NI farmer claims top award

Damian Gilmore, a dairy farmer based in Co. Down, has won the prestigious award for Best Udder & Foot Health at the TMS Awards ceremony held on Tuesday this week.
Damian GilmoreDamian Gilmore
Damian Gilmore

Dr Andrew Pine, Premier Nutrition’s Ruminant Division Director and one of the judges on the 2016 TMS panel, said: “As one of five nominees, Damian beat off the competition by being able to show a sound and practical udder and foot health strategy together with impressive TMS scores.

“With his nutritionist, Ronald Annett of McLarnon Feeds, Damian has used the monthly TMS report to ensure his dry cows and fresh calvers are closely monitored and this attention to detail has meant any affected animals have been quickly identified and treated.”

Ronald Annett added: “Damian knows every cow and is very proactive. We’ve worked closely using TMS and I’m delighted that Damian’s hard work is rewarded in this way, it’s a very well deserved win.”

Premier Nutrition’s Transition Management System (TMS) is a free monitoring service for dry and fresh cows to help ensure the correct nutrition and management is being provided through the crucial transition period.

Farmers who sign up – via their nutritionist – receive a monthly farm visit by a TMS Manager to assess the body condition score, lameness and hock hygiene scores of all dry and fresh cows and heifers.

This data is combined with the farm’s milk recording data to generate a farm TMS score and a monthly report is sent to both the farmer and nutritionist, showing whether cows are receiving the correct management and nutrition for a successful start into lactation.