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WORKING
ToGEThER
FOR A HEALTHIER FUTURE...
5
LIVESTOCK MATTERS
Veterinary surgeon
James Marsden
XLVets practice
Shropshire Farm Vets
DA I RY EF F I C I ENC I ES
Farming at Drenewydd Farm near Oswestry,
John runs a 330-cow herd, which is grazed
from the start of March, before being
completely housed by 20 November.
John also wanted a change of veterinary
practice, one that could provide a different
approach. He knew he needed a better
system to help with herd management,
particularly fertility.
John explains: “I wanted to reduce the
calving interval and increase the pregnancy
rate. Herd fertility was variable but I didn’t
know why.”
So in late 2013, he moved over to using the
services of Shropshire Farm Vets. Since then
herd fertility has improved, and more milk is
being produced per year, despite adding
Jersey genetics into the Holstein herd.
Shropshire Farm Vets’ James Marsden
explains: ‘Fertility is a key driver of
profitability on dairy farms.
‘John’s herd was already performing well,
with a pregnancy rate of 20%. But there
was scope to improve the submission rate
of 50%.‘
John was prepared to look at as many
different areas as needed to get the herd’s
performance to the level of efficiency he
wanted, as quickly as possible. So the vets
have adopted a holistic approach to the
challenge, and looked at nutrition and
breeding, as well as instigating a series of
management protocols for consistency.
James Marsden BVSc DBR MRCVS,
Shropshire Farm Vets
Dairy unit efficiency improves
further with holistic approach
Three years ago, Shropshire dairy farmer John Wigley realised that
despite some good performance figures, there was scope to further
improve his herd’s fertility and the efficiency of his unit.
James Marsden (left) with his vet colleague, Sean Hughes.
John Wigley runs a 330-cow herd in Shropshire