831-682410 Email: george.collins@vas.com

One of Georgeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s earliest memories was watching milking. Born and raised on a farm, he has been around cows all his life. He built his career in the dairy industry and specialises in herd fertility and herd management. In his 20 years with Alta Genetics, he became an expert in the development and implementation of software for the dairy industry. Amongst many others he trained our UK team to correctly interpret data and act on the results.

With his knowledge and experience he understands how to interpret data and to define the right tactics. Because of his UK dairy background and experience in the industry, he services our clients with passion.

Rick Rocha Support Specialist VAS Rick Rocha was born and raised on a family dairy farm. With a degree in dairy science and leading experience in dairy research projects there was no question he was fit for the VAS core team. Since 1998 he has worked as a support specialist with VAS to grow his expertise on the full lineup of VAS products. After becoming the top specialist on DairyComp 305 he has provided expert guidance and support to over 1500 farmers in the Americas, Asia and Europe. He continuously offers his extensive knowledge to train and coach other consultants to service our ever growing market.

With his expertise, experience and strong ties to the development group of VAS itself, we are proud to have Rick on our UK team.

www.vas.com | info@vas.com | Call 01727 88 46 47

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NUTRITIONAL NEWS

The role of nutrition and genetics

ForFarmers recently hosted a one-day Nutrition and Genetics Conference in Anglesey, supported by Genus, NMR and Gene Tracker.

NMR’s Justin Frankfort began proceedings by outlining the benefits of the company’s Herd Companion system, which enables producers to view fertility and health, as well as milk quality, information online. Lucy

Andrews-Noden gave a presentation on Gene Tracker – NMR’s non-hair, nontag sampling system that offers genetic evaluation of livestock for confirmation traits.

The importance of knowledge-based feeding was discussed by ForFarmers’ ruminant product manager Nick Berni, who highlighted the role that Visiolac milk fat analysis had in gaining an insight into potential cow fertility, acidosis risk and feed utilisation.

Genus representatives, Andrew Butter and Arwell Owen, spoke about the role of genetics in the dairy and beef sectors respectively, before ForFarmers’ young stock specialist Rachael Kennerley rounded off the presentations by exploring the influence of genetics on heifer rearing costs and the changing conformation of young stock.

The conference was a typical example of ForFarmers’ commitment to support its customers in their continuing bid to improve business performance.

VitaMilk – feeding the future With the onset of winter and continuing low milk prices, the attention of most dairy businesses will understandably be focused on the efficiency of milking herd. But it is important not to overlook young stock during the colder months of the year, particularly calves that are fewer than 12 weeks of age. Maintaining good calf health and performance during winter is essential if they are to meet a 24-month calving target.

In cold weather, young calves run the risk of being subjected to temperatures below their lower critical temperature (LCT) – that’s 20°C for calves fewer than three weeks old. When exposed to these lower temperatures, calves use increasing amounts of energy to help maintain body temperature rather than promote growth. The younger the animal, and the lower the temperature, the greater the negative impact on growth rates and risk of disease.

So, to ensure that calves have enough energy to maintain stable body temperatures and good growth rates, producers should constantly review

calf feeding rates throughout the winter. A good rule of thumb is to feed an additional 10g of calf milk replacer for each degree below the LCT. ForFarmers’ VitaMilk range of calf milk replacers has been formulated to deliver the optimum nutrients for all calf rearing systems. It includes Premium, Omega Gold, HiPro Heifer, and Classic.

Several ‘variables’ influence price direction

Large soya crops have resulted in high and still increasing stocks and the lowest soyameal prices for several years. Hipro Soya prices have been around £250/t delivered during the past two weeks, but it takes confidence to cover forward for 12 months in the current climate, says ForFarmers’ Colin Shepherd.

Due to the normal ebb and flow of commodity prices, there are likely to be some attractive offers during the next couple of months and business decisions have to be made. But more record crops next year could lead to lower prices, or a La Niña weather effect could seriously reduce next year’s North American crop and lead to a gradual rise in prices.

So make sure you know the facts before you buy. We know soyabean stocks in the US are estimated at 12MT, versus 5MT in December 2014. The US crop was estimated at a record 108MT this year, up two million tonnes on 2014. And add to this South American production for next spring, which is forecast at 157MT – the same at the 2014 crop.

It’s difficult to decide when to buy and the truth is that no-one really knows. The best approach, with the rapid fall we’ve had and current stocks, is to take some forward cover during the next couple of months.

COW MAN AG E ME N T

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COW MAN AG E ME N T

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C O N TA C T S

SHOWS AND EVENTS 2016 January 5-7: January 18-20: February 9: February 25: March 12: May 11-13: May 25: June 1-4: June 9-11: July 6-7: July 12-14: July 18-21: September 14:

Dairy outlook: these cows are looking forward to 2016 Picture: Harrie van Leeuwen

The Oxford Farming Conference, Examination Halls, Oxford British Cattle Conference, Telford Hotel & Golf Resort,Telford, Shropshire Outlook Conference 2016, One Great George Street, London Maize conference 2015, Peterborough Arena, East of England Showground, Peterborough Borderway UK Dairy Expo, Carlisle, Cumbria Balmoral Show, Balmoral Park, Lisburn NMR/RABDF Gold Cup Farm Walk, Neil Baker, Haselbury Plucknett, Somerset Royal Bath & West Show, Shepton Mallet, Somerset Royal Cornwall Show, Royal Cornwall Showgrond, Wadebridge, Cornwall Livestock Event, NEC, Birmingham Great Yorkshire Show, Harrogate, North Yorkshire Royal Welsh Show, Builth Wells, Powys UK Dairy Day, Telford International Centre, Shropshire

ADVERTISERS’ INDEX C O N TA C T S hCowManagement is published eight times per year by CRV Holding BV

Editorial team

Chief Editor Jaap van der Knaap Editor Rachael Porter Phone 01394 270587 E-mail rachael@reporterjournalism.co.uk Editing, design and production Veeteelt Contributing writers Lauren Chambers, Roger Evans, Allison Matthews, David Matthews, Matt Mellor, and Karen Wright Publisher Rochus Kingmans

Chief editor’s address

P.O. Box 454, 6800 AL Arnhem, The Netherlands Phone 0031 26 38 98 821. Fax 0031 26 38 98 839 E-mail cm.office@crv4all.com internet www.cowmanagement.net

Subscriptions

CowManagement is available free of charge to customers of NMR, Avoncroft, Thompsons and ForFarmers.

If you think you are eligible, please contact: NMR Customer Services, Ground Floor Building 26, Pannal Industrial Estate, Station Road, Harrogate HG3 1JL Phone 08447 255567 E-mail customerservices@NMR.co.uk www.isubscribe.co.uk

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Jonathan Davies, NMR. Phone 07970 017243 E-mail jonathand@nmr.co.uk Willem Gemmink, Froukje Visser P.O. Box 454, 6800 AL Arnhem, The Netherlands, E-mail willem.gemmink@crv4all.com

Alta ...........................................................42 Ark ............................................................16 Berry’s Agriculture .....................................30 Bonanza ......................................................9 Cogent ......................................................11 Concept Cowhouse Ltd. ............................33 Cosycalf.....................................................38 Cowsfeet ...................................................16 CRV Avoncroft Ltd./CRV .....................19, 44 Dairy Master..............................................30 Dairy Spares ..............................................45 De Boer Housing Systems Ltd ....................16 DP Agri........................................................4 Elanco..........................................................9 Enviro Systems...........................................16 Farmplus....................................................31 ForFarmers/Thompsons ...............................2

Healty Hooves ...........................................31 Hoofcount .................................................45 Intershape .................................................17 Joskin ........................................................45 Micron bio systems ....................................48 MSD ..........................................................22 NMR ...................................................36, 47 NWF Agriculture........................................31 Progiene ..............................................30, 31 Quill Productions .......................................33 Roadhead Farm Feeds Ltd. ........................31 SAC ...........................................................17 Spermex ....................................................38 Spinder ......................................................30 Teemore Engineering Ltd. ..........................17 VDK Products ............................................33

COMING UP

M a i z e sp ecial

Illustrations/pictures

Photographs by Veeteelt Photography, Ruth Downing (10), Mike Heal (12-13) and Wendy Short (40-41 ).

Disclaimer

CowManagement does not necessarily share the views expressed by contributors. No responsibility is accepted for the claims made by advertisers. No responsibility can be accepted by CRV Holding BV for the opinions expressed by contributors. Whilst every effort is made to obtain reliable and accurate information, liability cannot be accepted for errors. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical including photocopying, recording, or any information storage or retrieval system without the express prior written consent of the publisher.

January/February (January 28) – Our first issue of 2016 will include our annual maize special.

We’ll take a close look at foot bathing versus foot spraying to control lameness and we’ll also have an update on calf signals.

Printer Stephens and George Ltd. Phone 01685 352097 ISSN 1570-5641

46

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DECEMBER

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Using your existing NMR milk sample, you can now detect pregnancy at the same time â&#x20AC;&#x201C; improving your herdâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s pregnancy rates and boosting productivity.

The tests are an impressive 96.7% speciďŹ c (over 40 days from service) and 97.6% sensitive.

Our service includes an automatic, free, follow-up test for animals giving an inconclusive result, making it a convenient complement to your routine palpation and ultrasound examinations.

This service uses a test that is not looking for progesterone, but for Pregnancy Associated Glycoprotein, using ELISA technology. This eliminates having to sample at certain times of the month.

Call us now on 03330 043043

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