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C A S E S T U D Y
J ANE ANS COMB E
Jane carried out teat scoring in the 24/48 swing over
parlour in which there are no ACR’s. Fourty percent
of the cows had significant teat-end damage, which
was caused by overmilking...
of many of the cows being wintered away the
stocking rate in the straw yards was much
lower. During the summer of 2010 the wood
chip corral had been sifted, which removed
much of the faeces. Over the winter the corral
was used for 65 of the later calvers, but they
were moved out of this area as soon as
space became available in the cubicle shed.
During the last year a large amount of effort
has been put on resurfacing the many cow
tracks on the farm. Extensive drainage works
have also been carried out, allowing surface
water to now run off the tracks. An increase in
access points to the paddocks has also
helped to reduce poaching in gateways.
These improvements have improved cow
cleanliness during lactation and reduced the
risk of environmental mastitis.
Another main area of concern identified at
the advisory visit was the parlour routine. Jane
carried out teat scoring in the 24/48 swing
over parlour in which there are no ACR's.
Forty per cent of the cows had significant
teat-end damage, which was caused by
overmilking, because the single member of
staff was not able to remove all the clusters
when each cow had finished milking. David
explained that a second person now milks,
which allows more time per cow, which has
addressed the overmilking. It has also
enabled better teat preparation to be carried
out and has resulted in earlier identification
and treatment of mastitic cows. David has
also changed the method of teat spraying, as
some simple maths showed that the teat dip
was not being used at the recommended rate
of 15 ml/cow after each milking. Post-milking
teat dipping is an important procedure to
reduce the spread of contagious mastitis. The
new garden sprayer system makes it easier to
ensure good teat coverage.
With the rate of clinical mastitis running at 21
cases per 100 cows per year for the last seven
months, there are few mastitic cows. These are
now grouped separately and milked last.
Milk machine liners were being changed
every 6 months, but in this large herd they
were doing more than 6,000 milkings each.
Bacteria are more likely to stick to a worn
surface and spread from cow to cow, so the
liners are now changed every 2
1/2
months,
i.e. every 2,500 milkings.
David Eldred and Jane Anscombe
discuss cubicle shed environment.
David Eldred inspects the surface
of the woodchip corral.
Jane Anscombe and David Eldred discussing parlour maintenance.
AUTUMN 2011 ISSUE
LIVESTOCK MATTERS
12