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AR LA AWARD WINNER
JOHN CAMMACK
The transition period is an important factor impacting
on fertility. The way Adam manages cows through the
transition period reduces the extent of the post calving
energy dip and gets the cows off to a flying start in
their lactation...
A new shed was constructed in
2007 to house a herringbone
milking parlour, 90 cubicles, and
a large straw yard which can be
divided into pens.
When cows are three weeks away from
calving they are brought into one of the straw
pen areas and put onto a DCAB diet. Once
calved they are moved into an adjacent pen,
still in the same building and still on straw, not
cubicles, for a further two weeks. They then
go straight onto the milking cow ration.
John explains: ‘The transition period is an
important factor impacting on fertility. This
system is designed to minimise change
and stress and enable their post-calving
performance to be monitored. The way Adam
manages cows through the transition period
reduces the extent of the post calving energy
dip and gets cows off to a flying start in
their lactation.There are minimal metabolic
problems in the fresh calved cows with no
LDAs in the past three years and few post
calving infections.
This new shed is used to house the high
yielders, but once they are in-calf and giving
less than 30 litres they are moved into an
older, refurbished cubicle shed. John helped
Adam apply for funding to update this existing
building through the RDPE Farm Health Capital
Grant scheme. Inside the shed, a row of
cubicles was removed to allow wider
passageways and longer and wider cubicles
beds to be installed. Cow mattresses were
added for comfort.
In both sheds, following a FarmSkills Cow
Signals training course held on the farm and
run by John, a qualified Cow Signals trainer,
Adam has replaced some of the conventional
troughs with tipover troughs. This is to make it
easier to keep the drinking water clean and
palatable. Adjustments to the cubicle set up
were also made following the workshop.
Housing
Johne’s disease
In expanding the herd, 50 animals were
bought-in from abroad. Adam and John took
the approach that this created a high risk for
bringing infectious diseases into the herd, and
so adopted a blanket vaccination strategy for
IBR, BVD and leptospirosis.
For Johne’s disease, a different approach has
been taken - milk samples from individual
cows were analysed to test for presence of
the disease. Johne’s disease was found in four
cows and each has been given a red ear
tag. This allows their health and body
condition to be monitored more easily and
makes sure they are managed correctly
at calving. Other strategies in place for
Johne’s-positive cows: they are only bred to
a beef bull; they are calved in an isolation
box; and their calves are taken at birth
and fed colostrum from a Johne’s-free cow.
The whole herd is now tested quarterly for
Johne’s disease.
Lameness
Lameness has been another area of
improvement. A foot-trimmer visits monthly to
trim cows’ feet as they are dried off. Cows
are mobility scored in advance of his arrival
and so he can also look at any other animals
identified with a problem. In-between times,
Adam does any fire-brigade work himself.
Cows go through a formalin-based footbath
five nights per week.
Mastitis control
Now that good fertility has been achieved
and is being maintained, the next priority
is reducing mastitis and lowering cell counts.
These currently range from 150,000 -
170,000 SCC/ml Adam uses the Clover
Cell Check service and it has highlighted
the dry period as an area on which
to focus.
Glenthorne’s vet Alex Sindrey has been
working with Adam to apply the DairyCo
Mastitis Control Plan. Adam explains: ‘This
identified that better hygiene is needed in
the straw yards, and the stocking rate
needed reducing.’
WINTER 2011 ISSUE
LIVESTOCK MATTERS
8