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X L V E T S N E W S
A unique service and available to British
milk producers, Mastitis Tracker uses
advanced technology to allow mastitis-causing
pathogens to be identified in preserved milk
samples as part of routine cow management
and integrates the results with the NMR cell
count records.
‘We have offered producers a service for
identifying pathogens in the past but it has
involved plate culture techniques that require
fresh milk samples. But there is always a risk
of contamination in fresh samples which in
turn hinders the accuracy of results,’ says
NMR Group business development manager
Hannah Pearse. ‘Now that we can replace
this technique and use preserved samples -
and provide far more accurate results - we
can take mastitis control in our herds to a
much higher level.
‘Producers include a Mastitis Tracker test
request form in the milk samples at the
recording time then once the sample has
been through the NMR milk quality testing it
is sent on to the PCR lab with minimum delay.
Results are reported back through the Herd
Companion web site within 24 hours of the
sample arriving at the lab or by fax or post.’
The hassle-free Mastitis Tracker service
opens the door to more advanced mastitis
management for British producers. ‘It will
report trends in pathogens so patterns in
groups of cows, such as heifers, old cows
or cohorts can be tracked. It will also identify
seasonal patterns that we believe are present
in many herds,’ adds Ms Pearse.
NMR is launching a new Mastitis Tracker service in September and will
demonstrate it at the Dairy Event, NEC, on the 7th & 8th September.
NMR introduces a new
Mastitis Tracker service
XLVets attended the NSA Sheep 2010 event
held at Malvern on 3rd August. The XLVets
stand focused on our FarmSkills training
programme for farmers. On the day we had
three 'mini-bite' challenges - giving visitors
the chance to learn a new skill and take
something practical home with them to
use on the farm.
The first mini-bite challenge was a 'guess
the weight of the lambs' competition. Visitors
were asked to estimate the weight of two
lambs penned on the stand. The lambs
were both born at the same time, on the
same farm and reared together. The only
difference - one was a pure Dorset lamb,
the other a Dorset x Zwartbles. The
competition aimed to highlight the need
to know accurate weights for calculating
worming doses. Amazingly there was
11kg difference between the two lambs
- not obvious at all from looking at them!
Many people underestimated the weights of
the lambs on the day, highlighting the need
to weigh lambs and dose according to the
heaviest in a group to avoid underdosing.
There was also the chance to see the XLVets
Sterimatic system in action. Demonstrations
(using a toy sheep this time!!) showed
farmers how Sterimatic provides a system
for vaccination guns where the needle
is cleaned and disinfected before each
animal is injected. The Sterimatic set works
with existing equipment; fitting almost all
vaccinator guns. The demonstrations proved
extremely popular throughout the day.
Finally, the stand would not be complete
without the XLVets juggler. Back by popular
demand following Beef Expo 2010, the
juggler taught many people a new skill
and provided a reminder to farmers of the
diverse range of FarmSkills practical-based
training courses that are available (although
juggling is not one of them!)
NSA Sheep 2010
For the first time ever, XLVets exhibited
at the North’s premier agricultural show
- the Great Yorkshire Show from 13th
to 15th July.
Three Yorkshire practices; Minster Veterinary
Practice, Bishopton Veterinary Group and
Kingsway Veterinary Group, joined forces to
exhibit a stand championing the excellence
in practice, people and business support that
XLVets practices offer all their clients.
Artwork included profiles of vets, nurses,
support staff and farmers - plus a good
showing for FarmSkills, which enjoyed
recruiting farmers to new courses for Autumn
2010. As well as offering the ‘best cup of tea’
on the showground, activities included
guessing the old fashioned veterinary
instruments, and learning how to lamb a
(model) sheep and do a caesarean on a toy
cow! Despite the rather unpredictable weather
a great, if exhausting, time was had by all!
Great Yorkshire
Show 2010
5
LIVESTOCK MATTERS
WORKING
TOGETHER
FOR A HEALTHIER FUTURE...
Mastitis Tracker costs £13 or £14 plus
VAT per test depending on volumes tested.
For more information or to order tests
contact NMR Customer Services on
0844 7255567 or email
customerservices@nmr.co.uk