Cowmanagement june/july 2019

J U N E /J U LY 2019

Extended lactations?

We question the latest research

New vaccine and breeding index

are latest additions to mastitis-prevention toolkit

UK’s driest dairy unit is making the most of grass

GET THE LATEST NEWS AT WWW.C OWMA NAGEMENT.CO.UK

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19-06-19 10:35

CONTENT FEATURE S

main article extended lactations

5 7 13 19 31 37 41 45

From the editor Cow talk Value added: educational visits Roger Evans Boehringer Ingelheim Health News NMR Dairy Management News CRV Avoncroft Breeding Information ForFarmers Nutritional News/ Thompsons Nutritional News 46 Events and contacts MAIN A RT IC L E

8 Research highlights pros and cons of extended lactations REPORT

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14 Dairying on the UK’s driest unit has its challenges HEA LTH

20 BVD: swap a price tag for a test tag 42 Improving welfare and changing perceptions

health BVD

SPECIAL

23 We find out more about a new mastitis vaccine and the Mastitis Index

special udder health

BREEDI N G

32 CRV works around the clock FEEDIN G

38 Water works/Team approach to transition management

JUN E/JU LY

Extended lactations?

We question the latest research

New vaccine and breeding indexto

s are latest addition on toolkit mastitis-preventi

.COW MAN ST NEWS AT WWW GET THE LATE

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AGE MEN T.CO

20

2019

23

John Smith:

Anna Patch:

‘Zero-grazing helps our business to make the most of grass’

‘This vaccine is an excellent tool to have in the box’

UK’s driest dairy unit is making the most of grass

.UK 20-06-19 13:10

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ON THE COVER

Milestone milkers: two 100-tonne cows enjoying fresh grazing Picture: Harrie van Leeuwen

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24 cowmanagement JUNE/JULY 2019

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15/02/2019 10:13 19-06-19 10:36

FROM THE EDITOR

Summer’s in full swing Silage clamps are filling up and, thanks to some recent rain, grass covers are still strong on most units. Spare a thought, though, for the producers managing the UK’s driest unit – close to Clacton on Sea in Essex.

June usually see the last of any quality grass growth for the Smith family, but zero-grazing and a tailored management system have seen them invest and expand in recent years. See our herd report on page 14 to find out more.

Warm and sunny weather welcomed visitors to this year’s NMR/RABDF Gold Cup open day, held at the Metcalfe family’s North Yorkshire-based unit. A recordbreaking crowd of 3,000 people checked in to the event. There were more than 70 technical stands, as well as presentations, and everyone who took the opportunity to take a tour around this ‘gold standard’ unit. Feed back on social media, as CowManagement went to press, was that the day was a resounding success. Congratulations again to Philip, his team, and the rest of the Metcalfe family.

This issue’s special focuses on udder health – or more specifically a new vaccine and a new breeding index to help reduce the incidence of mastitis. The latter was launched in April 2017, so heifers bred using the Mastitis Index are yet to calve, but AHDB Dairy’s Marco Winters, along with the wider industry, is expecting great things, following the success of the SCC Index in reducing cell counts across the UK herd.

A new vaccine – against environmental Strep uberis – has also caught the eye of vets and producers in the UK, who struggle to control this mastitis-causing pathogen. Like any tool, it’s no silver bullet. But it’s certainly working for one Somerset-based herd, as featured on page 24.

Our added value column features a producer whose unit also hosts educational tours. And Roger Evans looks back at the systems and ideas he’s tried and tested during the past few decades and ponders on whether his business and unit is any better off as a result.

RACHAEL PORTER

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BREEDING INNOVATION

17/06/2019 08:40 19-06-19 10:38

COWTALK

Invest in summer feeding to protect winter production Failing to adequately support yields and body condition as grass intakes drop through late summer is putting winter production at risk.

So says KW senior nutritionist Anna Sutcliffe.

She adds that, according to figures from Trouw Nutrition, regaining 0.5 body condition score (BCS) lost during autumn can cut daily milk output by 1.9 litres per cow for the first three months of winter. “This is because cows prioritise replenishing lost condition once fully housed. Even at 26ppl, it’s a potential loss for a 200-cow herd of around £8,900.

“Yet providing the additional energy needed for those cows to retain that condition can cost as little as £2,500, based on two months feeding 2.25kg FW per cow per day of wheatgluten moist feed,” explains Dr Sutcliffe.

“Autumn feeding is an investment in winter production – not a cost to be cut,” she adds.

“Grass dry matter intake drops rapidly as daylight hours fall and by mid-September grazing will support little more than maintenance plus six litres per cow.”

She recommends splitting the herd. “Make cows more than 150 days into lactation work harder to utilise grazed grass and dry off at no more than BCS 3.0. But increase buffer feed intakes for early-lactation cows.

“Use only good quality forages – including a cereal or maize silage if possible – and increase intakes by including a moist or liquid feed, such as wheat-gluten moist feed, brewers’ grains or one of the many molasses blends,” she adds.

“Feed either sugar beet feed or soya hulls, to supply digestible fibre for good rumen function, and sodawheat, as a more rumenfriendly source of starch than rolled cereals.

bovens bovens regel o

For best value, replace soyabean meal with heat-treated rapeseed expeller, and consider processed bread and the confectionery blends for any extra starch needed.”

‘Golden’ day The sun shone and a record-breaking crowd – of more than 3,000 people – spent an enjoyable and informative day at NMR/ RABDF Gold Cup 2018 winner Philip Metcalfe’s North Yorkshire-based dairy unit, near Leyburn, on June 18, 2019. The Metcalfe family welcomed them, plus more than 70 trade stands, to celebrate the herd’s success and showcase their award-winning unit.

Bacteria combination reduces silage waste A range of crop and condition specific forage inoculants has been launched that will significantly increase aerobic stability in clamps to reduce heating while offering greater flexibility concerning when clamps can be opened The Magniva Platinum range, from Lallemand Animal Nutrition, replaces the Biotal range of inoculants. They still contain L. buchneri 40788,

the most widely proven bacteria for improved aerobic stability, but they will also include L. hilgardii 1-4785 – the first completely new bacterial strain approved for use in forage inoculants for more than 20 years.

The range includes five crop and condition specific inoculants for lower-dry-matter grass, high-dry-matter grass, wholecrop, and two maize products.

“Heating and waste in silage are major issues, leading to lost energy, reduced feed values, and higher feed costs,” explains the company’s Lee Gresham. “And producers often need to open clamps quickly, particularly with maize and wholecrop silages, but opening too soon can lead to significant waste.

“The bacterial combination this range of inoculants has been proven in extensive trials to help tackle both of these challenges,” he says.

L. buchneri has long been the gold standard

for aerobic stability, but when paired with L. hilgardii the two work in synergy and deliver significantly improved performance.

“Heat is produced by yeast and moulds, which are present on all silage but remain largely inactive until they are exposed to oxygen,” explains Mr Gresham.

“The bacteria in these inoculants quickly produce antifungal compounds during the fermentation process, to reduce the threat of yeasts and moulds and improve immediate aerobic stability. This means that clamps can be opened safely after just 15 days.

“They also improve longer-term aerobic stability, protecting the silage while the clamp is open.”

Keeping silage cool means that there is more energy to feed. Mr Gresham says that the benefit of reduced heating can be more than 7,500 more litres of milk produced per 1,000 tonnes of silage.

cowmanagement JUNE/JULY 2019

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MAIN ARTICLE EXTENDED LACTATIONS

Is there a place for extended calving intervals in UK herds? We look at some of the latest research from The Netherlands and spoke to a UK consultant to find out more.

TEXT RACHAEL PORTER AND FLORUS PELLIKAAN

Extend lactations wi th T

here could be some potential cow health benefits to extending lactations, the result of fewer calvings during her lifetime. But it’s going to be difficult to convince UK producers to reverse the trend for shortening calving intervals, to meet the ideal 365day target. And not least because the first 100 days of lactation are the most efficient and profitable. Calving interval is something that UK producers continually strive to improve (shorten).

The UK figure is falling, according to NMR, which reports that the UK average is now 403 days, down from a peak of 428 days in 2009/10. The 365-day target makes for the most efficient and productive dairy management cycle – that’s not under dispute. Wageningen University PhD student Akke Kok has created a basic model that, so far, shows that the 365-day calving interval is the most economic. She says that the exact economic benefits of extended milking are difficult to estimate, as there’s currently insufficient data available, but admits that lactation persistency, concentrate feeding and labour savings must all be considered.

Reduce calvings One of the reasons researchers have looked at extended lactations, and why producers could be interested, is to reduce the number of calvings in a cow’s lifetime. This is a stressful and ‘risky’ event, in terms of cow health. And it’s also labour intensive. But Promar regional manager Andrew Suddes adds that simply delaying calving – or

8

extending the calving interval won’t make calving any less stressful or ‘risky’ for the cow. That’s why he prefers to see producers focus on what is a typical bottleneck on many units – the transition period.

“If management protocols, including feeding and housing, are tip top then the risks surrounding calving are fewer. A smoother transition will result in a troublefree and more profitable subsequent lactation – and the cow will get back in calf easily. And that’s what producers should, in my opinion, be focused on. Not extended lactations to reduce the number of calvings – but improving their fertility and transition management.

“I’m extremely wary of advocating extended lactations.

Although I do believe that they could have a place, potentially on fewer than 10% of UK units. And these units would have to be in the top 10% for dairy management and genetic merit, and have a planned reason for longer calving intervals, such as ET work.

“Cows would certainly have to be extremely persistent.

Extended lactations would not be an excuse for poor fertility or poor fertility management. It would have to be a planned and deliberate route – possibly only for cows in the herd that would meet the ‘persistency’ criteria.”

Health and fertility issues Mr Suddes is keen to stress that extended lactations in a typical UK dairy herd would result in dairy cow health and fertility issues and it would be costly in terms of lost

cowmanagement JUNE/JULY 2019

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wi th caution Pros and cons of extended lactations Potential pros and cons of extended lactations, in cows with persistent lactations and where herd management is in the top 10%

CALVING LESS OFTEN

EXTENDED LACTATIONS

PROS

• higher total life time production • lower antibiotic use • less labour (due to fewer calvings) • lower feed and vet costs

CONS

• requires cow-specific management • risk of excessive condition • economic challenge – margin per litre

milk because the most cost-effective and efficient milk production is during the first 100 days of lactation.

“The cost of an extra day on the calving interval, for a cow that starts her lactation producing 50 litres per day and dries off at 30 litres – at the current milk price of 27.5ppl and a feed cost of £245 per tonne – is £4.05 per day. In an average 200-cow herd, that’s £810 per day and more than £8,000 for every additional 10 days on the calving interval.

“So, proceed with caution. Like any management system

or set up, it really is a case of looking at the individual herd and business. I’d liken this to a dairy producer wanting to convert to an organic system; it’s not a good option if they are a poor forage manager.

“Likewise with this. It will only, possibly, suit a top yielding herd with exceptional management and performance, and that achieves a persistent lactation.

This ‘persistency’ has to come from the cow and her genes, and good forage and nutritional management.

Throwing concentrates at the cow at the back end of her

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MAIN ARTICLE EXTENDED LACTATIONS

And UK producers’ thoughts on ELs? @WyevalleyHerd

In theory, it should work for a high yielding high input system as 80% of health issues occur around transition/calving.

However, in practice, it is usually an excuse for poor fertility management. Also needs cows with good persistency and good nutrition to prevent over condition

@NickBell8

It’s only uneconomic because of low persistency and block calving herds. EL might become important for a few reasons to do with calving and transition disease. Dry period may be beneficial for udder/foot health recovery. With high persistency, EL could be even more economic.

@cowsgibbon

Consider feed conversion efficiency. Some genetics/ systems (robots and 4x) allow for extended lactations, but for the majority this would be a bad idea. Heifers tend to have flat lactation and good FCE later. They can have their VWP pushes back in high yield systems/calving 22 months.

peak again but slightly lower at, say, 3.3kg, without having a kid.” That said, he believes that extended lactations could have a place in cattle dairying. “Cows that produce more than 10,000kg in a typical 305-day lactation and are more difficult to dry off may benefit from an extended interval. A longer calving interval may fit and, if a producer wants to try it, I suggest that they start to shift the interval carefully – 10% fewer calvings per year is a good place to start.”

Both he and Ms van de Ven agree that dairy management skills must be exceptional. “It’s key that management is consistent – to avoid a dip in milk production. If cows are outside grazing too late into the autumn, producers will lose milk production and no amount of feeding when they’re housed will push that back up.

“Strict management protocols, avoiding stress and disease, maintaining rations – they’re all key to maintaining a consistent and persistent yield.”

He says that another concern that producers have is that animals will get fat. “And this will create problems when they do, eventually, calve again and start their next lactation. It’s also why it’s so important to only extend the lactations of cows that will ‘fit’ this system. Producers should look for plenty of milk and persistency – both are vital.”

These two experts are convinced that extended lactations in goats and dairy cows can increase total life time production, because the number of critical health moments is decreasing.

Extended experience lactation to produce 30-plus litres a day is not economic.”

Calving is, though, risky, and labour intensive. It all takes time and resources. So researchers in the Netherlands have asked the question: is a calving per year the best choice for all cows? The idea for their work came from dairy goats, where extended lactations are now the standard, but scientists wanted to find out if this could work for dairy cattle.

Dairy goats Jeannette van de Ven, portfolio holder of Healthy Animals at LTO Nederland, thinks extended lactations could be an important area for ‘cross-fertilisation’ between the sectors.

“In goats, lifetime production increases considerably with longer lactations, because you reduce the number of risk periods. Antibiotic use has fallen, as has the labour requirement,” she says. “We don’t know exactly how persistent cows are, but there are certainly cows that can produce more milk for longer and there is, of course, an opportunity to breed for greater persistence.

“Goat producers were sceptical about extended lactation at first, so it’s not surprising that dairy producers are tentative,” adds Ms van de Ven. “It was only when producers were prohibited from serving goats, due to Q Fever restrictions, and forced to extend lactations that they saw that goats could continue to milk, efficiently, for a surprisingly long time – almost 18 months. As a result, goats were also milked for longer, and slowly extended lactations became the standard.”

“Around 75% of goat herds extend lactations to a greater or lesser extent,” adds Dirk-Jan Vonk, a Dutch consultant and nutritionist who works in both the dairy goat and dairy cattle sectors.

“But, as seasonal producers, goats are different from cows.

A goat, for example, starts her lactation in the spring and produces around 3.5kg of milk and drops back to three litres in the autumn. The following spring, a goat’s milk yield can

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The Hubens family, from near Limburg in the Netherlands, was so impressed with their experience of extended lactations in the goat herd that they decided to apply it to their cows. “Goats are different from cows, but we also have cows that have produced 35,000kg of milk in one lactation.

That is the average total life time production of a typical cow in the Netherlands,” says Frits Hubens. “We believe that too little is done with extended lactations in dairy cattle.”

“By selecting for persistence, you increase the length of the calving interval. And, in our experience, the cow is healthier and has better longevity because she has fewer calvings during her lifetime,” says his son Rob. He adds that the total life time production in both cows and goats has improved on their unit: “And this means that we have to rear fewer replacements. Our culling rate is 15% and we inseminate 60% of the herd with beef semen, despite the longer calving interval.”

Rob says that the biggest challenge of extended lactations is postponing the first insemination. “You cannot continue to just milk a cow in the same way as you can a goat. So we have had to establish criteria that work for our herd. We inseminate at a condition score of 2.5 or when cows are producing between 30kg and to 35kg of milk per day.

And, due to the high-quality ration, which comprises minimal concentrates, milk yield is maintained even after insemination.”

Rob has a clear vision for the future with their 100-cow herd: “A cow that gives 100,000kg of milk in three lactations and, at the same time, 10,000kg of fat and protein. We are convinced that it is possible.”

Mr Suddes isn’t convinced. “I think that in the UK, certainly, there’s a long way to go before dairy management and persistency is such that we’ll see shift towards extended lactations. Cow health would benefit far more from improved transition management, rather than fewer calvings and a slip in calving interval.” l

cowmanagement JUNE/JULY 2019

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19-06-19 10:43

VALUE ADDED Educational visits

Name James Robinson Herd size 130 cows Adding value educational visits Kendal, Cumbria

Pond-dipping delights Pond and beck dipping, nature trails and bluebell studies are just a few of the fascinating activities on offer at Strickley Farm, near Old Hutton in Cumbria. And they’re all available for parties of school children to enjoy – free of charge – thanks to James Robinson.

His organic 122-hectare unit, which is home to a 130-cow organic Dairy Shorthorn herd, qualified for the Higher Level Stewardship Scheme eight years ago and within that there’s an ‘educational access’ option. “This means that we get paid a flat rate of £ 500 each year, for the duration of our 10-year scheme membership, and we also get paid per visit – that’s £ 100 per visit for up to 25 visits per year.”

It all began with class visits from the local primary school – which is just a mile down the road – and it’s taken off in no small part due to the fact that James’ wife, Michelle, is a part-time teacher. “So she’s able to liaise with the school to find an on-farm activity that ties in with the curriculum.”

James is keen to stress that he and Michelle are not in it for the additional income. “As far as adding value goes, this is value that goes beyond being monetary. For us, it’s about showcasing what we’re doing here to create and maintain habitats for wildlife and also educating the next generation about how food is produced and sustainable livestock production.”

Michelle runs the visits. James says that his job is to ferry the children around the farm on a passenger trailer – with seat belts, disabled access, and space for 22 people. “We secured 80% funding for the trailer from Natural England. And we’ve also got funding for two toilets and two sinks. There’s capital available for work like this, if you meet the criteria.”

Meeting them is not for the faint hearted. The Robinson’s environmental work has been extensive and is continuous.

“Opening our gates for educational purposes is just one aspect of qualifying for the scheme. We’ve also made scrapes for water birds and waders. Our grassland is managed with minimal inputs and there’s on-going hedge laying and planting.

They have two years left in the scheme before they need to re-apply. “And we’ll have to show that we’ve carried out more work to protect and enrich the farm’s environment to renew our membership. We’ve been busy planting trees and we’re also going to fence off some water courses, to protect water quality and stop the cows from disturbing the wildlife.”

He says the satisfaction alone that he gets from being able to host the farm walks and educational visits is well worth the additional work. “The per-visit payment is now around £ 260. But that’s not the major attraction – it’s just the icing on the cake.”

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HERD REPORT SMITH FAMILY

Pioneering partnership makes ‘dry’ dairy pay

Dairying on the UK’s driest unit has its challenges. But one Essexbased business has adapted herd management, and adopted zero grazing decades ago, to make the most of early grass.

TEXT RACHAEL PORTER

I Split management: low-yielders come in for fresh grass and the higher yielders are fed a TMR

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t’s only May, yet the cracks that have already appeared in soil on John Smith’s Essex-based unit are more like those seen across the UK in August 2018. But he’s used to the challenges of producing milk on what is, officially, the driest farm in the UK. Average rainfall is a meagre 457mm a year and the soil is sandy. But top-quality cows, as well as sound grassland and herd management, mean that the family business, based near the coast at Clacton on Sea, is thriving.

John is the second generation to milk cows at the 135-hectare dairy unit. His father, Philip, founded the Wigboro pedigree herd back in 1975. Herd size grew steadily until it reached 100 head in 2014 – the unit’s full capacity at that time. And then John, who

came back from studying at Hartpury College to join the family business in 2006, says that the business was at a crossroads.

“There’d been no investment in the dairy unit for 35 years and we knew that we either needed to spend some money or sell up. I really wanted to continue with the cows. So we began a significant programme of investment – and expansion,” he says.

New facilities This meant erecting a new sand-bedded cubicle house, with space for 240 cows; building a new dairy; and installing a 20:40 swing-over DeLaval milking parlour, to replace an ‘ancient’ six-aside set up.

“We’d got to a point, with the old parlour, where

cowmanagement JUNE/JULY 2019

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COMPANY PROFILE Name Herd size Average yield Somatic cell count Calving interval

John and Philip Smith 300 cows 10,000 litres, at 4.20% butterfat and 3.29% protein 167,000 cells/ml 401 days

we were milking 160 cows and it was in use for nine hours a day. “It wasn’t much fun, particularly if there were fresh heifers to milk,” recalls John.

Re-roofing the old straw yard building, which previously housed the milkers, was also part of the investment programme. This is now used for drycow accommodation and calving. And a new heifer rearing shed was completed in 2017. “Our existing young-stock facilities just weren’t good enough to allow us to meet a target age at first calving of 24 months,” explains John.

A small farm, just two miles away, is now rented for rearing young stock and the grassland there has been reseeded and is cut for zero grazing. “We’ve been using a lot of sexed semen, so we have a lot of heifers – about 300 head in total. We keep about 120 there and around 180 on the home unit.”

Philip and John decided to push up cow numbers, to 300 milkers, to give the business more scale and to make it more viable. They’ve achieved this with home-bred heifers and some bought-in maiden heifers.

Genetic progress Apart from providing more heifers for their milking herd expansion, sexed semen has also speeded up the rate of genetic gain.

“To be honest, a 300-cow herd is slightly larger than ideal,” adds John. “But we’re now in the happy position of being able to sell some surplus stock – young stock and some freshly calved heifers. We have space for 250 milkers, so this will determine the number of heifers for sale.”

The herd calves all year round and is predominantly housed. The low yielders go out to ‘loaf’ on one of two 2.5-hectare paddocks during the summer and are zero-grazed to minimise waste and maximise grass utilisation. The high yielders stay inside and are fed a TMR that John aims to keep as consistent as possible, to avoid nutritional stress. This TMR comprises grass and maize silages, plus an 18% protein blend and minerals. Milk produced by the herd is sold to Arla.

The herd is currently averaging around 10,000 litres, at 4.20% butterfat and 3.29% protein, with an average somatic cell count of 167,000 cells/ml.

“The drought in 2018 set the girls back a little, but we’re catching up again now. We had just 457mm of rain in 2018, which is typical. That said, we’ve had

Clacton on Sea

two particularly dry years in a row, which has really focused our minds.

“Our soil warms up quickly in the spring and we do see early grass growth. We endeavour to make the most of this as, come June, July and August, it really starts to slow down and we have to irrigate to keep the grass growing. The large fields can be irrigated during the drier months.”

John explains that their fields of Italian ryegrass, which are cut for silage and zero grazing, are large – typically about 24 hectares. “And some are more than a mile away, at the rented farm, so they don’t really lend themselves to grazing. Because it’s so dry here, it makes sense to cut and carry fresh grass to the cows – there’s no trampling, soiling or rejection issues. This approach helps us to make the most of our grass.”

The Smiths began zero grazing more than 20 years ago. Philip was a ‘pioneer’ of this system and had one of the first and original zero grazing machines.

“That was back in the late 1990s and suited our 100cow herd and system perfectly,” says John.

Cutting starts in March and, to help accommodate the demands of a much larger herd, the Smiths have just bought a new zero-grazing machine – a GrassTech GT140. “We started using it this spring – my Dad’s in charge of that. We saw one in action on a dairy farm and were impressed. It has helped to speed up the cutting process and further improve efficient utilisation. It allows us to cut exactly what we need and with greater precision,” he says, adding

Cut and carry: the zero grazing machine can cut up to seven tonnes of grass in just five minutes

cowmanagement JUNE/JULY 2019

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HERD REPORT SMITH FAMILY

Young stock: the next generation of milkers for the Wigboro herd

that it harvests a trailer load, of between six and seven tonnes of grass, in around five minutes.

The farm, which is based at Wigboro Wick near St Osyth, comprises 460 hectares. The dairy utilises 135 hectares – 95 hectares of two-year grass leys for cutting and silage; six hectares of fodder beet, to feed to the higher yielders; and 28 hectares of forage maize. The remaining land is arable.

The Smiths follow a strict reseeding policy, to maintain and maximise grass and forage output.

Grass mixtures, and the varieties they contain, are selected to suit the unit’s marshland and its 50 hectares of lighter land. Drought tolerance is important on the latter this is sown, every year, with a fast growing and high yielding ley mixture, suitable for both zero grazing and silaging, and this is followed with maize. The mixture, called Spitfire and supplied by Procam, comprises Italian, hybrid and perennial ryegrasses.

“It’s a bespoke mix for our unit and its unique conditions,” explains John.

The three-year leys, on marshland, comprise hybrid and perennial ryegrasses, and festulolium. “We’re looking to take at least three cuts a season from the zero-grazing leys – typically two in relatively quick succession, before dry conditions slow grass growth, and then one later in the season.

“We aim to take two cuts of silage – quality is key here, as well as quantity. Taking a third cut is

Dry conditions: soil fissures like this are typical for May at the unit

16

difficult because the grass starts to burn off come mid-June.”

The Smiths’ other key focus for success is the herd itself. “We look to breed robust, milky cows with good type, that will stay in the herd for several lactations and are ‘trouble free’.

Breeding programme They use mainly genomic sires. John says this helps them achieve a faster rate of genetic gain. “We can move the herd forward quicker and I think it’s important to be one step ahead in the game. We’re also planning to start genomic testing our heifers in 2019, so we can breed and rear replacements from only the best cattle in the herd.”

“Our use of young genomic sires has increased during the past few years. We ‘dabbled’ like a lot of others when they were first available and our confidence in the technology and the bulls has grown, helped by seeing some really fantastic heifers on the ground.”

Popular sires that have been used on the herd with considerable success include: Shottle, Agronaut, Explode, Flowrider, Rozzer, and Bestman. Sexed semen has been used on all heifers since 2012, and it’s now used across 70% of the milking herd too.

“We use beef sires – Aberdeen Angus and Hereford – on the ‘bottom’ 30% of the herd.

Looking ahead, John and Philip will continue to focus on using and breeding from the best genetics available, and they will use some embryo transfer to speed up progress.

“We also want to reduce our calving interval, which stands at 401 days, and improve milk yields slightly.

We don’t want to milk more cows – for us it’s about quality not quantity.”

The farm may be dry but there’s a rich seam of dairy passion and enthusiasm. “Every dairy unit has its unique set of challenges. It about identifying what they are and then making them work for you.

“We’re able to do this, thanks to our investments and management system, and we’re seeing the herd and business gradually becoming more productive, efficient and resilient each year.” l

cowmanagement JUNE/JULY 2019

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19-06-19 10:55

A FEW WORDS FROM ROGER EVANS

Award-winning columnist and Shropshirebased producer Roger Evans – trendsetter or follower of fashion? You decide ...

Tried and tested A lot of first-cut silage has been made earlier than usual around here this year – probably because some producers are trying to achieve four cuts. It’s a part of our lives, this constant need to do a bit better.

Call it a fad, but some of these trends endure and some vanish never to be heard of again.

Do you remember when it was the latest thing to treat straw with ammonia, to enhance its feed value and turn it into the equivalent of good hay. We did it for several years, but I’ve not seen those stacks of straw wrapped in yellow plastic for a long time. I can also remember putting all our grazing area into paddocks in the late 1960s and putting in tracks so that the cow could access them. This was long before it became fashionable. It worked well in spring, when grass was growing flat out, but it didn’t work later in the season, when growth slowed down and one paddock wouldn’t suffice for 24 hour grazing.

I don’t remember the timescale involved, but I do remember that for years we grazed our cows on a set-stocked basis. This worked well for us, but I always felt that you needed to have been through the discipline of paddock grazing first. It taught you that fertiliser had to go on in a sequence and you should use a topper when needed.

It’s true that the cows were often scattered across several fields when you went to fetch them and a good dog was handy. But what’s not to like about having a good dog? At that time we had three corgis and a bearded collie, so going to fetch the cows was always an adventure.

Then I spoilt set stocking because I followed another fashion. I bought a mixer wagon and started buffer feeding all year round. The cows went down the track every morning, plonked down on the grass for a lie down and then they heard the wagon start up morning and came home again. This made them lazy and they didn’t ‘work’ at grazing.

Good grass was wasted. So then we went back to paddocks and bought a plate meter. We sold the mixer wagon – not because it was of great value, but so that we couldn’t use it. Now we use zero grazing to top up the cows if they get ahead of the grass.

Our paddock grazing is now under threat from deer, who come out at night and rip all the electric fences down. I followed the maize trend – one year we grew 30 hectares – but now we don’t grow any. Three years ago we grew 16 hectares of fodder beet, but we also stopped that. We don’t feel ready to dip our toes into organic arable farming.

I’ve been a trend setter, with paddock grazing. And I’ve followed trends. I often wonder if I would have been better off if I had farmed just the same, all the time. I’ve been making all the big decisions for long enough. It’s time to leave all that to the next generation.

“We sold the mixer wagon – not because it was of great value, but so that we couldn’t use it”

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HEALTH BVD

Swap a price tag for a test tag

BVD carries a big price tag, yet it’s easy to control and eradicate thanks to accurate testing and readily available vaccines. And the benefits to herd health and productivity are unquestionable. The success of the eradication scheme in Northern Ireland and on one progressive dairy unit – where tag-and-test is the routine – provide a convincing argument.

TEXT KAREN WRIGHT

“W

e’re all too aware of the effect that BVD has on cow fertility,” says NMR veterinary adviser Karen Bond. “But the effect on calf health can be just as devastating, with scours and pneumonia more prevalent and harder to treat.”

In fact, improved calf health is one of the first benefits producers see when they start implementing a BVD control plan.

“Once persistently-infected (PIs) calves are removed from a herd, producers are left with more thrifty and robust

20

young animals that make for more productive cows in the long run.”

Weeding out PIs at a young age is now straight forward through the tag-and-test system. “It can be part of routine management,” adds Mrs Bond. “As you tag the calf soon after birth, you take a tissue sample from the ear for BVD testing. Results will be back within a week and any PIs can be removed before they can do too much damage.”

The sums attached to BVD control stack up. “We calculate that for every £1 spent on BVD eradication, producers

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will see £10 worth of benefit in healthier calves and more productive and fertile cows. This is a better return on investment compared to the cost of tackling many other cattle diseases.”

Early testing Northern Ireland-based producer Thomas Steele decided to get in early on the BVD testing programme and, despite not having had one PI animal in four years, he has no regrets.

He runs the 350-hectare dairy unit in partnership with his parents, William and Rosemary, and brother Samuel at Rowreagh Farm, near Kircubbin, on the Ards Peninsula – one of the most intensive dairy areas in the UK. During the past decade, cow numbers have increased from 120 Holstein cows to 550 head plus 400 followers. “We were encouraged to get involved in the tag-and-test service for BVD testing in calves by our vet practice,” he says. “That was in 2012, soon after the service became available.” The Steeles use a Nordic Star tag-and-test to identify calves – dairy and beef – soon after birth, and send the tissue sample for BVD testing.

“We’re calving nearly all year round, with a break in June and July, so we have around 50 or 60 samples to test a month. The specially designed packs mean that we can post 10 samples off in one go and results are usually back within six days,” he says.

With the opening of the new NMR laboratory, on the Countryside Services site near Dungannon, he’s anticipating a faster turnaround of results. “We’re not close enough to drop samples in to the lab, but the pre-paid packs are extremely handy and the postal service works well for us.”

A closed herd, and with no positives to date, does Thomas feel he’s wasted his efforts by testing for

BVD for four years prior to the introduction of the compulsory eradication scheme in Northern Ireland in 2016? “No, definitely not. It’s a highly contagious disease that can cause health and fertility issues. The milking herd is housed, but young stock graze during the summer. So there’s always a risk from other cattle or from contaminated objects. You can’t take your eye off the ball, and I want to have the confidence of knowing that our herd is ‘clean’.”

From left to right: Thomas, William and Samuel Steele

Proven record With the herd now at capacity, and 30 to 40 heifer calves to sell each year, plus beef cross calves, Thomas is pleased to have a proven track record of its BVD status, and to be able to sell stock with this confidence.

“Even if we’d had issues, we’d be ahead of the game by now in controlling BVD,” he adds. “It’s a simple test, we get the results by text message, and we can easily take action if we need to and prevent further spread.

There’s no question about the benefit of BVD testing to the herd and to our business, whether or not there’s a national eradication scheme in place.” l

Eradication scheme starts to ‘bite’ The compulsory phase of Northern Ireland’s BVD eradication programme was introduced in March 2016. By June 2019, more than 2.2 million BVD tests had been carried out by the province’s producers and the benefits are apparent. During the past three years, the NI cattle industry has seen an annual decrease in prevalence levels of approximately 35% in animals and 40% in herds.

“Producer compliance with the tag-and-test requirements of the compulsory scheme has been excellent,” says vet Sharon Verner, who is BVD programme manager for Animal Health and Welfare Northern Ireland. “We now have 94% of cattle holding a BVDnegative status, directly or indirectly. This is because the tag-and-test scheme enables an ‘indirect’ negative status to be assigned to previously untested dams of BVD negative calves. She adds that most producers who receive positive results are acting on them

Sharon Verner

and removing PIs from the herd. “And where there’s a history of BVD, and calves are tagged promptly after birth, many producers remove the positive calves straight away.”

These protocols are bringing significant advantages by reducing treatment costs and cutting losses. “And BVD-free animals will have greater resilience to other diseases.

It demonstrates improved welfare and management,” adds Mrs Verner.

But she admits that those not testing their calves early, or not disposing of BVD PI calves, are hampering the scheme’s progress.

“Although it’s only a few, considerable damage is being caused. Those who have kept PIs – despite BVD positive animals being restricted to their herds and abattoirs refusing them for slaughter – have seen BVD infection persist into subsequent seasons.

“Hopefully they will see the value in improving their protocols, particularly in the light of proposed legislation, to apply movement restrictions to herds where BVD positive animals are retained.”

cowmanagement JUNE/JULY 2019

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19/06/19 15:39 20-06-19 08:47

UDDER HEALTH 24 Mastitis vaccine A new and important tool to help protect udder health in some herds.

26 Breeding tool Mastitis Index will allow producers to take udder health to the next level.

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UDDER HEALTH SPECIAL VACCINATING

Next level in udder

protection

A vaccine that offers protection against mastitis could be a vital tool on units that are struggling to keep Strep uberis under control.

We spoke to a vet and a producer to find out more.

TEXT RACHAEL PORTER

I

t’s not a silver bullet – and certainly no substitute for good udder hygiene and thorough mastitis prevention management. But vets and producers alike are excited by a recently launched mastitis vaccine, that has been developed to prevent udder infections caused by Strep uberis.

The vaccine, called Ubac, is prescription only and will be officially launched in September 2019. But it’s already available to UK producers through their vets (although manufacturer Hipra says that supplies are limited at the moment – something that it’s working hard to rectify).

Strep uberis is the most common cause of mastitis in UK herd, accounting for between 30% and 35% of all udder infections. “The prevalence has increased as herd size has increased and labour has been put under pressure. It certainly wasn’t such a problem a few decades ago,” says Hipra’s Alistair Couper.

Damage limitation The company also claims that, typically, the vaccine will reduce a 20% Strep uberis infection rate to 10%.

24

“This offers a substantial and worthwhile return on investment in herds where it is a significant issue.”

The inactivated vaccine, which works across all strains of Strep uberis, took more than eight years to develop. It offers protection against Strep uberis in the cow environment. “It works by limiting the damage that the bacteria can do if it does enter the udder, as is often the case with cows that are housed on damp bedding or straw yards,” says Mr Couper, adding that it has been trialled against strains from the UK, Spain, Italy and the US.

Significant reduction To date, 20 UK herds are using the vaccine and all have had considerable success. One such producer is Somerset-based producer Graham Weeks.

He has been using the vaccine since October 2018 and he says that it’s already led to a significant reduction in the number of Strep uberis mastitis cases in his 130-cow herd.

Mr Weeks runs his pedigree Holstein herd, which is currently averaging around 10,000 litres at 4.0%

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butterfat and 3.3% protein, at Laverton near Bath.

And he and his vet, Anna Patch, from Shepton Vets, were aware that Strep uberis is an issue for the herd, which is housed in straw yards.

The straw yards are part of the problem with this environmental pathogen. “It means that, although our cows may be comfortable, they’re ‘sitting ducks’ as far as Strep uberis is concerned,” he says.

He and Anna have worked hard to ensure that udder health management is tip top, to prevent mastitis as much as possible. But the vet and medicine bill was still too high, milk was being wasted and treating the disease is also labour intensive. “We’d had enough really – we used 11 boxes of milking cow tubes in winter 2017/2018 and there’s nothing satisfying about milking and managing a herd with high rates of mastitis. Something had to give.”

Proactive route Mr Weeks also keeps pigs on his unit: “Pig management is dependent on regular vaccination routines. So I relished the opportunity to carry out this approach across to dairy and take a more proactive route to controlling Strep uberis.

He says that it was his decision to try the vaccine, after speaking to Anna Patch about the best approach. And, of course, sourcing supplies and seeking advice on how best to inoculate the herd.

“I was tired of throwing away waste milk and all the hassle, and the additional labour that comes with treating cows for mastitis.

The results during winter 2018/19 were promising.

Antibiotic use in the herd was reduced four fold, and they used just three boxes of milking cow tubes from December to March; the months when the cows are at highest risk of Strep uberis infection.

“We saw a 25% reduction in cases of Strep uberis mastitis, compared to a typical winter,” adds Mr Weeks. “The herd’s somatic cell count has also fallen – from an average of 120,000 cells/ml to around 80,000 cells/ml. And importantly, our cows are healthier, we’re putting more milk in the tank now, and we’re saving on labour and our vet and med bill.

We have fewer three-quartered cows and we’ve reduced our antibiotic use, which is an added bonus.

I’ve certainly seen a return on the investment in vaccination – without a doubt. And I’ll continue to use it.”

Miss Patch explains that Mr Weeks used the vaccine in a ‘rolling programme’, where all milkers were vaccinated, followed by two boosters – one a month after the first vaccination and another four weeks later. A booster shot is then required every six months, to maintain immunity.

Other user protocols include vaccinating at drying off (the beginning of the typical Strep uberis infection risk period), followed by a booster three weeks before calving, and a third shot two weeks after calving.

“We had to rush with the vaccinations because we were heading into the winter period and that’s when the herd typically saw a significant mastitis problem,” says Ms Patch. “Straw bedding and

Anna Patch, vet: “We saw a dramatic reduction in mastitis cases” the damp winter conditions provide the perfect environment for Strep uberis to strike and we were pretty sure that was the issue.”

Mastitis-causing pathogens She says that there was no time for bacteriology, but it was a hunch – predominantly Graham’s – that paid off. “I’d typically suggest that a producer test to see what pathogens are causing mastitis in their herd – that’s best practice – before starting this type of vaccination programme. But Mr Weeks knows his cows and he was convinced it was Strep uberis.”

And he was right, as the efficacy of the vaccine has shown. December, January and February saw a dramatic reduction in cases of mastitis. “We did see a slight increase in cases again in March, but on-farm tests reveal that these were, predominantly, caused

by E coli.

“That’s been useful in itself, because traditionally we’d have also treated those cases with antibiotics, which is pointless because this particular strain of E coli is resistant to antibiotic therapy. So, again, this has presented us with an opportunity to reduce antibiotic use,” adds Mr Weeks

Excellent tool Miss Patch is also impressed with what she’s seen so far. “Strep uberis is one of the main mastitis causing pathogens on UK units. The majority of producers are able to keep on top of through good management. But where facilities or other circumstances mean that it is a significant issue, this vaccine is an excellent tool to have in the box.”

She adds that it could also have a role on organic units, where the use of antibiotics requires a longer milk withdrawal, as part of the belt-and-braces approach to mastitis control. And some producers have supermarket milk contracts that are putting increasing pressure on them to reduce antibiotic use.

So again it could have a key role on these units.”

As for Mr Weeks, he’s definitely going to keep his herd’s boosters up to date. “I feel that our approach to mastitis prevention, control and treatment has stepped up a level. And I’m excited to see how things continue to improve as we move forward.” l

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UDDER HEALTH SPECIAL BREEDING TOOLS

Breeding key to

boosting udder health Twenty years since the SCC index was launched in the UK, resulting in a significant improvement to the UK herd’s average, a new breeding tool has been launched that geneticists say is the next major step forward in breeding for better udder health.

TEXT RACHAEL PORTER

26

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A

Udder health Mr Winters says that selecting sires using the SCC Index will still go a long way to reducing SCC and improving overall udder health. So why develop a second ‘udder health’ index?

“The Mastitis Index is more specific – it selects for a cow’s susceptibility to mastitis – or not, as the case may be. Other health indexes to help reduce the probability of developing diseases, such as Johne’s, are also under investigation. And, of course, we already have the TB Advantage index, which allows producers to select for cows that are more resistant to bTB. “There are always bloodlines in any species that have greater resistance to a particular disease. We all know someone who never seems to catch a cold.

They clearly have better immunity. They’re never completely immune, but their resistance or resilience in the face of infection is higher. The same can be said for cattle.

“So we’ve looked at daughter data from sires in terms of the number of mastitis infections.”

SCC PTAs

Marco Winters: “The new Mastitis Index builds on the success of the SCC Index”

within the range +40 to –40. For every 1% in a bull’s SCC PTA, a change of 1% in his daughters’ SCC is predicted. The ideal is, obviously, a reduction in SCC, so negative PTAs for somatic cell count are desirable.

For example, daughters of a bull with a –10% SCC are expected to have cell counts 10% lower than daughters of a bull with a SCC PTA of zero.

Strong selection for lower SCC PTAs since 1999 has already resulted in a favourable genetic trend in the Mastitis PTA for sires (see Figure 1).

From April 2017, a Mastitis Index has been published for all breeds of bull genetically evaluated in the UK. A genomic evaluation is also available for Holstein sires.

This index allows producers to select sires and breed cows with improved resistance to mastitis, tackling a common issue on farm, on both a genetic and management level.

Although there is a strong link between the Somatic Cell Count (SCC) Index and a reduction in mastitis cases, there are a few bulls who reduce SCC but not

2.0 1.5 1.0 index

s the rate of genetic gain has increased during the past 20 years the UK herd’s national average SCC has fallen. “And the level of SCC continues to improve in the sires being used on the UK herd,” says AHDB Dairy’s head of animal genetics Marco Winters.

According to NMR data, the figure has fallen from 205,000 cells/ml in 2009 to around 170,000 in 2018.

“The SCC Index, as well as improved udder health management, has played a significant role here.”

Little wonder, then, that he expects great things from the Mastitis Index, which was introduced to bull proofs in April 2017. “It’s too early to see any direct improvements as a result of the use of the index – heifers born from bulls specifically selected on the new Mastitis Index are yet to calve.

“But we should have some data to study during the next 12 months and, like the SCC index, a cumulative effect will be seen during the next few years and only then will we have any meaningful data to compare with daughters of sires that scored poorly on the Mastitis Index.”

0.5 0.0 –0.5

2011 2012

2009 2010

2008

2007

2006

2005

–1.5

2000 2001 2002 2003 2004

–1.0 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999

SCC Predicted Transmitting Abilities (PTAs) have been used successfully by milk producers to breed lower cell counts into dairy cattle for many years already.

The SCC PTAs are expressed as a percentage and fall

years

Figure 1: SCC trend for Holstein sires

Development of the Mastitis Index Ten years of cattle data was supplied by the major milk recording organisations to develop this index. From this data, mastitis

was found to be 4% heritable – around the same level as that for fertility. The resulting index has a strong correlation with SCC and

other mastitis indexes published by other countries of 0.8 and 0.88 respectively, with international correlations validated by Interbull.

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UDDER HEALTH SPECIAL BREEDING TOOLS

Type – is it an udder-health issue?

Some producers – and classifiers – have raised concerns about teat length, more specifically that they’re becoming too short, during the past few years. But, at the other extreme, longer teats can actually be more problematic when it comes to udder health, as opposed to short. “Better milking speed also tends to favour shorter teats, and that is probably why many producers have indirectly been selecting for shorter teats in the past.

So I can see how in some herds that teats may, in fact, be becoming a little too short,” says AHDB Dairy’s Mr Winters.

But short teats can make milking problematic, particularly in ‘fidgety’ cows. So we, ideally, breed for animals with intermediate teat length, which reflect in bull proofs at around zero. He says that in terms of udder health and ensuring that cows ‘milk out’ properly, producers should be more concerned about other type traits, such as teat placement and udder depth. “Many of the type traits have an optimum at around zero, rather than the extremes on the bar chart, and producers have to be mindful of not selecting for the extremes. For example, if rear teats are too

close together and the ligament is too strong, this pulls the teats together and can make cluster attachment and milking more difficult.

“In terms of type, producers are advised to focus on the overall udder composite – intermediate teat length, placement and udder depth – to breed ‘functional’ cows that make for easier, thorough milking.”

The advice to producers breeding specifically for robotic milking systems is not too different from those with parlours, but ideally they will be looking for a slightly wider rear-teat placement.

necessarily cases of mastitis. This index will help to identify those bulls and allow producers to make more informed breeding decisions for their herd.

Negative values The Mastitis Index is published on a scale of –5 to +5 and is expressed as a percentage. Similar to SCC, negative values are favourable in the Mastitis Index.

For every 1% decrease in a bull’s index, there will be a corresponding 1% decrease in his daughters’ mastitis cases. This translates into, on average, 10 fewer cows with mastitis per year in a herd of 100 cows if a –5 mastitis bull is used instead of a +5 mastitis bull.

The new Mastitis Index is published alongside the SCC Index and it has also been incorporated into the Profitable Lifetime Index (£PLI). “The process of bull selection will, therefore, not change and the £PLI should be used as an initial screening tool, then traits of interest to your herd should be considered to progress your herd genetically,” says Mr Winters.

“Health traits, including the Mastitis Index, may have a low heritability but including them in your breeding decisions will have a cumulative positive effect on your herd,” he adds.

The biggest challenge when developing the index was gathering enough information. “But data recovery has become much easier during the past few years, with NMR and other milk recording organisations, now collecting information at herd level through on-farm software.”

After 10 years of data collection and R&D, producers are about the reap the rewards of using this index.

“It’s the next step in breeding for udder health. The SCC index continues to do a great job. This is an ‘add on’ – it builds on the success of the SCC index.”

And, says Mr Winters, producers will quickly see an improvement in mastitis rates once the next generation join the milking herd. “Indirect selection, through using the SCC Index, has helped to reduce mastitis levels, so we’re excited to see just how much more of a difference direction selection will make to udder health.” l

28

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AC UBAC UBA

mastitis SubunitSubunit vaccine against clinical vaccine mastitis against clinic causedcaused

by Strep. uberis. by Strep. uberis.

TAKE TAKE CONTROL CONTROL OFOF STREP.STREP UBERIS UBERIS

P.

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Adhesion Component (BAC) of Streptococcus uberis, strain 5616 1 strain Lipoteichoic UBAC, emulsion UBAC, for injection emulsion for cattle. COMPOSITION for PER injection DOSE: Lipoteichoic for acidcattle.

(LTA) from Biofilm COMPOSITION Adhesion Component (BAC) of Streptococcus PER≥ DOSE: uberis, 5616 ≥ 1 acid (LTA) f tion of healthy heifers to reduce the incidence of clinical RPU.cows Montanide RPU. ISA and 907.1 Montanide mg. Monophosphoryl ISA Lipid A (MPLA).

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This vaccine. swelling will have This disappeared swelling or be clearly reduced will in size have by 17 days disappeared post vaccination. in some becases, clearly swelling reduced in size by 17 days post va HIPRA UK However, & or IRELAND HIPRA UK & IRELAND may be up to may 2persist °C in may for up to persist 4individual weeks. A transient for increase up into rectal4 temperature weeks. (mean increase A transient of 1 °C but may increase be up to 2 °C in individual in rectal (mean increase Foxhall Business Centre Foxhalltemperature Business Centre THDRAWAL PERIOD: Zero days. animals) may animals) very commonly occur may in the first very 24 hours commonly after injection. CONTRAINDICATIONS: occur in None. the WITHDRAWAL first 24 PERIOD: hours Zero days. after injection. CONTRAINDICATION Foxhall Lodge, Foxhall Road Foxhall Lodge, Foxhall Road Store and transport refrigerated SPECIAL PRECAUTIONS: SPECIAL Vaccinate PRECAUTIONS: only healthy animals. It may be used Vaccinate during pregnancy only and lactation. healthy Store and transport animals. refrigerated It may be used during pregnancy a NG7 6LH Nottingham NG7 6LH Nottingham l. Accidental injection/self-injec(2 ºC– 8 ºC)(2 and protected ºC– 8 fromºC) light. Do and not freeze. protected This veterinary medicinal from product light. containsDo mineral not oil. Accidental freeze. injection/self-injecThis veterinary medicinal product contai s could result tion in loss of the maythe result tion in severe may pain and result swelling, particularly in severe if injected into pain a joint orand finger, and swelling, in rare cases could particularly result in the loss of the if injected United Kingdom United Kingdom into a joint or finger, and of 1 dose (2 ml). box affected Cardboard finger affected if prompt medical finger attention is if not prompt given. PACKAGING: medical Cardboard box attention with 20 glass vials ofis 1 dose not (2 ml).given.

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HEALTH NEWS

Lungworm risk to adult cattle Producers should be alert to outbreaks of lungworm in= adult dairy cattle this summer.

The disease can cause immediate losses of up to £137 per animal and long-term productivity can be impaired in animals that recover.

Cattle may gain some immunity to lungworm, but this can be short lived. If natural boosting through low-level exposure does not occur during the grazing season, animals may be susceptible to disease when larvae populations on the pasture rapidly increase – typically from July onwards.

And producers should be aware that even previously immune or vaccinated adult cattle can succumb to disease in the face of a high parasite challenge.

Diagnosing lungworm at an early stage of

infection can be difficult. “In older cattle, the initial signs of coughing can be confused with other respiratory diseases, such as IBR,” says Boehringer Ingelheim’s Nicky Bowden. “Other signs – including rapid loss of condition, sudden milk drop, increased resting, and drinking and eating less than normal – could indicate an acute infection that requires urgent attention.”

Once lungworm is diagnosed, it’s vital that all animals in the herd are treated with a suitable anthelmintic with prolonged activity against reinfection, to give lungs time to recover.

Zero milk-withhold Eprinex, which contains eprinomectin, can be used to treat lactating animals and prevents reinfection for up to 28 days after treatment.

Adult cattle may be at risk of lungworm infection this summer

Celebrating 20 years of pain relief This year, Metacam (meloxicam), the worldleading treatment for pain and inflammation in livestock celebrates 20 years since it was launched. Originally licensed for use in dogs, Metacam is now used extensively in cows and calves, across a wide range of situations.

It was initially introduced as a treatment to be used alongside antibiotics for young cattle with respiratory disease. In the early 2000s, its licence was extended for use in mastitis (in combination with antibiotic therapy).

And it was soon considered a welcome addition to the medicine cabinet by producers and vets alike.

Following additional studies, it was the first NSAID that demonstrated a positive impact on milk quality, because it lowered the somatic cell count. Cows with mastitis were also less likely to be culled if Metacam was added to standard antibiotic therapy. These cows also showed a better bacteriological cure rate and cows treated with Metacam also had increased chance of getting pregnant.

It was also proven to be beneficial in treating calf scour and its analgesic properties made it the first NSAID to be approved worldwide for pain relief in calves following dehorning. “Since its launch 20 years ago, Boehringer Ingelheim has continued to invest in innovative research and numerous studies to better appreciate the physiological and behavioural impact of pain in livestock,” says the company’s global brand manager Laurent Goby.

bovens bovens regel o

Insights into BVD control The second BVDzero Congress will take place on July 3, near Cardiff in Wales. The aim of the congress is to share actions and solutions for successful BVD eradication between countries, and representatives from all the regional schemes will attend.

The day will feature presentations that will offer a range of insights into successful BVD eradication, followed by interactive workshops.

“This is the second time that key stakeholders from across the UK and Ireland have been brought together and comes at a time when collaborative disease eradication between countries has never been more important,” says Boehringer Ingelheim’s Matt Yarnall.

“While the Irish and Scottish BVD programmes are nearing their end stages, the Northern Irish team, BVDFree England and Gwaredu BVD are making good progress with their programmes. And we believe that sharing this information will help to further improve BVD control.”

For further information, or if you would like to attend, please email info@bvdzero.co.uk

For more information about Boehringer Ingelheim’s products: www.boehringer-ingelheim.co.uk www.calfmatters.com Telephone: 01344 74 69 60 Email address: ukcustomersupport @boehringer-ingelheim.com

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BREEDING SERIES HISTORY

The British company CRV Avoncroft, based in Kidderminster, is part of the globally operating CRV. This is the first in a series of articles about CRV, to find out more about this livestock improvement organisation and exactly what it does.

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5

History and background information Unique features of CRV Breeding programmes worldwide Products and services: SireMatch Products and services: Ovalert

CRV works

around the clock Economies of scale and mergers. These were commonplace in CRV’s history, which began in 1874 with the founding of a herd book in the Netherlands. And most important, right from the start, was its remit to work together with dairy producers to breed a better herd.

TEXT INGE VAN DRIE

I John Grehan, Ireland: “Dutch genetics help us to breed cows that suit our system.

We want high production, high components, and good fertility”

1874 Establishing a herdbook

32

1885 The first bull association

1894 The first milk recording organisation

mprove the quality of breeding by recording the pedigree of cows and bulls. That was the objective of establishing a herd book, called the Nederlandsch Rundvee Stamboek, almost 150 years ago. At that time Dutch dairy producers began working together on cattle improvement.

And it didn’t stop there. That was just the start for many more small and large milestones during the many decades to follow. The first bull association was set up in 1885, quickly followed by the creation of the first milk recording organisation in 1894. The first AI association followed in 1938 and shortly after that the milk recording associations joined forces to form one central service.

An important point in this history was also the formation of CR Delta in 1998. The NRS herd book then merged with the four regional

1938 The first AI association

1943 One central milk recording service

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active CRV-offices

CRV is active across six continents and in more than 60 countries

cooperative breeding organisations into CR Delta. And a decade later – when the Flemish VRV had already started collaborating with CR Delta – this led to the formation of CRV in 2008, with its head office in Arnhem.

Better breeding During these years the core values and ideas remained the same as they were in 1874: working together with dairy producers to breed a better herd. It started with pedigree recording, but today producers are collecting so much more information and not just on milk production and type, but also about hoof and udder health and feed intake. And all with the aim of breeding better cattle.

CRV is still a producer-owned cooperative.

Around 23,000 members in the Netherlands and Flanders still own the breeding

1984 The formation of a national herdbook

1998 The formation of CR Delta

Arjan Backx, Germany: “With 900 cows, a 15-day shorter calving interval means a lot more profit”

2002 CR Delta and Flemish VRV start collaboration

2008 The formation of CRV

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BREEDING SERIES HISTORY organisation. And they have control of, among other things, breeding goals and investments.

It’s been more than 10 years since the creation of CRV and it’s been a busy decade. To remain a key player in international livestock improvement, growth was inevitable. As early as 2009, CEO Roald van Noort stated: “Technological developments are moving fast. New and better products are coming faster and faster. To be able to continue to develop innovative products, such as sexed sperm and genomic selection, we will have to invest proportionally more. That will not work without growth.”

Global operation CRV is working across the globe – and that means around the clock. With several offices in Europe, including CRV Avoncroft in Kidderminster, CRV is also active in two locations in South America: with CRV Lagoa and CRV Bela Vista. In North America the company has branches under the names CRV USA and CRV Canada. South African producers know CRV under the name CRV Xseed and in New Zealand the company operates under the name CRV Ambreed.

Skalsumer Sunny Boy, Tops Monitor Legend, Etazon Addison, Etazon Lord Lily, Delta Canvas and Kian are just a few examples of well-known sires from CRV’s impressive back catalogue. Today, CRV has more than a thousand bulls available. And there is also not only a breeding programme for Holstein, but also for Fleckvieh and sires that suit grazing-base systems.

The company also offers the mating program SireMatch worldwide and helps producers to keep on top of fertility and health management with Ovalert.

Herman Van Arragon, Brazil: “SireMatch helps me to keep my breeding consistent and improve my herd” on expensive technological innovations – such as genomic selection – you must be able to spread these costs across as many units as possible. Success overseas is a large part of our business, but the most important thing is that we can produce the latest products at a reasonable price.” l

Six continents So, in 2019, the company can rightfully be called a global player. The organisation sells 10.5 million straws of semen each year. And 15% is sold by the breeding organisation in the Netherlands and Flanders. The remaining 85% are sold across six continents and in more than 60 countries. Director Van Noort finds it logical that the organisation is increasingly internationally oriented.

“Because, like no other sector, breeding depends

CRV facts Troels Bjorn, Denmark “I can rely 100% on Ovalert.

In fact, I don’t even bother to look for cows in heat” 34

• CRV dates back to 1874 • Cooperative with 23,000 members • More than 50,000 customers worldwide, in more than 60 countries • Branches and sire stations in 12 countries • Portfolio of 1,000 sires, including Bouw Rocky, De Leenhorst E-Profit and Delta Jacuzzi • Well-known sires include: Sunny Boy, Lord Lily and Addison

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Smooth transition Strong lactation The transition phase is the most important period in the production cycle of the cow. By focusing on key areas of transition cow nutrition significant performance improvements and cost savings can be made. This could realise over ÂŁ11,000 or 1.5ppl per 100 cows.

ForFarmers TRANSLAC nutrition programme and products are designed to improve performance by giving the cow and calf the best possible start.

0330 678 0982 info.uk@forfarmers.eu www.forfarmers.co.uk

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FEWER NON PREGNANT COWS A BENEFIT OF MILK CONFIRMATION TESTING

“The test is a very good management tool. It helps veterinarians to concentrate more on herd health and invest their time on the farm in a more efficient way.”

With just a few drops of milk you can: • Find non-pregnant cows as early as 28 days post-insemination

• Confirm pregnancy status throughout gestation • Take timely action to re-breed cows • Improve reproductive performance in the herd* *UK studies show that using milk samples for automated pregnancy confirmation (70 -110 days post-insemination) could significantly improve reproductive performance

Mr and Mrs Phillips, 184, Jerseys and Holsteins

This is an RGB file, if this causes a problem, please reset it using photos provided.

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DAIRY MANAGEMENT NEWS

‘Take-home’ health messages Johne’s is an iceberg disease. What you see and, to a certain extent, what you find on sampling for the Johne’s causing pathogen, Mycobacterium avium paratuberculosis (MAP), is often just the tip of a far greater clinical load that will hinder herd performance.

This was the take-home message from Ian Cardiff, of the George Vet Practice, at a herd health day held at Oldfield Farm, near Chippenham, and hosted by Will Hawking and herd manager James Smith.

“Culling out infected animals is essential, but the cornerstone of effective control is the reduction in contamination and transmission on farm,” said Ian. “Quarterly individual milk sampling will give the best opportunity to catch infected animals early. The results can be used for prompt classification of stock and for effective changes in management to minimise spread.”

He told the 70 producers at the event that new-born calves are most susceptible to infection and need maximum protection.

Contact with faeces from infected animals must be avoided at all cost. “Always calve low-risk/clean cows separately from high-risk/ positive cows and never use high-risk cows’ colostrum or milk to feed to any calves.

“And check frozen stores in case an animal has changed status since harvesting her colostrum,” he added, enforcing the need to treat calves born from infected cows as high risk from birth. “And track the progeny of

bovens bovens regel o

Product portfolio

NMR sent five sets of red tags to all herds represented at the Herd Health Day to encourage prompt and clear identification of infected animals

animals changing status and reclassify any in the young-stock system.”

Also, excellent biosecurity and disinfection between adults and young stock, and highand low-risk animals should be the norm.

James and his team, including their vet Ian Cardiff, won the 2018 HerdWise Best Practice Award for their impressive Johne’s control measures and making good progress in reducing any risk of the disease in their 240-cow Holstein Friesian organic herd.

NMR has published its first product and services portfolio both online and as a hard copy. The new publication, which includes details and costs of one-off tests, routine testing and surveillance services and complimentary ‘add-ons’, will be updated twice a year.

“We want to make sure our current customers know the full range of services we offer and ensure that they get best value for money from using an integrated provider,” says NMR marketing manager Nicci Chamberlin.

The NMR product and services catalogue Spring/Summer 2019 can be downloaded from https://www. nmr.co.uk/uploads/brochure/index. html#4 or a hard copy is available from NMR Customer Services: customerservices@nmr.co.uk or by telephoning 03330 043043

New BVD testing lab Around 46% of BVD tissue samples from dairy and beef cattle in Northern Ireland are now being tested through a new laboratory. The laboratory is a collaboration with livestock tissue tag supplier Countryside Services and NMR, and is at Countryside Services’ headquarters, near Dungannon.

“Producers can either bring samples in Ian McNiece, Countryside Service (left) with Andy Warne, NMR (right)

or post them,” says Countryside managing director Ian McNiece. “It’s convenient for many producers to bring their samples to us. This can mean a faster turnaround of results.”

Results are uploaded to the Animal Health and Welfare Northern Ireland (AHWNI) database, and the producer is notified via text message.

“This is an integrated tag and test service,” says NMR managing director Andy Warne.

“Countryside manufacturers and supplies the tags, and samples are tested through our collaborative lab service. Countryside also prints tissue tags for NMR-owned Nordic Star, which supplies tags throughout Britain.

The BVD testing service extends NMR’s service provision in Northern Ireland. “We’re supporting Northern Ireland’s producers with good value, relevant and accredited disease testing,” adds Mr Warne. “The Countryside laboratory currently carries out BVD testing, but in future we hope to offer tests for other pathogens and contaminants.”

GeneTracker dates The next genomic sample submission and results dates, through NMR GeneTracker, are: - June 20, with results on August 13 - July 18, with results on September 3 - August 22, with results on October 1

For more information on NMR products and services contact customer services: 03330 043 043, email: customerservices@nmr.co.uk www.nmr.co.uk

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FEEDING TRANSITION

Team approach to

transition management

Close attention to detail and rations, during the three weeks prior to and post calving, are key to transition success. We spoke to a producer and his nutritionist to find out more.

TEXT EMILY BALL

T

Close-up cows are moved into loose housing three weeks before calving

38

argeting the transition period, within in a seamless management system, has resulted in good fertility and cow performance during the subsequent lactation for one Warwickshire-based herd.

Tim Sinnott runs a 227-cow autumn block calving Holstein herd, which averages 12,700 litres of milk at 3.82% fat and 3.26% protein – around 880kg of milk solids per cow – on a three-times-a-day milking.

Based at Ivy House Farm, near Nuneaton, he manages the herd with help from ForFarmers’ nutritionist Alison Ewing, vet Rob Henderson, and his RMS technician Tom Bennett, in order to pay close attention to detail during the transition period.

And this has paid dividends for fertility and cow performance.

The far-off dry cow group receive 6kg of rota-ground

Tim Sinnott

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Far-off cows are fed 6kg of rota-ground straw, mixed with maize and grass silage

straw, mixed with grass and maize silage and 1.5kg of protein-rich rapeseed meal (to fuel tissue repair for the cow and ensure high colostrum quality for the calf), as well as TRANSLAC dry cow minerals.

This ration, according to Tim, ‘knocks the milk off them pretty quickly and helps to maintain rumen capacity’.

Transition group Three weeks prior to calving, cows move to a transition group in a loose-housed yard. They are fed ForFarmers’ TRANSLAC Advance feed with a mix of 3kg of straw, plus grass and maize silage, which includes a calcium binder, to reduce the risk of milk fevers. Cows are fed the forage mix once a day, but the feed is pushed up five times a day – with the TRANSLAC Advance top dressed twice per day.

After calving, cows are put into a fresh-calved group and are kept separately from the main milking herd, close to the parlour. This allows staff to keep a watchful eye on them. Cows’ temperatures are checked regularly during this period and dry matter intakes are monitored.

They are given an electrolyte drink immediately after calving and the fresh-calved group are fed on a ‘calmer’ diet, before being moved into the main milking group. Protected choline is also added to their ration for between 10 days and two weeks after calving.

“We are also using Breeder Tag feed-fence technology, to help early detection of metabolic problems in the transition and fresh group of cows,” explains Tim. He believes that the three weeks pre-calving and three weeks post calving are the most critical time in the lactation and that if this period is managed correctly, everything else falls into place.

“I need healthy, fertile, well-looked-after cows in order to make the most efficient use of feed in the system,” he says. Purchased feed costs are 9.1ppl, while yield from forage stands at 2,920 litres per cow.

The cows at the unit calve from the beginning of July through to early November, with the herd achieving

a rolling calving index of 371 days. During the 2018 breeding season, Tim used sexed semen in order to produce the required number of replacements. The rest of the herd was inseminated with beef semen.

“We’re aiming to breed fertility into the herd and we ensure that we have plenty of information to help with breeding decisions,” says Tim. “We use Genus RMS, information from pedometers, and visual checks to make sure we’re serving cows at the right time. Running a block-calving system means that we get a break from fertility to concentrate on calving. It also helps to take the pressure off a bit, resulting in better results when we start again.”

Team approach Tim has a routine visit from his vet, Rob Henderson, once a week during the service period to ensure that the vast majority of veterinary activity on farm is proactive.

Getting cows back in calf quickly is crucial to Tim’s system so vet Rob, the herd’s nutritionist, and the RMS technician, and Tim, all have a meeting before the service period to make plans.

“We discuss things that might have changed since the previous service period and what the aims are for the coming season. The group get together again at the end of the serving period to look at what worked, what didn’t, and how they can improve next year.”

Cows calve into the herd at BCS 3 and drop to 2.5 after calving, where they hold steady throughout the lactation. Every cow has a post-calving health check 21 days after calving and again at 41 days, if they have not been seen bulling. If a cow is not served within 70 days of calving she is given another check. This helps to ensure that no cow slips through the system.

With the results that he and his team have been able to achieve, Tim says that there is a temptation to push up cow numbers. “But, instead, we’ve chosen to focus on making every cow place as profitable as possible. And I really can’t stress enough just how important the whole team is in helping to achieve this.” l

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BREEDING INFORMATION

Stadel daughter passes 15,000kg fat-and-protein barrier Stadel daughter Diggy is the first German cow to produce more than 15,000kg of fat and protein. The actual lifetime production of redand-white Holstein Diggy, owned by the Sievers family from Beidenfleth in Germany, is 15,995kg. She has produced 186,189kg of milk in her lifetime so far.

In her tenth lactation she produced 16,537kg of milk, at 5.66% fat and 4.10% protein, which made her number one for production that year in Germany. As a younger cow she also won prizes at regional shows.

Improve your components Do you also want to improve your components and receive a higher milk price? CRV Avoncroft has sires available, of all breeds, to improve these figures.

Diggy won prizes at regional shows

Table 1: High-component sires available from CRV

name sire

High protein is no coincidence The sky-high components of InSire bull De Leenhorst E-Profit should come as no surprise. The dam line behind this sire is responsible for high protein content, generation after generation. “For the past 30 years we have consistently used bulls that score positive breeding values for protein percentage,” says dairy producer Jan Schieven, who is the breeder of E-Profit.

“And high components mean that we receive a slightly higher milk price.”

Jan determines genomic breeding values for all the heifer calves they rear. “We started doing this early on because we want to collect as much data as possible from our animals, in order to make matings with high reliability with the help of SireMatch.”

Thanks to high marker breeding values, one of the Schieven family’s calves appeared on the radar of CRV breeding technicians. Danno

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daughter De Leenhorst Ineke 30 descends from an ordinary cow family. But it is a family that generates generation after generation for high lifetime production with high protein content. Her mother (a G-Force daughter) and grandmother (a Curtis daughter), for example, have achieved lifetime productions of 3.93% and 3.81% protein, respectively.

As a maiden heifer, Ineke 30 was inseminated with Delta Magister, who is also known as an excellent protein producer with +0.10%.

This insemination resulted in, among others, E-Profit.

“It was hardly a surprise that he scored positively for components,” says Jan. “But we could never have dreamed it would be that high. Breeding a bull like E-Profit, who is in the bull catalogue with +0.19% fat and +0.17% protein, is something that we are very proud of.”

% protein

% fat

holstein Jacuzzi Moutard E-Profit Allard

0.35 0.26 0.19 0.15

0.18 0.17 0.17 0.19

brown swiss Verdi Vanpari

0.22 0.17

0.19 0.07

fleckvieh Hongkong PP Mocca Pp

0.07 0.06

0.04 0.06

Hongkong PP Producer Jan Schieven: “Breeding a bull like E-Profit is something that we are very proud of”

De Leenhorst E-Profit

For more information on products and services of CRV Avoncroft: phone: 01562 861582 www.crvavoncroft.com www.facebook.com/CRVAvoncroft/

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HEALTH PAIN RELIEF

Improving welfare

and changing perceptions As the pain-relief treatment Metacam celebrates it’s 20-year anniversary for use in cattle we reflect on the benefits of these non-steroidal anti-inflammatory (NSAID) treatments.

TEXT RACHAEL PORTER

T

he past two decades have seen significant improvements in treating pain in dairy cattle and this has helped to improve cow welfare.

Boehringer Ingelheim’s Metacam brand was first used in cattle in 1999 and since then its pain relieving and anti-inflammatory properties have led to improved cow welfare and fertility rates, with the brand itself contributing to a heightened perception of what constitutes pain in cattle.

Metacam was launched as an ‘add-on’ treatment for young cattle with bovine respiratory disease; it had a long-lasting effect of up to three days in calves.

It was then licensed for use in acute mastitis, in combination with antibiotic therapy. Metacam was the first NSAID that demonstrated a positive impact on milk quality by lowering somatic cell count due to its anti-inflammatory properties.

Fewer mastitic cows were culled when Metacam was added to the standard antibiotic therapy. Further research showed that cows with mastitis were more likely to get back in calf if they received Metacam and also benefited from a better bacteriological cure rate.

Pain relief Vets and producers have increased their use of painkillers (analgesics) for treating painful conditions,

Chris Hudson, cattle vet: “The routine use of NSAIDs is becoming more common” 42

or for carrying out potentially painful procedures in cattle during the past 10 years, according to Nottingham University-based vet Chris Hudson.

“A survey in 2006 asked cattle vets to describe how painful they considered various conditions/ procedures and how often they used various sorts of pain relief for them,” he adds.

“Vets tended to use or advise the use of NSAIDs more often in conditions that they saw as more painful.

However, we can use these to relieve the cow of pain associated with many kinds of disease, which aids her recovery rate and her overall well-being.”

But he explains that there is still a mismatch between the frequency of pain relief use, at least in terms of NSAIDs, and the perceived severity of pain in routine calf procedures, such as disbudding and castration.

Dr Hudson, in conjunction with vet John Remnant and other researchers at the University of Nottingham, are continuing to work to promote recognition and management of pain in cattle. It is a collaborative approach to improving cattle welfare and involves a regular dialogue with industry stakeholders such as producers, the supply chain, the pharmaceutical industry and vets.

“We sent a questionnaire – based on that used in 2006 – to UK cattle practitioners asking them to score pain severity for several conditions of cattle and asking about their attitudes towards, and use of, analgesic medicines.”

“The results, from the 242 surveys returned, revealed that pain scores attributed to diseases and conditions by the vets questioned were typically higher and use of NSAIDs was more frequent/common compared to the 2006 survey. It also highlighted that male clinicians and those graduating before 1990 scored pain severity significantly lower and they were less likely to use NSAIDs.”

Pain recognition Improvements in the recognition and management of pain in livestock have helped drive changes in husbandry practice. In the UK the use of analgesic treatment has more than doubled during those

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10 years and similar trends have been reported in Europe. “But there is still some way to go to achieve effective pain control in all livestock. We’ve made huge strides as an industry to increase use of NSAIDs for things like calf disbudding and clinical mastitis, but there are still a lot of producers who could use these much more effectively,” adds Dr Hudson.

“A key goal will be to ensure that calves are as likely as adult cattle to receive treatment for potentially painful conditions and surgical procedures. It is no longer acceptable for young animals to undergo procedures such as castration or disbudding, without pain relief that lasts for longer than a few hours.”

Improved fertility The impact of administering NSAID alongside antibiotic mastitis treatment has also revealed significant benefits for cow fertility. Work has shown that mastitis can reduce fertility, whether the mastitis case occurs before or after insemination and whether it’s mild or moderate in severity.

A fertility study carried out by researchers across six European countries in 2016, including the UK, looked at more than 500 cows with mild to moderate mastitis. Cows were assigned to one of two treatment groups. All cows received between two and four tubes of intramammary antibiotic therapy.

One group also received Metacam, and the control group received a placebo. All fertility data were collected and milk samples were tested to assess bacteriological cure rates.

The results showed that cows with mastitis that were given Metacam with antibiotic therapy had significantly improved fertility performance compared to the control group. In the NSAID-treated group, 31% of cows conceived to first service compared with 21% in the control group. The NSAID group recorded 2.43 inseminations per pregnancy compared with 2.92 in the control group, and 40% were in calf by 120 days post calving compared with 31% in the control group.

Cows treated with Metacam also had a higher bacteriological cure rate of 66% compared with 50% in the control group. Depending on the milk price and milk yield, the net economic benefit of using Metacam with an intramammary antibiotic therapy ranged from £15 to £56, with an average benefit of £35 per case of mastitis per year.

What’s next?

Mr Hudson believes that the next 20 years will see pain perception among producers and vets continue to evolve and that treatment with NSAIDs will increase.

“Mindset always takes a while to change, but the routine use of NSAIDs when disbudding or castrating calves is becoming more common, as is pain relief alongside conditions and procedures that require antibiotics, such as mastitis and caesarean sections.

“Welfare will be the buzz word as we move into the next decade. The most effective way to reduce the welfare impact of disease is to prevent it and technology is also playing an increasingly important role here.” l

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Know your cows, Know your business GeneTracker secures a reliable future Use GeneTracker to ‘interview’ the heifers in your herd Increase profitability by identifying which heifers to breed/sell •

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FORFARMERS FOCUS

Monitor growth to stay on target Rearing heifers to the correct weight and stature for calving at 24 months of age requires an average weight gain of 0.8kg per day throughout the growing period. Achieving this performance at grass can be a challenge, but is entirely possible with the correct feeding and management systems in place.

Dry-matter assessment Understanding grass covers will highlight the amount of concentrate or forage required to buffer any shortfall in the energy that grass intakes alone will provide. However, it is important to assess not just the amount of grass available to young stock, but also its dry matter (DM) content.

If grass DM is only 15%, a 12-month-old heifer would need to eat 60kg (fresh weight) to meet her energy requirements. DM can vary hugely depending on weather and time of year, so it’s vital that producers know the value of their grass.

Growth targets When it comes to energy, heifer requirements, to achieve target growth rates, will depend on liveweight, according to ForFarmers’ young stock specialist Ann Coombes. “It is important to identify whether DM intakes from grass will be sufficient to supply heifers with the required levels of energy to sustain daily liveweight growth rates at a target rate of 0.8 kg per day.

“This assessment should be carried out throughout the grazing season, as even highquality grass leys may not be able to provide all the energy a heifer requires as she matures. Concentrates should be fed to balance any predicted shortfall in energy requirements and to maintain optimum growth rates,” she adds.

Regularly monitoring heifer weights can help producers to keep track of whether growth targets are being met by grazing. It will also alert producers as to when they should increase supplementation in order to ensure good growth rates and maintain heifer health.

Delayed service In a recent ForFarmers trial, involving more than 400 cattle, heifers on grazing alone had a daily liveweight gain (DLWG) of 0.40kg per day, while those on grazing and 1kg of VITA Heifer 16 rolls had an average DLWG of 0.86kg per day.

“Failing to achieve growth targets at grass can result in delayed service, resulting in significant additional rearing costs,” says Miss Coombes. “It is more cost-effective to supplement heifer rations with concentrates during the grazing period to maintain good growth rates and ensure optimum conditions for bulling and first calving.”

For more information on heifer growth rates contact your ForFarmers’ young stock specialist or call 0330 678 0982.

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Forage-crop benefits With production costs continuing to increase, forage crops that can be grown on farm can offer many benefits. There are many forage-crop options and all should help to reduce bought-in feed costs, extend the grazing season, and provide an excellent break crop and entry back into a grass reseed.

Forage crops are a cost effective way to supplement rations during times when fodder may be scarce – during drier spells in the summer and the cold winter months. They can supply substantial quantities of palatable material at relatively low production costs, balancing the amount of bought-in feed required. Many of the forages are grazed and utilised in the field (grazed in situ). Recommended inclusion rates should be between 35% and 60% of total dry matter.

Root crops are often used as a break crop between grass leys, due to the risk of frit fly. This can cause considerable damage to autumn grass reseeds. Eggs are laid on or near grass plants and the larvae tunnel into the centre of the plant, causing dead hearts. By establishing a summer break crop, which is fast growing, the frit fly is denied a food source.

Forage rape or hybrid brassicas have a vigorous growth habitat and a crop can be utilised within 10 to 14 weeks after sowing. Hybrid brassicas such as Swift, Spitfire or Redstart, or a mix of hybrid brassica and forage rape, all have high energy and protein grazing supply for cattle during the summer period, when grazing availability may be low.

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ADVERTISERS’ INDEX Alta Ambic Berry’s Agriculture Boehringer Ingelheim Cogent Breeding Ltd. Concept Cowhouse Ltd. CRV Avoncroft Ltd/CRV Dairy Spares Farmplus FifeF Heuven Hipra Idexx Intershape Lallemand Mole Valley Farmers NMR Quill Productions Sand Seperation Systems Thompsons/ForFarmers Trouw Zinpro

17 40 30 47 6 30, 36 48 18 40 18 18 29 36 36 11 12 2, 44 30 40 35 4 22

SHOWS AND EVENTS 2019

July 9-11 July 22-25 September 11 September 12 September 18 October 2 October 29 November 6 November 20 December 12

Great Yorkshire Show, Harrogate, North Yorkshire Royal Welsh Show, Builth Wells, Powys UK Dairy Day, Telford International Centre, Shropshire Westmorland County Show, Crooklands, Cumbria Women in Dairy annual conference, Sixways Stadium, Warriors Way, Worcester The Dairy Show, Shepton Mallet, Somerset Welsh Dairy Show, Nantyci Showground, Carmarthen British Mastitis Conference, Sixways Stadium, Warriors Way, Worcester AgriScot, Royal Highland Centre, Ingliston, Edinburgh, Scotland Royal Ulster Winter Fair, Eikon Exhibition Centre, Balmoral Park, Lisburn (NI)

COMING UP

Insert: Enviro Systems

AUGUST FEEDING August 30: We focus on autumn and winter feeding, with a look at 2019’s forage crop. We’ll also have the first in a series of articles on reducing the carbon footprint of milk production.

CONTACTS CowManagement is published eight times per year by CRV BV, Publishing Department Editorial team Chief Editor Jaap van der Knaap Editor Rachael Porter Phone: 01394 270587 E-mail: rachael@reporterjournalism.co.uk Editing, design and production CRV Publishing Contributing writers Emily Ball, Roger Evans, Allison Matthews, Florus Pellikaan, Inge van Drie and Karen Wright Publisher Rochus Kingmans Chief editor’s address P.O. Box 454, 6800 AL Arnhem, The Netherlands Phone: 0031 26 38 98 821 E-mail: cm.office@crv4all.com CowManagement online Facebook: www.facebook.com/CowManagementUK/ Twitter: @cowmanagement Website: www.cowmanagement.co.uk

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Subscriptions CowManagement is available free of charge to customers of NMR, CRV Avoncroft, Thompsons and ForFarmers. If you think you are eligible, or if you wish to no longer receive CowManagement, then please contact: National Milk Records plc, Fox Talbot House, Greenways Business Park, Bellinger Close, Chippenham SN15 1BN Phone 03330 043043 E-mail: customerservices@NMR.co.uk www.isubscribe.co.uk Advertisements Nicci Chamberlin, NMR. Phone 07970 009136 E-mail: niccic@nmr.co.uk Jannet Fokkert, Froukje Visser, Hilda van der Wal P.O. Box 454, 6800 AL Arnhem, The Netherlands, E-mail: hilda.van.der.wal@crv4all.com

Disclaimer CowManagement does not necessarily share the views expressed by contributors. No responsibility is accepted for the claims made by advertisers.

No responsibility can be accepted by CRV BV for the opinions expressed by contributors. Whilst every effort is made to obtain reliable and accurate information, liability cannot be accepted for errors. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical including photocopying, recording, or any information storage or retrieval system without the express prior written consent of the publisher.

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Illustrations/pictures Photographs by Veeteelt Photography, Mark Pasveer (8-9, 24, 46), Caroline Hopkins (13), Rachael Porter (14-16) and Els Korsten (34).

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TREATING WITH METACAM CONTINUES TO DELIVER Adding Metacam to standard antibiotic therapy for mastitis is associated with a greater first-service conception rate and a higher probability of pregnancy by 120 days post-calving compared with cows receiving antibiotic therapy alone1.

That’s not all you can expect...

Metacam can be used in cases of acute mastitis*, acute respiratory infections*, diarrhoea in young calves and non-lactating cattle,^ and pain relief following dehorning/disbudding in calves.

Expectations of Metacam treatment are changing. Are yours?

Ask your vet about treating with Metacam

* With appropriate antibiotic therapy. ^ In calves over one week of age and in combination with oral rehydration therapy.

Reference 1. McDougall et al (2016) Addition of meloxicam to the treatment of clinical mastitis improves subsequent reproductive performance. J Dairy Sci 99(3): 2026-2042. Metacam 20 mg/ml solution for injection for cattle, pigs and horses and Metacam 40 mg/ml solution for injection for cattle and horses contain meloxicam. UK: POM-V. Further information available in the SPC or from Boehringer Ingelheim Animal Health UK Ltd, RG12 8YS, UK. Tel: 01344 746957. Email: vetenquiries@boehringer-ingelheim.com. Metacam is a registered trademark of the Boehringer Ingelheim Group. Š2019 Boehringer Ingelheim Animal Health UK Ltd. Date of preparation: Jan 2019. AHD 11888. All rights reserved. Use Medicines Responsibly.

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BREEDING FOR HIGHER COMPONENTS? CRV AVONCROFT HAS THE ANSWER! High levels of fat and protein ensure a good

% fat +0.35 +0.26 +0.19 +0.15

% protein +0.18 +0.17 +0.17 +0.19

with high components. CRV Avoncroft has the

JACUZZI MOUTARD E-PROFIT ALLARD

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All bulls are available in SiryX sexed semen

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