Local vet Kieran O’Mahony opened the discussion about dairy farming and livestock farming in general, saying it is currently facing challenges on an unprecedented scale. Greenhouse gas emissions, antimicrobial resistance and Brexit are the topics on every agenda where farming is concerned.
While these issues are cause for concern, there are also opportunities in our midst.
Antimicrobial resistance is a real threat to the health and wellbeing of humans
The way we farm may be changing, but if these changes lead to increased efficiency, which they should, it will benefit not only the environment but farmers themselves.
Antimicrobial resistance is a real threat to the health and wellbeing of humans, but the traceability compliance we see in Ireland puts us in a strong position to gain the confidence of the market. Working together, farmers and their vets can ensure the safe and responsible use of antibiotics, whilst using vaccination prudently to reduce disease in the first place.
Padraig Finnan, Glen Vets and Ger Cusack, Comeragh Veterinary began discussions on how to reduce lameness in your herd. They told the assembled crowd that lameness is one of the most common causes of production loss on Irish dairy farms. The average lameness episode costs abround €300 when treatment, production loss, culling and reduced fertility are taken in to account.
The four main causes of lameness are:
White line disease.Sole ulcers.Foul in the foot.Mortellaro (Digital Dermatitis).As with all animal health issues, prevention is better than cure. Key prevention issues that can be addressed are as follows:
Adequate cubicle/feeding space.Adequate space in collecting yards.Hygiene of cow surfaces.Standard of footbathing (if required).Cow flow in and out of parlour.Kevin Meaney, Southview Veterinary and Brian Murphy, Killenaule Vets talked about reducing mastitis and SCC in your herd.
Mastitis control involves a lot of seemingly small details, each of which can be of vital importance when a problem emerges.
Brian and Kevin focused on two topics that are especially important at this time of year; decisions around dry cow therapy and how teat end damage impacts on the spread of mastitis, both at milking and in the dry period.
Selective dry cow therapy is becoming increasingly popular with farmers, processors and the consumer. Kevin talked about setting the right targets at herd SCC below 200k and individual cows under 100k.
He insisted that milk recording is a must and also advised to get your vet involved in drying off consultations through Animal health Ireland.
Outbreaks of mastitis and high SCC can frequently be attributed to teat end damage
Teat end damage is becoming increasingly prevalent at this time of year, as cows milk out more quickly.
Outbreaks of mastitis and high SCC can frequently be attributed to teat end damage, which opens the door to infection. Brian discussed the factors that contribute to teat end damage and how to address them, by examining teat ends for damage regularly.
Isabel Coen, Glen Vets and Donal Lynch, Tullamore talked about improving fertility and getting the basics right.
Fertility is one of the main drivers of profitability on dairy farms.
Making a plan of action with agreed targets and early intervention are key to having an efficient and successful breeding season.
Cows:
Heat detection starting from the month of April.Eligible cows are cows calved over 35 days and eligible for breeding. If not seen bulling they should be scanned.Identify potential problem cowsPre-breeding scan in late April to examine non-bullers and problem cows.Late calvers, once eligible, should be bred. Consider synchronization with hormones to tighten up calving interval.Heifers:
55%-60% of mature body weight at breeding.Breed early to ensure calving early. This leaves more time to recover post calving and helps maintain a tighter herd calving pattern.Bull:
Fertility test before start of the breeding season to make sure they are reproductively sound.Bull to cow/heifer ratio - How many bulls do you need?Have the exact date for when the bull is introduced/removed.Raising replacement heifers
Mike O’Meara, Gortlandroe Veterinary and Tom Julian O’Connor, Cashel gave tips for rearing replacement heifer calves.
The better a heifer calf is treated in her early life, the higher her potential as an adult animal.
Farmers are well educated on calf rearing systems and if these are successfully implemented, calves should avoid costly setbacks and easily achieve double their birth weight by weaning.
The aim for the dairy herd is to ensure there is minimal difference between the heaviest and lightest animals in the group.
Dividing heifers into groups by weight and feeding accordingly is vital to have a uniform group by mating time.
It will pay handsomely to weigh heifers at key times and take corrective action if needed to ensure that they hit the target of 60% of mature weight
Heifers tend to reach puberty at a certain percentage of mature body weight, somewhere between 42%-45%. There is no problem with calving heifers at 21 months of age if their weight target is achieved.
Therefore, it will pay handsomely to weigh heifers at key times and take corrective action if needed to ensure that they hit the target of 60% of mature weight on May 1 for spring calving herds.
Having achieved weight targets, all heifers should be cycling by the start of mating. Early and compact calving is key and will be helped by early turnout, appropriate timing of vaccinations and mineral supplementation where necessary. Heat detection aids and synchronization protocols are advised to maximize early season submission rate.
Steph Downer, Mulcair Veterinary and Donal Murphy, Sliabh Luachra Veterinary, Rathmore discussed reducing the financial impact of infectious diseases on your farm.
Infectious diseases are responsible for considerable losses on Irish farms every year, caused by a variety of organisms including bacteria, viruses and protozoans.
Good biosecurity on-farm can help reduce these losses.
Biosecurity has two components, bio-exclusion, where measures are taken to reduce the risk of disease agents coming on to your farm, and bio-containment, where measures are taken to deal with agents already on the farm.
Infectious diseases can affect cattle of all ages, from scour and pneumonia in calves, which are responsible for huge losses annually, to all the adult diseases in dairy cows.
It is important to have a herd health programme in place that monitors the presence of infectious agents.
It is essential to have a preventive programme in place
This can be done by blood tests, swab tests during a disease outbreak, and bulk milk testing, which can give an overall picture of the disease status of the herd.
The XLVets DairyMentor was discussed as one such comprehensive programme.
It is essential to have a preventive programme in place and vaccination is an essential component of this.
With the proposed reduction in availability of antibiotics in the near future, it is more important than ever to have a proper herd specific vaccination and herd health plan.
Local vet Kieran O’Mahony opened the discussion about dairy farming and livestock farming in general, saying it is currently facing challenges on an unprecedented scale. Greenhouse gas emissions, antimicrobial resistance and Brexit are the topics on every agenda where farming is concerned.
While these issues are cause for concern, there are also opportunities in our midst.
Antimicrobial resistance is a real threat to the health and wellbeing of humans
The way we farm may be changing, but if these changes lead to increased efficiency, which they should, it will benefit not only the environment but farmers themselves.
Antimicrobial resistance is a real threat to the health and wellbeing of humans, but the traceability compliance we see in Ireland puts us in a strong position to gain the confidence of the market. Working together, farmers and their vets can ensure the safe and responsible use of antibiotics, whilst using vaccination prudently to reduce disease in the first place.
Padraig Finnan, Glen Vets and Ger Cusack, Comeragh Veterinary began discussions on how to reduce lameness in your herd. They told the assembled crowd that lameness is one of the most common causes of production loss on Irish dairy farms. The average lameness episode costs abround €300 when treatment, production loss, culling and reduced fertility are taken in to account.
The four main causes of lameness are:
White line disease.Sole ulcers.Foul in the foot.Mortellaro (Digital Dermatitis).As with all animal health issues, prevention is better than cure. Key prevention issues that can be addressed are as follows:
Adequate cubicle/feeding space.Adequate space in collecting yards.Hygiene of cow surfaces.Standard of footbathing (if required).Cow flow in and out of parlour.Kevin Meaney, Southview Veterinary and Brian Murphy, Killenaule Vets talked about reducing mastitis and SCC in your herd.
Mastitis control involves a lot of seemingly small details, each of which can be of vital importance when a problem emerges.
Brian and Kevin focused on two topics that are especially important at this time of year; decisions around dry cow therapy and how teat end damage impacts on the spread of mastitis, both at milking and in the dry period.
Selective dry cow therapy is becoming increasingly popular with farmers, processors and the consumer. Kevin talked about setting the right targets at herd SCC below 200k and individual cows under 100k.
He insisted that milk recording is a must and also advised to get your vet involved in drying off consultations through Animal health Ireland.
Outbreaks of mastitis and high SCC can frequently be attributed to teat end damage
Teat end damage is becoming increasingly prevalent at this time of year, as cows milk out more quickly.
Outbreaks of mastitis and high SCC can frequently be attributed to teat end damage, which opens the door to infection. Brian discussed the factors that contribute to teat end damage and how to address them, by examining teat ends for damage regularly.
Isabel Coen, Glen Vets and Donal Lynch, Tullamore talked about improving fertility and getting the basics right.
Fertility is one of the main drivers of profitability on dairy farms.
Making a plan of action with agreed targets and early intervention are key to having an efficient and successful breeding season.
Cows:
Heat detection starting from the month of April.Eligible cows are cows calved over 35 days and eligible for breeding. If not seen bulling they should be scanned.Identify potential problem cowsPre-breeding scan in late April to examine non-bullers and problem cows.Late calvers, once eligible, should be bred. Consider synchronization with hormones to tighten up calving interval.Heifers:
55%-60% of mature body weight at breeding.Breed early to ensure calving early. This leaves more time to recover post calving and helps maintain a tighter herd calving pattern.Bull:
Fertility test before start of the breeding season to make sure they are reproductively sound.Bull to cow/heifer ratio - How many bulls do you need?Have the exact date for when the bull is introduced/removed.Raising replacement heifers
Mike O’Meara, Gortlandroe Veterinary and Tom Julian O’Connor, Cashel gave tips for rearing replacement heifer calves.
The better a heifer calf is treated in her early life, the higher her potential as an adult animal.
Farmers are well educated on calf rearing systems and if these are successfully implemented, calves should avoid costly setbacks and easily achieve double their birth weight by weaning.
The aim for the dairy herd is to ensure there is minimal difference between the heaviest and lightest animals in the group.
Dividing heifers into groups by weight and feeding accordingly is vital to have a uniform group by mating time.
It will pay handsomely to weigh heifers at key times and take corrective action if needed to ensure that they hit the target of 60% of mature weight
Heifers tend to reach puberty at a certain percentage of mature body weight, somewhere between 42%-45%. There is no problem with calving heifers at 21 months of age if their weight target is achieved.
Therefore, it will pay handsomely to weigh heifers at key times and take corrective action if needed to ensure that they hit the target of 60% of mature weight on May 1 for spring calving herds.
Having achieved weight targets, all heifers should be cycling by the start of mating. Early and compact calving is key and will be helped by early turnout, appropriate timing of vaccinations and mineral supplementation where necessary. Heat detection aids and synchronization protocols are advised to maximize early season submission rate.
Steph Downer, Mulcair Veterinary and Donal Murphy, Sliabh Luachra Veterinary, Rathmore discussed reducing the financial impact of infectious diseases on your farm.
Infectious diseases are responsible for considerable losses on Irish farms every year, caused by a variety of organisms including bacteria, viruses and protozoans.
Good biosecurity on-farm can help reduce these losses.
Biosecurity has two components, bio-exclusion, where measures are taken to reduce the risk of disease agents coming on to your farm, and bio-containment, where measures are taken to deal with agents already on the farm.
Infectious diseases can affect cattle of all ages, from scour and pneumonia in calves, which are responsible for huge losses annually, to all the adult diseases in dairy cows.
It is important to have a herd health programme in place that monitors the presence of infectious agents.
It is essential to have a preventive programme in place
This can be done by blood tests, swab tests during a disease outbreak, and bulk milk testing, which can give an overall picture of the disease status of the herd.
The XLVets DairyMentor was discussed as one such comprehensive programme.
It is essential to have a preventive programme in place and vaccination is an essential component of this.
With the proposed reduction in availability of antibiotics in the near future, it is more important than ever to have a proper herd specific vaccination and herd health plan.
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