Proactive beats reactive

By Samantha Tennent

More farmers are seeing the value in getting ahead of herd health and welfare monitoring.

Regular dental check-ups can hurt the pocket at the time but they can prevent a much bigger spend and a lot more pain down the track. Proactively monitoring a herd can offer the same protection, and with rising costs, public perception pressures and competitive markets, more farmers are seeing the value in proactive herd health and welfare monitoring.

There has been a big shift in mindset across the industry in general and while it seems there are obvious benefits for some types of farmers to engage in a formal monitoring programme, others question the value for their situation.

But there are a raft of benefits that can appeal to any type of farmer and align with everyone’s values.

Assurance and trust

Whether you’re part of a corporate group, on a board, have a herd manager or are an owner operator, there is a level of assurance when the animal health expert, the veterinarian, is regularly connected to the herd. They can identify potential issues before they escalate and cost the farm business a lot more to fix and in lost productivity.

And for the manager, data can be utilised to demonstrate they are doing a good job for their herd owners and be showcased to future employers.

There is also the social licence. Farmers are becoming more aware of public perception and feeling like they are under a magnifying glass. But we hear from farmers directly that when they are involved in a proactive herd monitoring programme such as WelFarm, they feel relieved knowing they have data to cover their backside should they ever need it.

And it can give peace of mind knowing they are doing the best for their herd and that they will have an opportunity to pick up on anything that may start slipping. They can give positive feedback when things are going right, which can be valuable for a herd owner.

Drive efficiency

Time is precious on a dairy farm, so it is important to know which areas need the most attention. With herd-monitoring data, farmers and vets can identify what is going well and where there are opportunities to improve, and prioritise accordingly.

It is also an efficient way to utilise a vet, as proactive spend can be budgeted, where reactive spend can escalate quickly. It also provides regular opportunities to pick their brains and maximise the value of the relationship. A lot of time can be wasted trying to resolve a herd health issue where proactive management can be timebudgeted and prevent the issue in the first place. And if issues are raised it is usually early enough to scope out the plan clearly.

If managers are trying to pitch a business case for things they may need for the herd, data can provide evidence to assure owners it is a necessary spend. For example, feed from body condition score results or lameness figures to support race repairs or staff training.

Economic gains

Without monitoring it is hard to identify where improvements can be made, but when there is data available it can be assessed against science and economics to determine the potential gains from improvement.

Saving one cow from proactive monitoring, or lifting reproductive performance results by a few percent could mean the monitoring programme is paid for. And everyone prefers dealing with healthy cows rather than being an ambulance at the bottom of the cliff.

The value of benchmarking cannot be underestimated. Curiosity is part of human nature and we want to know how our performance compares to that of others. Sometimes targets can feel unobtainable but a benchmark is the reality of what is being achieved.

There is also extensive benefits in benchmarking against yourself, to see if your efforts are working or if you need to try a different tactic.

We know the industry is changing and there could be more requirements into the future, so engaging in proactive herd health and welfare monitoring could simply be a way to stay ahead of the game that makes it worthwhile for your business.

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Talk to your vet about proactive monitoring for your herd and check out our website welfarm.co.nz for more information.

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