What's Up in the District - June 2018 No Images? Click here We're loyal, not just local.Latest NewsWinter Farmer Seminar District AwardsWe hope you all enjoyed the winter farmer dinner celebrations on Friday evening. Congratulations to the following winners: North Canterbury Vets Milk Quality Awards 3rd Equal = 107,000 scc/ml 2nd = 97,000 scc/ml 1st = 81,000 scc/ml Excellence in Dairy Reproduction Awards 3rd Equal = 75% 2nd = 79% 1st = 89% Cow Condition Scoring - General TrendsRecent Final Herd BCS scorings are tending to show herds have pulled up Average BCS from March/April levels by 0.2 - 0.3 of a final score to be getting closer to BCS 4.4 - 4.5 as an AVERAGE of the herd. R3’s (i.e 1st calvers in the herd) have overall been disappointing, many are at the same BCS as MA cows or in some herds even below this. This will have an impact on Repro and Production of this age group next season. Try looking at some preferential wintering for this group if they are behind. Many of you are planning a Mid-Late June Mob BCS scoring to monitor winter feeding, if interested please call us. Finally R2 heifers need to be at least at 5.5 BCS score pre-calving, have you had them scored as well as weighed? Lameness Issues: Last 2 MonthsMany tracks are falling apart and there are more cases of sole penetration over the past month necessitating the removal of the sole. Some farmers that put lime on their tracks saw the benefit of this. However depending on how the lime was applied, this benefit either lasted most of the season or only a few months. Different types of lime. Softer, like chalk, the better. Hard lime actually looked like sea sand and didn’t bond. Needs some form of mechanical compaction. There is also still a lot of overuse of backing gates, resulting in white line disease this is still far and away the most common form of lameness currently seen. Mycoplasma bovis RemindersYou will have all seen the announcement recently about the Government plan for eradication going forward. There are multiple websites with full information on Mycoplasma bovis infection/disease/controls etc - see links below. Please call us if you have any extra queries around the disease. Here are a few quick Biosecurity tips which I am sure you are all aware of: Secure your Boundary fences MPI Biosecurity number = 0800 80 99 66 Please call us if you are unsure or concerned about stock contacts or stock movements or suspect disease symptoms around or on your farm. Future Meetings - Keep these dates free1. Calf Rearer Discussion Group here at clinic on Wednesday 18th July at 10.00am - this will include common calf rearing problems, colostrum management and feeding the very young calf, hygiene & biosecurity, essentials on feeding calves. 2. Our popular annual Pre spring Staff Calving training will be as usual in the 2nd week of July – we will advise you of the date and time next month. New Welfare Regulations around Tail DockingA number of changes to animal welfare legislation will come into force in Spring 2018 including: - a complete ban on the routine shortening of tails. This includes removing the last two vertebrae which until now has been permissible. We are urging clients to be aware of these changes. Feel free to contact us if there are any issues you need advice on. In Short...Rotavec Corona Vaccine for Rotavirus Calf scour protection Copper levels in R2 heifers Nitrate levels - Outbreak of Abortions Phosphorus supplements - DCP or MCP on silages Many products on the market are not all equal and do vary in Phosphorus content, so check these levels carefully to assess value. Give us a call to discuss because diet will be important in your phosphorus requirement planning as well as any previous supplements given in the Autumn and the length of time on Beet in winter. Staff News We have Sam Irani, an experienced Dairy Vet from Southland starting with us on 18th June to add to the Team. We have two experienced Teat sealing/Dry cow teams on the go at present, with a couple of new faces. Please introduce yourself if they on farm with you!
As always, any queries just keep in touch with us. From the Vet and Tech Team - Trish, Alistair, John, Rob, Ian, Ana, Keira, Mara, Sarah W, Zena, Catherine S, Sarah McP, Martina, Jamie. We're loyal, not just local.www.ncvets.co.nz | enquiries@ncvets.co.nz Amberley 1 Osborne Rd Cheviot 14 Hall St Culverden 26 Mouse Point Rd Waikari 16 Karaka Road |