Focus on Dairy

FOCUS ON
DAIRY
VETFOCUS Newsletter
|
Issue 40 |
March 2015
|
vetfocus.co.nz
SO YOU WANT TO GO ONCE A DAY?
As we are in a drought, some of you may already
have part or your entire herd on OAD milking.
There are pros and cons to this, and DairyNZ has
done plenty of research on its effects, positive and
negative.
Options other than OAD are culling empties and/or culling
low producing cows to reduce herd size and feed demand
or 16 hour milking which is not quite as drastic as OAD
but requires scheduling logistics.
What motivates producers to go on OAD?
Remember getting the cows to a BCS 5-5.5 by calving
is absolutely essential to get maximum production and
reproduction next season. Don’t sell this season for next
season.
If you don’t know your herd’s body condition score, see us
about having them scored and make a plan.
What happens to milk quality?
• If your SCC was >200,000 in November, whole herd OAD may cause grading.
• Don’t stop teat spraying in the summer (or ever for that matter!)
• Feed shortage
• Low production
• If SCC is a concern, herd test before going on OAD and dry off, cull or keep high SCC cows on TAD
• Lifestyle choice
• Allow cows to put on condition (less walking)
• Lower volume milk always causes increased SCC, so the lower your SCC is all season, the easier the OAD option is
What happens to production?
•
•
Going on OAD this late in season as a reaction to a feed shortage will not allow cows to increase body condition. They still must be fully fed to gain weight as they are still milking.
• They do require slightly less energy as they are walking less, unless you are shifting them from crop to grass throughout the day
• If fully fed, they can gain 0.2-0.4 BCS over cows kept on TAD by dry off
• Trials show that if cows are making >1.2 kgMS and put on OAD, will experience a 10-15% drop in daily production.
• If they are making <1 kg MS there will likely be no change in production.
• Keep feed levels at TAD requirements and if cows drop more than 0.2 kgMS/ day on OAD they
are not getting enough to eat
•
Cows gain weight more efficiently when they are milking than when they are dry so better to keep milking than dry off but only if you can feed them to meet milking, maintenance and foetal growth requirements
BMSCC will increase for the first 24-48 hours after going on OAD and then should settle back down. If it doesn’t and volume doesn’t drop more than 0.15 kg MS, RMT the herd and look for the offenders and address them (remember to milk culture before treating!)
• OAD can increase the risk for clinical mastitis, so be diligent in checking for mastitis when the herd goes on OAD
Overall, OAD is a good option
for whole or partial herds if feed
supply, BCS and production fit
the criteria. SCC is the limiting
factor as SCC grades are
expensive and stressful.
Before making the decision,
talk to your advisors and make
sure it is right for you.
Jess Shelgren (Te Awamutu)
HEIFER GRAZING - WHAT DOES GOOD LOOK LIKE?
Historically in heifer grazing situations, the grazing price
was linked to the ‘milk fat‘ price.
In this day and age, that formula no longer works, as there is a
delay between what the current ‘milk solids’ price is , and what
it will be when those young stock are in the herd producing.
Those farms that are providing heifer grazing, are essentially
providing a source of dry matter and other services to the dairy
farmer client, and their income needs to reflect the dry matter
consumed.
It is common for young stock to be grazed some distance from
the dairy farm as local productive land gets converted to dairy,
and heifer grazing options get pushed into the foothills.
Because of droughts in recent years , the income from heifer
grazing needs to allow the grazier to provide access to a summer
crop or buy in a supplement if required , without disrupting
weight gain of animals.
With induction of cows no longer an option, we are finding
higher empty rates in herds this season because of the bulls
being removed earlier. Therefore numbers of in-calf heifers
available to go into the herd needs to be higher, so we can
afford less wastage of young stock.
DairyNZ and Beef + Lamb have recently started running some
fieldays for both dairy farmers and heifer graziers. There have
been two meetings at the farm of Murray & Janet Easton, SH4,
Te Kuiti.
Prior to selecting this focus farm, there was a nationwide
roadshow asking for feedback from dairy farmers and graziers.
Some of the areas identified as requiring attention were
relationship management (contracts etc), setting targets
(managing expectations) and pricing formulas.
A survey was conducted of those attending to determine the
current range of pricing for grazing.
R1’s – most commonly $7 - $7.50 /week (a range of $6 to $9.50)
R2’s – most commonly $9 -$10 /week (a range of $8 to $12)
Those at the higher end were providing more services such as
regular weighing, provision of animal health treatments and
supplementary feeding in adverse weather events.
For those on weight gain, the range was $1.90 -$2.20 /kg
liveweight gained.
Dairy NZ is producing some documents such as a Responsibility
Checklist, to identify who is in charge of ensuring certain tasks
are conducted on time. These will be available on the DairyNZ
website soon.
A good system is to weigh calves as they leave the dairy block,
in the presence of the grazier. The grazier can then refuse to
take any poor calves from the start, as this is often a point of
contention. If a poor animal arrives at the grazier, it is difficult
to turn this into a productive animal. Regular weighing to
track growth rates throughout the grazing period avoids nasty
surprises.
The next fielday will be held in May. Details will be posted on the
DairyNZ website closer to the date.
Kevan Stewart (Putaruru)
REDUCING THE IMPACT OF PARASITES IN YOUNG STOCK
Worms reduce feed intakes and feed utilisation, and are
one of the most common causes of poor performing calves.
Immunity to parasites starts to develop at six months of
age but developing and maintaining immunity requires
extra energy, even for older animals. In today’s climate
of increased farming efficiency there is pressure to finish
stock earlier and get replacements to mating weight.
This emphasis on growth rates of young stock means lost
growth rates early on can have serious long term effects
on farm profitability.
containing abamectin should only be used
in calves greater than 120kg and include
SWITCH C (double combination) and MATRIX
C (triple combination).
Once animals reach a point where oral dosing
is not practical or safe, then combination
injectable or pour-on products become
options in stock under 18 months of age. The
combination injectable ECLIPSE E injection
has a good safety profile and the levamisole
gives excellent Cooperia control. Pour-on
products have best efficacy against external
parasites, ideally use a combination product
such as ECLIPSE Pour On.
Parasite treatment in calves can be a confusing topic, especially
considering the amount of discussion and decisions that surround
drenching. Consider such things as: • the method of application (oral, injection or pour-on),
• when to drench,
• the active ingredient(s), single active or combination,
• feed type and quality,
• larval challenge
Faecal egg counting can be a valuable tool
if you intend on extending drench intervals. We perform these in house at VETFOCUS. Bring in 10 individual faecal samples and we
will run a pooled FEC for just $44.00 incl GST.
Without getting too technical, let’s take a look at some of the
recommendations for calves, and remember every situation is
different, so it always pays to discuss your specific operation/
situation with us at VETFOCUS.
Maximise your productivity. Come and
see us at VETFOCUS for professional
advice and quality products.
Using an oral drench in young stock is preferred, and research
has shown combinations are better for slowing the onset of
resistance. Ideal oral combinations include IverMatrix Calf (triple
combination) and ARREST C (double combination). Combinations
TE AWAMUTU
P
07 872 0004
HAMILTON
P
07 843 8822
OTOROHANGA
P
07 873 7089
Ross Vowles (Rural Sales & Marketing Coordinator)
PUTARURU
P
07 883 7392