STOCK ANIMAL HEALTH
The Willis herd ready to be milked.
Health conscious for cattle and people Protection of the land, stock and local people has won a Southland farmer several Ballance Farm Environment awards. Karen Trebilcock reports.
W
hen it comes to stock health, Robert Willis prefers to be the ambulance at the top of the cliff rather than at the bottom. And as a full-time ambulance officer for St John in Invercargill it’s not an expression he uses lightly. “On the farm we’ve used pain relief from day one with anything that needs it, not just dehorning calves. “We teat-seal heifers and cows, and that has reduced our mastitis, stopped us using 64
so much antibiotic and lowered our cell counts. “We’ve got Rumensin in the troughs to stop bloat and we’ve got grain feeding in the dairy to maintain our cow condition.” He said the grain has improved in-calf rates, maintained cow condition and also allowed him to graze covers down to 1500kg DM/ha in peak grass and 1600 in the shoulders to maintain quality. When the cows can’t do it he pre-graze mows to make sure they can. “It was either paying for grain feeding
in the dairy or buying a silage wagon. The cost was the same, but we have a rolling farm and we didn’t want to wreck our tracks. It was an easy decision. “We really focus on maintaining our tracks and letting the cows walk in themselves to the dairy as much as we can, and that stops so many foot problems.” He works with Louise Ingram from Otautau Vets for the cows’ nutrition and health. “She started as a vet the same time as we converted, so we’ve grown together as
Dairy Exporter | www.nzfarmlife.co.nz | October 2020
