Winter Fair topics
The most advanced cow monitoring technology on the market and the genomic test which not only predicts a heifer’s potential but also
her ability to reach it were topics which generated much discussion on the Zoetis stand at the Winter Fair.
The time demands which come with managing health and production in herds of increasing size, mean that farmers at the Fair were keen to discuss advances in precision livestock farming.
SMARTBOW®, the intelligent ear tag, can tell if an animal is eating, resting, on heat or ruminating as well as their real-time location in a shed. The system learns the individual cow’s behaviour patterns and notifies the farmer in real-time via their PC, tablet or smartphone.
CLARIFIDE® Plus, the genomic test for heifers created much discussion.
Farmers are familiar with standard genomic testing of heifers which predicts their potential, testing with CLARIFIDE Plus not only predicts their potential but also their ability to reach that potential.
For the first time, dairy farmers are able to select heifers based on their resilience against disease and will also have information on the likelihood of their calves developing scours and respiratory diseases.
Patrick MacFarlane, Zoetis emphasised “Having expanded their dairy herds, farmers are keen to be fully up to date with the technology required to maintain and improve animal health and efficient management of the herd.
“As such, innovations such as SMARTBOW and CLARIFIDE Plus attract a lot of interest and discussion.”
For further information Patrick MacFarlane can be contacted on 07802 596813