Data use improves heifer-rearing outcomes (March 25)

Smart technology has the potential to support youngstock health and productivity. We find out more about a data-based management tool.

TEXT EMMA WALLER

Close monitoring of heifer health is key to future herd performance. So, with staff under pressure on many dairy units, could embracing smart technology help to support more efficient and productive youngstock-rearing systems?

Yes, according to Vetoquinol’s Sara Etell, who says that harnessing technology and collecting key health data can help producers and their vets to monitor and benchmark performance both on farm and against other units.

“There are a number of challenges when managing youngstock, not least is that producers and their vets frequently discuss the main herd but not necessarily calves. This means that information on youngstock health and performance can be limited,” she says. This can also be exacerbated by a shortage of labour on many dairy units, resulting in producers taking a reactive, rather than a proactive, approach to herd management.

Key data

“This is where technology can help,” adds Ms Etell. Vetoquinol’s VetIMPRESS allows producers and their vet-led teams to input and access key data on farm, using a mobile phone or tablet, which means the health and productivity of specific animals can be closely monitored.

“Heifer data, such as birth weight, colostrum intake, vet spend, and vaccine status, can be collected and viewed, and this makes it easy to check how individuals are performing against the unit’s benchmark, and crucially, it can also help producers and vets identify any issues early that may restrict the calf’s ability to reach its full potential,” she says.

Ms Etell urges producers to ‘get in early’ and invest time and resources in recording key data, such as colostrum intake during the first few hours and days of life, daily liveweight gains. “These are factors that will impact performance and milk production down the line. The goal is to quickly grow heifer calves to the optimal weight and size for breeding, so they calve for the first time at 24 months old. And to then successfully move them into the main herd, healthy and milking well, so they are ‘paying for themselves’ as soon as possible. If they are sick, for example, they can fail to meet key milestones along the way.”

Early start: record data from birth weight through to age at first calving

Preventive action

Collecting and monitoring data can help producers take preventive action rather than reacting when there’s a disease issue. According to AHDB, more than 50% of calves on UK units suffer from disease, predominantly scours or pneumonia, before weaning. “Data provides producers and their vets with the information they need to have evidence-based discussions around disease-prevention strategies, such as vaccination,” says Ms Etell.

“Data also supports informed decision-making about treatment and ensures heifers are given the correct medicines at the optimal time. This offers heifer health and welfare benefits, as well as being more cost-effective for the dairy business.”

The data collection and monitoring tool also allows producers to view youngstock vet-spend reports, showing a breakdown of the costs of medicines used and vaccine protocols.

“If data shows that spending on antibiotics to treat pneumonia, for example, is high then this is flagged and triggers a discussion about whether there’s a better and more financially viable way to tackle the disease, such as implementing a vaccine protocol. Data helps producers make good decisions instead of firefighting, which often costs more in the longer term,” explains Ms Etell.

Another happy side effect of having access to data that makes health planning easier is closer collaboration  between producers and vets. Discussions about youngstock can become part of the routine vet visit, making every visit count.

The producer/vet relationship is strengthened because instead of making judgements about what could work when it comes to youngstock health management, decisions are data-driven and centred around optimising animal welfare and the productivity of the herd.

Bigger picture

“Data provides that all-important bigger picture, providing producers and vets with an overarching view of herd and business performance, as well as a detailed snapshot of the health and productivity of each animal.

“In an industry where producers are under unrelenting pressure from high production costs and low margins, not to mention increasing regulation around medicine use, sustainability, and animal welfare, smart technology and data-driven decisions represent a way to future-proof dairy businesses,” says Ms Etell.

“This is not about collecting data for the sake of it. It’s about understanding the data and knowing how to use it to make heifer rearing and business management more efficient, productive, and profitable,” she stresses.

For producers, being able to input youngstock data ‘on the go’ removes the need to go back to the office at the end of a long day and input data from their notebook into a spreadsheet. It also enables them to see exactly what their vet has done on farm so they can easily keep track of herd health.

“I was on a farm recently with a vet who uses VetIMPRESS. He was carrying out a calf health check and with the platform, and was able to enter everything he’d observed and tested for, right there and then. The producer was then able to access a report that gave them a detailed overview of each animal and also a wider view of what they may need to keep an eye on,” adds Ms Etell.