Preparing for a Relief Milker

In this episode of Anexa’s Podcast, In One Ear and Out the Udder, vets Emma Franklin and Travis Scott catch up to discuss what to consider when making decisions about a drenching plan for youngstock. From when to start drenching and how often to treat for parasites, to monitoring the success of a parasite control programme and taking steps to reduce the development of resistance, Emma and Travis discuss it all. 

In this episode of Anexa’s Podcast, In One Ear and Out the Udder, vets Emma Franklin and Travis Scott discuss why youngstock shouldn’t be forgotten when it comes to Trace Element testing and supplementation. They chat about supplementation options and how they should differ depending on the management system and whether they are needed for maintenance or to treat deficiency. They also talk about the importance of having a written youngstock plan alongside your grazing contract to ensure the owner, the grazier and the vet are all working together towards common goals to ensure heifers are in the best shape possible at calving to start a long, healthy productive life as a dairy cow. 

In this episode of Anexa’s Podcast, In One Ear and Out the Udder, vets Emma Franklin and Travis Scott chat about the need to regularly monitor and record weights of dairy calves and heifers. Travis explains why it is so important to reach weight targets for heifers’ future production and reproduction and tells Emma about new research that shows that weight gain pre-weaning is critical to an animal’s lifetime productivity.

In this episode of Anexa’s Podcast, In One Ear and Out the Udder, vet Emma Franklin talks to experienced technician and dairy farmer Kelly Goodare. They talk about why training heifers is a job well worth doing before calving starts and Kelly shares her tips for getting heifers used to different types of cowsheds. Emma talks about the benefits of Teat Sealing heifers and asks Kelly what the farmers can do, beforehand and on the day, to make sure this crucial job runs smoothly and is hassle free. Whether you have a herringbone shed, a rotary shed or are using Anexa’s Teat Sealing Trailer, you and your team won’t want to miss this episode.

In this episode of Anexa’s Podcast, In One Ear and Out the Udder, Emma chats with Hanneke Officer about the benefits of regularly body condition scoring (BCS) dairy cows. They compare mob scoring to individual cow condition scoring and discuss ways to use the extra information gained when every cow in the herd is condition scored, such as generating dry off lists based on each cow’s condition and predicted calving date.  If you haven’t had your whole herd condition scored before, listening to this episode will explain how easy the process can be and why now is the perfect time to incorporate condition scoring to help with management decisions for your herd that will provide positive returns now and into future seasons.

In this episode of Anexa’s Podcast, In One Ear and Out the Udder, vets Emma Franklin and Jemma Guyton chat about the important process of the Milk Quality Consult and discuss how farmers can get so much more from the consult than simply a prescription for Dry Cow Therapy. The vets consider when the best time is to do your milk quality consult so you can make a tailored approach to drying off your herd while examining milk quality outcomes across the whole season – celebrating wins and identifying any areas for improvement. Jemma explains how beneficial it is to include all staff on the farm in the milk quality consult process so having the whole team listen to this podcast episode is the first step to setting your herd up for success.

For more information talk to your vet or check out Anexa's Milk Quality resource page here https://anexa.co.nz/farm/dairy/milk-quality/

In this episode of Anexa’s Podcast, In One Ear and Out the Udder, vets Emma Franklin and Margaret Perry-Hallam present ‘Facial Eczema Myth Busters’. They discuss commonly held ideas and explain the truth behind some of the classic misconceptions about the disease – from making assumptions about frosts and heavy rain to the spore count levels needed to cause disease, from a calf’s capacity to repair their liver to knowing whether a grazier will be on top of facial eczema prevention. Don’t miss this episode to make sure all farm staff, including the boss, know the facts about facial eczema so you can be prepared for whatever 2022 brings your way and we can minimise the impact of this disease on your animals and your farming business.

For more information talk to your vet or check out Anexa's Facial Eczema resource page here https://anexa.co.nz/fe/

In this episode of Anexa’s Podcast, In One Ear and Out the Udder, vets Emma Franklin and Margaret Perry-Hallam present ‘Facial Eczema 101’. They give an overview of what causes facial eczema and explain when and how the sporidesmin toxin causes disease. They discuss prevention strategies including zinc supplementation as well as the importance of spore counting to know the specific risks on your farm. 

Emma and Margaret share some of their experiences of the disease on farms around the Waikato. 2021 was an unusual year for facial eczema, causing some farms to have major clinical outbreaks in early January yet farms were still seeing late-season cases into May. Listen to this podcast to make sure you are prepared and ready for whatever 2022 brings so we can minimise the impact of this disease on your animals and your farming business.

In this episode of Anexa’s Podcast, In One Ear and Out the Udder, vet Emma Franklin chats with Dairy Farmer and Operations Manager Sam Owen about some steps you can take to get prepared for relief staff milking your herd this summer. 

Sam talks through some of the systems they use on their farms to match and manage the expectations of the herd owner and the milker in order to minimise the risk of things going wrong when relief staff are on board. Emma and Sam also discuss what measures you can have in place just in case things don’t go well, as even the best laid plans might be tripped up by Murphy’s Law!

This podcast is a bit longer than our previous episodes, but we know how important it is for all staff to get time off the farm, so have a listen and make sure that your well-earned holiday is truly the break you deserve and doesn’t lead to any unnecessary stress for you, your cows or your relief milker!

In this episode, Emma Franklin chats with Emma Bullock (yes, both vets are called Emma!) about calf vaccinations, drenching and feeding meal to your calves after weaning off milk. They explain which diseases your calves might be vaccinated against, and when those vaccines should be given. They talk about the practical aspects of drenching calves for worms and a few pointers about why feeding meal is recommended. They sum up with the importance of managing stressful events in a calf’s life so your calves can thrive and reach their potential. 

For more information talk to your vet or check out Anexa's youngstock resources here https://anexa.co.nz/farm/dairy/young-stock/