The annual health review - a golden opportunity
Planning ahead is something few of us do particularly well. Some even believe planning is a waste since we cannot forecast the unpredicted big change event. While it's easy to blame the weather or the government for our ‘bad luck', there are others out there succeeding as we mumble about those lucky !@#$%^&*.
The impending hit many farmers may suffer when this year's provisional tax coincides with a high terminal tax demand due to reduced provisional tax earlier last year is not a black swan event. It is an entirely predictable and hopefully well managed event. Planning for and reviewing optimal animal performance and profitability is as important to success as the actual doing.
The necessity to comply with the legalities imposed on both vets and farmers for an annual authorisation of restricted veterinary medicines is accepted by most. Use this opportunity to ask about the things that concern you.
Ask your vet to help identify factors that may be influencing milk quality. If you have signed up to Infovet, we can give you an estimated incidence of clinical mastitis as well as interpret your bulk tank somatic cell counts. Numerous other benefits of high-quality milk are listed in Anita's article on page 5.
Reproductive performance kicks off next season's production. Your Focus on Fertility Report (FFR) is a great way to identify areas for improvement. Your herd's overall performance is measured by the 6-week in-calf rate and empty rate. The drivers of this performance, submission rate and conception rate, plus key indicators to areas for improvement, against InCalf achievable targets for New Zealand are all there on the FFR. We can explain the FFR and offer a pathway to improvement.
The annual animal health review is a golden opportunity to discuss one-on-one numerous animal health issues. This includes the significance of your Bulk Milk BVD results, clarifying vaccination schedules, achieving heifer replacement targets, how to find out why you have so many lame cows, and the list goes on.
