Livestock Matters - Summer 2018

As reported in the last issue of Livestock Matters, St Boniface vet Tony Kemmish has won the award for Dairy Vet of the Year in the 2018 CREAM Awards. Here, he outlines his GROW philosophy for working with dairy clients, and how for Devon farmer Richard Daw this has underpinned the continuous improvement in his herd’s health, performance and profitability. GROW Dairy farming clients of St Boniface Veterinary Clinic in Crediton all benefit from working with their vet under a framework called GROW – Goals, Reality, Objectives and the Way forward. Tony explains: “As vets we need to understand our clients and their business aspirations. Different farms have different goals and priorities: understanding these is key to a successful farmer/vet partnership. From these, we can pull out some key objectives – these go into the Herd Health Plan which sets out the priorities and the targets - in writing. “Being realistic is important too: we all have to be frank about the current situation – the good and the bad. As for the way forward, we need to keep checking that we are making progress, and ensure both parties stay motivated and inspired. “I make no secret of the fact I want each partnership to be win:win. If the farm does well, then so will my own business. That’s a fact, and I don’t shy away from it.” Putting GROW into practice Tony has been working with Richard Daw and his pedigree Lapford Holstein herd at Clotworthy Farm near Crediton, for the past 10 years. The herd calves down all year with an autumn bias. During the main breeding period, Tony visits fortnightly to carry out routine fertility checks. Richard explains: “During the summer when the cows are out at grass, instead of AI, an Angus sweeper bull is run with them. So the calves being born from the end of February will be Angus cross not Holstein.” Richard admits that before Tony came, the farm had something of a fire-engine philosophy. But now through working with Tony and his GROW approach, Richard has seen herd yield increase by around 100,000 litres each year over the past decade. Some of this is due to herd number increasing from 180 to 250 cows. But significantly, changes in breeding policy have resulted in the calving interval shortening considerably – from around 490 days to 415 days. Richard explains: “We used to only serve cows once they were 100 days or more in milk. That way, our fertility rate was good and we didn’t use so many semen straws. But on Tony’s advice we are now serving cows from 40 days after calving. “Milk production per annum has gone up from 7,500 litres per cow to 8,500 litres.” Tony adds: “Instead of having two milk peaks in a 1000 days, there are now three, plus a third calving. “Consequently, there are more replacements coming through, and this gives Richard the flexibility to cull more cows, in particular for health and fertility reasons.” WORKING TOGETHER FOR A HEALTHIER FUTURE... 5 LIVESTOCK MATTERS HERD HEALTH Taking a team approach and GROWing the dairy business Veterinary surgeon Tony Kemmish XLVets practice St Boniface Veterinary Clinic Tony Kemmish, St Boniface Veterinary Clinic Significant improvements in fertility have boosted milk production per annum