New expertise helps Welsh farmers enhance the well being and welfare of their livestock throughout calving and finally cut back the necessity to use antibiotics.
Trials of latest expertise and strategies are being undertaken on ‘Proof of Idea’ farms throughout Wales as a part of Arwain DGC (Defnydd Gwrthficrobaidd Cyfrifol / Accountable Antimicrobial Use), a Welsh programme designed to assist vets and farmers to deal with the unfold of antibiotic resistance in animals and the atmosphere in Wales.
Iwan Davies, who farms close to Cerrigydrudion in Conwy, operates an out of doors calving system in Might, which is usually pretty downside free. However, final yr, after introducing a brand new Charolais bull to his Luing herd, there have been some calving issues as a result of the calves have been massive, and because of this, seven c-sections needed to be carried out.
Nevertheless, the problems related to calving have been lowered because of using the bolus expertise Iwan has been trialling at Hafod y Maidd as an Arwain DGC Proof of Idea farm. Because of the calves being so massive, the cows weren’t exhibiting the standard indicators of calving, however the SmaXtec bolus – which sits within the rumen – acts as an ‘early warning system’. Iwan acquired an alert enabling him to evaluate the scenario sooner and call his vet, Joe Angell from Wern Vets, leading to a c-section and the calf’s secure supply.
Iwan mentioned:
“We additionally had a cow that confirmed no signal of calving, however intuition informed me one thing wasn’t proper. The SmaXtec knowledge additionally flagged her up, so I introduced her in and put her on my watch record. It turned out she had a twisted womb, and he or she’s high-quality now. It’s instinct and science working collectively; you can not depend on anybody factor, however mixed makes a distinction.”
“The bolus system doesn’t take the place of fine husbandry or administration, we’ve nonetheless acquired our eye on all the things, however something that may additional assist us – and assist cut back the necessity for antibiotics – is a plus.”
The SmaXtec bolus expertise probably saved the lives of seven calves and the farm from dropping cash – as, on the time, three-week-old continental-cross calves have been averaging £268, and their loss would have price the farm £1,876 instantly.
Though elevated antibiotic use was seen with the calving difficulties in comparison with non-problematic calvings, with assist from Joe Angell and the SmaXtec bolus expertise, the whole use of antibiotics was lowered within the beef herd from 8.6 mg/Kg in 2021 to 7.9 mg/Kg in 2022.
In the meantime, Gwynedd dairy farmer Vaughan Davies has been trialling pedometer tags to alert him earlier when a cow is starting to calve and to assist determine circumstances of mastitis – and so assist cut back the necessity for antibiotics.
The calving season at Nant Farm began on the finish of August, and he was assisted with the Tru-test Lively-ear tags by DataMars, which alerted Vaughan when a cow was starting to calve.
In line with DataMars, every warmth price, on common, £132.35, whereas every well being concern prices, on common, £239.40.
Vaughan mentioned:
“The tags have been working fairly properly by way of mastitis, and so they have picked up two or three circumstances I didn’t discover myself. So perhaps I’m utilizing fewer antibiotics as a result of I’ve injected the cows with an anti-inflammatory sooner. The system is new for me, so I’ve been a bit hesitant, however I’ll in all probability depend on the tags extra sooner or later.”
Through the use of the ear tag expertise and good observe, dairy farmer Vaughan has efficiently lowered antibiotic use in his herd from 6mg/kg in 2021 to 0.6mg/kg in 2022.
In addition to lowering prices, the tags save Vaughan time – and probably the lifetime of a calf. He mentioned:
“With the tags, I don’t have to observe the cows on a regular basis, and being alerted earlier to a calving or mastitis means I can take motion sooner and head off a possible downside.”
Eiry Williams, Arwain DGC Technical Officer mentioned:
“Calving is an important time for each farm, and it is essential for animal well being and welfare and financial viability. Trialling new expertise has proved to be efficient in delivering calves safely with much less probability of calf mortality – and the expertise additionally reduces the necessity for antibiotics.”
