How NMR can help with herd health and productivity
Through monitoring individual cow performance, better decisions can be made relating to breeding, feeding and health leading to improved commercial performance and environmental sustainability.
NMR prides itself on providing valuable data insights for the farmer, as well as accommodating data sharing with vets and consultants when this is requested by the farmer.
They spoke to two customers to find out their view of milk recording with NMR:
Rapid access to figures helps to tackle mastitis cases promptly
The McCarthy family milks 400 Holsteins near Strangford Lough.
“These days our milk buyer is looking for an increase in total solids in the milk we supply,” says Donal McCarthy, who runs the farm with his brother Ryan.
He adds: “To achieve this, we rely on milk recording to allow frequent checks on fat and protein yields across our herd. We use Herd Companion to check the data to ensure we are also maintaining milk yields at the same time.”
Donal also mentioned that having rapid access to individual cow SCC figures helps to tackle mastitis cases promptly, before they have a major impact on cow welfare and milk output.
For us, milk recording is a key service that has become a fundamental management aid for our herd.
Award-winning herd controls Johne’s through regular testing
Mark Bristow’s herd of 65 Fleckvieh cows at Rasharkin has previously won the Lakeland Dairies Milk Quality Award.
He says: “Managing my cows’ milk quality by milk recording with NMR helps me to maximise the benefits of my milk contract.
“I regularly use the NMR pregnancy testing service in my milk samples. This gives me a very convenient way to re-check around 90 days to confirm my cows are in calf, as my vets scan around 35 days after service.”
He adds: “I have used NMR’s HerdWise service to help me control Johne’s in my herd and found the regular testing was essential to improve herd health and efficiency.”
Interested?
If you’re interested in finding a more efficient and effective method of managing your herd, please contact NMR’s friendly customer support team on 03330 043043 or email [email protected].
For more details visit the website or visit NMR at Stand 78 at the Royal Ulster Winter Fair on December 12.