“With the increased scrutiny on our dairy sector to prove our farmers are operating sustainability,” WelFarm Ltd general manager Samantha Tennent says.
“And to continue our access to export markets, it is even more important we have the evidence that we are looking after our animals to a high standard.”
Tennent, who has a background in veterinary technology and has worked in the dairy sector across a variety of roles, recently as an animal developer for DairyNZ managing the InCalf programme, says that without these figures, farmers are in the dark about their performance, particularly when it comes to animal health and welfare.
“One tool we have available to collate herd wellbeing data and give us that benchmarking is the WelFarm programme,” she says.
WelFarm is an assurance programme developed by XLVets and has been used on-farm since 2014. It is available to all farmers and veterinarians and utilises data collected throughout the season to benchmark farms nationally and regionally. This helps identify areas where farm productivity and animal wellness could be optimised through effecting change.
It also supports farmers making improvements towards goals, tracks those activities and shows them whether their efforts are succeeding.
“We know small shifts in in-calf rates, reducing somatic cell counts, reducing mastitis and increasing milksolids all have significant impact on performance and profitability. And how we use antibiotics and other drugs is continually under the microscope,” she says.
“WelFarm helps farmers understand what good looks like.
“Animal health is also a big cost on-farm and good herd health is crucial to optimise performance.”
Greg Lindsay, of Franklin Vets, has been using the programme with farmers for several seasons.
“Through the reporting at the end of the season I was able to have a valuable discussion with one farmer on how they were using lower levels of antibiotics, which was great, but they were also using significantly fewer anti-inflammatories than others in the area,” Lindsay says.
“And, since anti-inflammatories are useful tools to manage pain it gave us the opportunity to talk about how they can be used on-farm to support animals, which can improve performance outcomes and animal welfare. They started using it for more procedures after that conversation.
“I think that’s a great win. I had the evidence to show them where they sat and they were receptive to discussing ideas. Farmers regularly come to us for advice and WelFarm reporting provides a great pathway to develop plans towards their goals.”
Tennent encourages farmers to discuss with their vets whether they are already offering the programme and vets to get in touch if they want more information and support to implement it in their clinic.
“It’s a great initiative and the only one of its kind in New Zealand. Without the data and benchmarking we don’t know what good actually looks like and whether our efforts to improve are having an effect,” she says.
WelFarm provides that platform and assurance across the sector and to the consumer with regard to food safety, animal health and wellbeing.”
