Livestock Matters - Spring 2018

SPRING 18 ISSUE LIVESTOCK MATTERS 10 DA I RY START- UP Jimmy adds: “I don’t like to source from anywhere with a TB history, so I’m buying in from just a few farms in North Wales. I’m asking what their vaccination policies are, and then adapting mine. The 50 in-calf heifers I bought had already been vaccinated for lepto and BVD, so all we needed to do was give them IBR and Salmonella protection on arrival.” Venereal disease risks With no need for home-bred replacements, all cows that come bulling in the first six weeks of the breeding season are AI-ed. After which, any still to conceive are run with sweeper bulls. Mike warns: “Bulls can also be a source of Venereal Diseases (VD) such as Campylobacter and Trichomonas. This is especially a risk for farms which hire in bulls. “Signs of VD in cows are irregular returns to heat because they hold and then lose a calf, followed by endometritis - characterised by vaginal discharge. “Ideally, farms should only hire or buy-in virgin bulls. If this is not possible, then as well as the usual quarantine procedure, bulls should be thoroughly sheath-washed with antibiotic to clear up any VD infection. However, the Campylobacter bacterium can be difficult to remove completely, as it gets into the crypts in the prepuce.” “Jimmy is buying heifers which are in-calf. If they have been AI-ed then there is no risk of VD. But if they were inseminated by a bull and it had a VD infection, then they will have been infected too. If their next conception is achieved using a sweeper bull, then the infection will start to spread through the herd. “So, Jimmy needs to always buy in virgin bulls, and heifers which are pregnant by AI.” Investments in infrastructure 2017 was a busy year, with a number of major investments and conversions made. Cow tracks were laid across the whole farm, along with more water troughs and water pipe! Jimmy invested in a water system which doses liquid minerals into the water, assuring cattle receive their needs of selenium, iodine and magnesium. Jimmy explains: “I’ll do a mineral ‘budget’ for the year, so that at critical periods - through calving and early in the season when they are being served - cows are receiving their requirement.” Mike adds: “Magnesium is added into the water in the spring when cows are prone to staggers, and also at calving to prevent milk fevers. And in summer when clover is plentiful, and cows are at risk of developing frothy bloat, a surfactant can be added which breaks down the gassy bubbles.” Jimmy adds: “Ultimately, I don’t think this will save money, but it gives me peace of mind, and I can feed parlour cake with no minerals in it. It’s less hassle than administering boluses, and if it’s a wet day for instance, the system adds more minerals into the water.” In June last year, Jimmy installed a bigger parlour - a 24/48 with a circular backing gate, and a dirty water irrigation system. He reseeded 80 acres of grassland, added 300ft of extra feed space and converted a loose yard into a new cubicle shed. “Originally the farm had 180 cubicles but we’ve now got 340. The latest lot, were bought second-hand and I’ve deliberately installed them upside down! Because the cows are small, this helps them lie straight in them. The kerb is also built higher to prevent the scraper washing slurry onto the beds at the end of its run.” Next steps At 360 milking cows, the herd is now a ‘nice’ number, according to Jimmy: “They all fit into the collecting yard, and it’s a manageable number for two full-time people. The only reason I would expand is if more ground became available. But then if we went any bigger, the cow tracks wouldn’t be wide enough.” So 2018 is going to be a year of consolidation for Jimmy: “Lameness - specifically white line disease - has been an issue and we are going to re-do some of the cow tracks. Limestone dust will be used now, as concrete sleepers have become too expensive.” “I was disappointed with the herd’s fertility last year, although there were a number of reasons for that. But I want to improve it going forward. “One of the factors was the old 24/24 parlour: it took four hours to milk the herd, so cows weren’t eating for eight hours each day. “Although the new parlour has halved the milking time, we moved the cows over to it in the fourth week of the breeding period when we were extra busy. Also, that June the weather was very dry and not enough water was getting to the troughs, milk yields also went down. With all that going on, my herdsman and I missed seeing some heats. “This year, we will be feeding a set amount of cake in the parlour - I’m allocating 800kg per cow, plus we buffer feed with maize and grass silages on the shoulders of the season. “We are going to use tail paint, and then outsource AI for the first six weeks of the breeding season. This will allow us to focus more on heat detection. “After calving, we always test every cow to check there is no endometritis. Mike, or one of his FVS colleagues then makes a pre-mating visit to treat any non-cycling or dirty cows. “Last year, these routine fertility visits were made every three weeks during the breeding season,” says Jimmy. “But this year we’ll have them every two weeks. Plus I am asking Mike to get some tests done on the quality of the semen in the straws, and also carry out bull breeding evaluations on my six Hereford sweeper bulls.” Mike explains: “In a block-calving herd, conception rates are absolutely critical so that cows get back in-calf to fit the block. Good health is essential. Jimmy is covering all bases with his forward-thinking on vaccination, nutrition, and his new focus on the many factors which affect breeding success.” Jimmy adds: “I want to keep everything simple, but also keep everything covered.” Cubicles were installed upside-down - deliberately! Mike has recommended that Jimmy only buy virgin sweeper bulls to avoid risk of bringing in venereal diseases.