New Healthy Udder Bolus is the perfect partner for robotic milking

Brian alongside his father David run a herd of 100 cows, milked through two Lely robots.

The second robot having only recently been installed is allowing Brian to increase his cow numbers further. Cows are housed all year round and three cuts of quality silage are made every year. Silage quality is paramount to the McClure’s philosophy of maintaining healthy efficient and productive cows averaging 10500lts.

Matrix Animal Health sales agent for Co.Antrim – Robert Shannon chatted to Brian this week to see how he was getting on with the Healthy Udder Boluses

“We were having quite a few problems keeping cases of clinical mastitis under control and had been using an awful lot of antibiotics with varying success. This lead to the financial implications of lots of wasted milk, as well as a constant fear of contaminating the milk. I have also been very concerned over the potential for antibiotics to get into the food chain and believe that farmers as food producers play a major role in the fight to combat this.

“I was talking to a friend who recommended I would try the ‘Healthy Udder Bolus’ from Matrix Animal Health as they were delighted with the results that they were getting.

“Since making the switch I have been more than impressed with the results. We use the conductivity data which we receive from the robots to highlight problem cows. The system is so simple - if a cow rises above the level that we are happy with, she gets the Healthy Udder Bolus and a couple of days later she will be back down again. We put a big emphasis on supporting freshly calved heifers through their 1st lactation, so we take absolutely no chances, if we see even the slightest spike in a quarter she gets bolused.

“The new protocol is working really well. Overall Somatic Cell counts are low, mastitis is under control. There is no milk withhold so all the milk we produce is sold, no second treatment and no constant worry about antibiotics ending up in the bulk tank. The boluses have drastically helped with what used to be a major cause for concern on our farm. An excellent product that saves us both time and money.”

Robert Shannon representing Matrix Animal Health added: “There is scientific evidence that the use of antibiotics needs to be reduced because more and more bacterial strains are developing resist genes. The ‘Healthy Udder Bolus’ offers dairy farmers a simple and cost effective way to do this. The different components of the bolus boast anti-viral, anti-fungal and anti-bacterial properties. The bolus also has antimicrobial activity against both gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria including some antibiotic resistant strains. Feedback from our customers has been extremely positive. Farmers are commenting that the ‘Healthy Udder Bolus’ has succeeded in significantly helping with clinical mastitis. We are also seeing fantastic results on farm with the boluses lowering SCC levels. Farmers are becoming more aware of their responsibility to reduce their reliance on antibiotics and this product helps them with that goal, with the extra benefit of more milk in the tank.”

For more information or to order, please contact your local Matrix Animal Health sales agent (see advert for details) or Tim Montgomery on 07803618754. Or order online www.matrixanimalhealth.com