8 Sep 2019
Since 2016 the team at Stowell Farms in Wiltshire has adopted a multi-pronged approach to improving herd health. The strategy has ultimately led to better performance, less disease and reduced antibiotic use.
Herd manager Bryn Moore has been leading the charge, aided by vet Paddy Gordon of Shepton Vets. Their efforts have paid off, with mastitis down by more than half and lameness by two-thirds.
This has facilitated a 50% drop in antibiotic use and a 0.5p/l reduction in vet med spend. Fresh cow health and fertility have also improved.
Better health, coupled with improved genetics and moving to three-times-a-day milking, has also aided a yield increase of 1,750kg a cow a year.