Richard Stalker
Canterbury
Access to Infovet enabled Canterbury veterinarian Richard Stalker
to provide a targeted and effective mastitis
management programme for a client experiencing
major problems in their 800 cow herd.
This herd was experiencing a 74% rate of clinical
mastitis in mixed age cows. By utilizing infovet,
Richard was able to efficiently identify potential
problem areas for further investigation. A program
was implemented to address the key issues around
calving, spread during lactation and culling.
"Access to infovet meant I could identify the cause of
the problem quickly and keep a running view on how
effective the preventive regime was" says Richard.
"infovet also allows me to monitor herd health and
productivity trends and flags any potential issues as
they arise". Results on this farm revealed a massive
decline in mastitis compared to the previous season.
Mastitis during lactation was reduced by more than
50%, a total of 344 fewer cases.
Richard estimates the saving achieved from correcting these issues to be
worth in the order of $48,000 per annum to the farmer.
Richard has also used Infovet to analyse and help
improve herd health issues on other farms in the region. Mastitis analysis
and herd conception performance are two key areas infovet is proving
invaluable here.
"All those areas that relied on pieces of paper are being eliminated.
We look forward to being able to really get a handle on areas like
CIDR use, and how effective they were, and giving clients a true
conception rate figure."
"Our farmers are right into the data because they want the information
that the data delivers, they can see how it all fits to provide them with
more timely and usable recommendations. As veterinarians, infovet
creates an opportunity for us to work alongside and add much more value
to our clients operations".