SYSTEMS METABOLICS
Testing key to solving metabolic problems Paul Mercer told Jackie Harrigan about the process of understanding and addressing metabolic problems in the Manawatu herd he manages.
S
olving the metabolic problems around calving cows helped Manawatu farm manager Paul Mercer halve the incidence of milk fever and ketosis in his herd and reduce the empty rate for the following season by a third. Paul manages the 410-cow herd on Garvaghy Farm at Rangiotu for Robert Ervine and Colleen Sheldon. Now in his third season, Paul remembers back to that first season with a shake of his head. “We had a lot of metabolic problems – 20% of the cows had clinical milk fever followed by ketosis and retained membranes and it had a big impact on production, but then more problems affected mating performance.” “We dusted the grass and the hay but the cows were still going down – it was really exhausting.” 36
Paul says he had a recipe for getting the cows up again and that “we got pretty good at it”. “I usually put one bag of calcium in the ribs first and then a bag in the neck vein – you have to make sure there is no air in the bag.” “But a couple of down cows take an hour out of your day, especially if you have to hip lift them.” The six-week in-calf rate dropped to 62% that season and the empty rate sat at 18%. “We had multiple issues that season – after the metabolic problems at calving then 18 cows went down at mating, the metabolic issues just carried on, as well as a flood on the riverbank land, and mating problems led to poor results.” Dairy Exporter | www.nzfarmlife.co.nz | July 2020
