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AUTUMN 2014 ISSUE
LIVESTOCK MATTERS
8
MI LK ING RECORDS
Veterinary Surgeon
Kate Brodie
XLVets Practice
Drove Veterinary
Hospital
KATE BRODIE,
DROVE VETERINARY HOSPITAL
Could you be making more
of your milk records?
And
making more money?
Dairy Early Warning
(DEW)
Club
There are a variety of ways in which different
vet practices analyse and use milk recording
data for the benefit of their clients.
At Drove Veterinary Hospital in Wiltshire,
dairy farmers can sign up to the DEW
(Dairy Early Warning) Club and receive a
very comprehensive monthly report which
runs to eight pages of graphs and figures.
These provide information to help steer
activities in three key areas; to reduce cell
counts, to reduce the number of mastitis cases
occurring per year, and to improve fertility by
better heat detection, as measured by the
inter-service interval.
The DEW report was devised by veterinary
consultant Peter May - who is affiliated to the
Drove practice - in collaboration with NMR.
The report compares a herd’s performance
against that of 500 NMR-milk recorded herds;
these are a carefully selected cross-section and
include the ‘best’ and ‘worst’ of herds, so
giving a true comparison against herds
nationally. The DEW report can be generated
using the data from whichever milk recording
service is employed on the farm.
Peter May explains: ‘The DEW report is
produced at the practice, and then taken
onto the farm by the vet, where it is used as
a basis for discussion with the farmer, and
at times, also the nutritionist - for a team
approach.’
Key Performance
Indicators
(KPI’s)
The first page of the DEW report gives an
overview of the herd on 29 selected aspects
of herd performance; these are the KPIs (key
performance indicators). A scale is used to
show both the 12-month and 3-month rolling
average for each KPI, with an arrow indicating
the change over time and the position in
comparison with the 500 NMR herds.
Further graphs follow which provide more
specific information on factors which influence
the specific KPIs. For instance, looking at the
protein intercept, fat:protein ratio and protein
yields in early lactation is helpful in identifying
energy issues that may impact on fertility - so
the report provides a nutritional early warning.
Investigations into controlling mastitis are aided
by graphs showing types of infection, and
high cell count cows are identified. Mobility
scores, where recorded, can also be shown.
Peter explains: ‘The graphs in the report flag
up health issues which the farm vet can then
discuss and investigate with their client.’
Additionally, members of the DEW Club
are invited to quarterly meetings which focus
on one of the KPIs, and look at how to
improve it. Each member’s herd is also
benchmarked against the rest of the Club -
with each farm assigned a codename (that
of a rugby club!) to protect anonymity. These
meetings are followed by visits to members’
farms to see how they have improved the
specific KPI, and often include talks given
by independent experts.
The Club is proving successful in helping
farmers to improve herd health. ‘Two years
ago when the Club first started, 58% of our
members had herds with cell counts which
put them in the worst half of herds nationally,’
explains Peter. ‘But now, through working
with their vets, and aided by the ability to
measure mastitis and check success of any
changes made, this has reduced to 36%.
As a group of herds, they have gone
from being worse than the national
average, to being markedly better, in just
two years.’
He adds: ‘For farms which are already
paying for a milk recording service, the DEW
Club is only another £10 per month. So it’s
a small cost for a report which can prove
invaluable in highlighting where improvements
in fertility and mastitis control are needed,
and tracking the progress which ultimately
will lead to lower vet bills and/or better
herd performance.’
Around 65% of UK dairy herds are milk-recorded. The data produced is not
only useful in monitoring production and milk quality, but can also be used to focus
discussion on a range of herd health issues; fertility, mastitis, poor nutrition. Armed
with a good knowledge of what is happening in the herd, vets, farmers and other
technical advisers can tailor plans for tackling the key issues on each farm, and
ultimately improve production, efficiency and herd profitability.