Herd Navigation according to Rinse Wassenaar, Menaldum, the Netherlands
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20-May-2011
Blog post by Tove Asmussen 19-May 2011 - continuation from "How does the future look for the raw milk testing laboratories" Owns a dairy farm together with his brother Jurjen in
the North of Netherlands. The cows are milked 2 a day in a 2 x 14 Delaval
milking parlor where all installations are kept in a basement under the cows
being milked. The reason for becoming a reference farm for Herd
Navigator was an attractive offer when they built the new milking parlor 2
years ago. But today RW uses the solution extensively. All alerts are
considered and detailed information behind the curves reveals what goes on in
the cow. Herd Navigator to a large extend fulfils the needs and
together with fat and protein contents from the milk recording RW feels he has
the information he needs. During the two years they have had Herd Navigator
installed Rinse and Jurjen have grown their herd from 135 cows to 170 while the
yield has increased from 8000 to 8500 kg. They did not buy animals from
outside. Reproduction has improved significantly in the herd
over the two years. Calving interval decreased from 435 days to 390, and the
number of cows culled due to fertility problems is halved. Number of
inseminations per pregnancy has moved from 2.8 to 2.4, they want to reach 2.0! Even though the number of ketosis cases found by Herd
Navigator was limited, approximately 20 incidents per year, a dramatic effect
was seen when they started giving energy boluses to these cows. The yield
increased, and it was also seen that these cows starts cycling and improve
reproduction. Rinse agrees now with a colleague also having Herd Navigator,
that the loss of subclinical ketosis often reach up to 1000 kg milk! Even though most cows getting a mastitis alarm cure
themselves in Rinses herd he appreciates the information and would like to have
it available in the parlor. This would help him to take preventive measures.
They have 170 cows, mainly Holstein Frisian but also
some Canadian Brown Swiss. They grow grass and corn on 80 hectares (175 acres),
and feed grass and corn silage. During summer the cows are fed fresh grass in
the barn. Concentrate is offered in automates.
Major achievements with Herd Navigator:
Herd
Navigator has moved us from managing the entire herd to have main focus on
alert cows which need special focus.
Farming
with Herd Navigator give us the opportunity to grow the herd without getting extra
stress/work. We spend most time on alert cows. The total number of cows does
not really matter!
Herd
Navigator allows you to take preventive measures and thereby optimize outcome.
An example is that solving the (few) ketosis problems we had improved reproduction
for these cows at the same time.
Rinse Wassenaars main objectives as dairy farmer:
To be competitive in 2015 when the milk quotas disappear. To make a good living on a farm which is open for visitors.
Read more about Herd navigation according to Jørgen Clemmensens , Menaldum, the Netherlands here or read the entire article about Herd Navigation here