Cattle - Case studies: The potential to boost milk price and raise yields is clear to see on a Shropshire dairy farm
One of the eight dairy farms in the XLVets FHP dairy project is Newnham Farm near Shrewsbury in Shropshire. Here, XLVets’Tim O’Sullivan will be working with Andy Dale to improve his herd’s fertility and nutrition and reduce the number of mastitis cases. Already the potential to boost milk price and raise yields is clear to see.
Health planning in the past has focused on controlling some of the more common infectious cattle diseases - the herd is vaccinated against leptospirosis and BVD, and eighteen months ago, following some suspicious cases, vaccinations against IBR were also started.
Focussing on key areas
Now Andy and Tim are working together looking at herd health as a whole and focusing on some key areas which affect performance and profitability.
The pedigree Newdale herd numbers 280 milking cows, and has averaged 8,500 litres/year for the past two years. Andy explains: “Technically we have been making a steady climb to reach this yield but now seem to have reached a plateau. Yet I believe the cows have the capability to produce another 500 litres and that is our aim. However, we also want to get to 9000 litres in a system in which everything comes more easily.”
Andy refers to the erratic cell counts which affect his milk price, and also the fact that he has had ‘more than a fair share’ of milk fevers and displaced abomasums (DAs), particularly in heifers.
Fewer cases of displaced abomasums
Tim explains: “On average every DA costs £250 – that includes cost of surgery, lost milk and the delay in conception. But with attention to nutrition and management, the number of cases can be reduced. Andy has certainly had fewer cases since putting a new shed up in which heifers could reach the feed more easily.”
Andy and Tim both have access to performance data on the Newdale herd and those of other NMR milk-recorded herds, through the software package NMR Herd Companion. Looking at the statistics, the Newdale herd has a fertility which is above average but Andy still wants to improve it further.
The calving indices in the NMR recorded herds, of comparable size, range from 370 to 480 days. The Newdale herd has a calving interval of 418 days, with 44% of cows calving within 385 days.
Tim adds: “Using the BCVA’s Disease Cost Calculator, every extra day in the calving interval is costing £2/cow. So if Andy can improve fertility and reduce calving index from 418 to 400, then that’s a potential saving of £30,000.”
On track with heifer calving dates
According to the NMR statistics, Andy is well on track with his heifer calving dates – the average age at calving is on target at around two years of age. However, they struggle to achieve their potential once they have entered the main herd. So Tim has sent information on Andy’s rations along with silage analyses to an independent nutritionist, to assess whether in fact there are any nutrient shortfalls in the diet.
“It might be that they need better nutrition earlier on in their lives so that they are bigger and stronger at calving. But another area we are going to look at is the worming strategy as they seem a bit vulnerable to lungworm and gastro-intestinal worms both of which depress appetites.”
“We have also had plenty of ‘mastitis incidents’,” says Andy. “We are currently averaging 250,000. But with our milk contract, if cell counts are over 200,000 then we lose 0.3p/litre, and if they are over 250,000, then we lose another 0.3p/litre.”
Potential savings
For the size of herd and its yield, Tim has calculated there is potentially £15,000 per year to be gained from bringing counts down to less than 200,000.
“Aside from a higher milk price, by reducing mastitis cases there’d also be savings in drug costs and less lost milk – in fact, there’s probably scope to save a further £9,000.”
Problem bacteria in the past have been Streptococcus uberis and Staphylococcus aureus. Andy thinks he may need to look at culling some of the cows. Another area is to re-assess the success of the dry cow tubes in bringing cell counts down – a teat sealant is currently used in conjunction with a long acting dry cow tube but Tim thinks that the choice of tube may need to be changed.
Changes to the milking routine
Longer term, Tim believes changes are also needed to the milking routine. Cows are milked in a rotary parlour operated by one person. Due to time pressure, pre-milking preparation is poor and Andy accepts that post-milking teat spraying could be improved. Solutions under consideration are automatic cluster disinfection, which would require some capital investment. Or should there be two people milking instead? But the herd size does not justify this. An independent milking parlour specialist will be visiting the farm in August, funded by the project, to help Andy find the best solution for his situation.
Tackling cell count
During the project Tim will make monthly visits. To tackle the cell count problem he will be taking a bulk milk sample to check for bacteria and then compare the milk samples from individual cows which are taken at the monthly NMR milk recordings. For these monthly visits, Andy will also select out problem cows for Tim to see. For instance, any with post-calving metritis and those that are failing to conceive.
For the Newdale herd, thanks to a proactive approach to farm health planning by Tim and Andy and the help of specialist advisers, financial gains should be made through reducing mastitis and improving herd nutrition and fertility.
Page last modified:
September 10, 2007
Page published:
September 10, 2007