| 27 nzdairy DAIRY PEOPLE » Chris & Desiree Giles grass and making quality baleage Waimumu Downs’ calves. BETTER BEET LTD Contact Erik 027 204 8019 • betterbeetltd@gmail.com Hoof-It Crushes Hoof Trimming Services Hoof Care Products Hoof Care Consultation Got questions? Call Stuart on 021 278 8278 or email SHOP ONLINE AT WWW.HOOFIT.NZ A new hoof trimming crush designed by certified cow hoof trimmer Stuart Rogers of HOOF-IT has some new and unique features which have previously been unavailable across the market, providing safe and efficient handling for the farmer and for cows of varying sizes. As well as providing an on-farm hoof trimming service, HOOF-IT had been importing European-made cattle crushes both for use in his business and to on-sell to farmers. Supply issues resulting from Covid affected the economics of this arrangement, but Stuart saw an opportunity to develop a crush and enhance its capability over the imports. “I have sourced the best pre-made headrail that I can find, and I ’ve designed a whole new front leg assembly system that promises comfort and security of the cow,” he says. “The design also provides greater access to the hoof to allow the farmer to identify any problems and get the job done quickly. I ’ve also inserted non-slip grid flooring instead of wood or steel under a ribber mat. This design allows effluent to drop straight through the floor.” While Stuart had to run two lines of European equipment to cater to the vast range in size of New Zealand cows, his new HOOF-IT crush is adjustable in size to allow farmers to easily contain small 400kg jerseys as well as big 800kg holsteins. The HOOF-IT crush is the first in New Zealand to offer this feature, and maybe the first in the world. “It is an incredibly farmer-friendly piece of equipment and with half-an-hour of training, it is easy for the farmer to operate.” Getting the job done well and quickly Stuart has been a professional hoof trimmer for 15 years, having trained in the UK with the National Association of Cattle Foot Trimmers (NACFT), an organisation that promotes the improvement of hoof care in cattle. Stuart takes pride in his profession and invests a great deal of time into continual study. He tries to attend international hoof care conferences to broaden his knowledge, and has recently spent time in Canada understanding other trim methods. He says regular hoof trimming is now becoming recognised as best practice in the dairy industry. “More farmers are doing it regularly, and they’re seeing all the advantages of trimmed hooves from an animal welfare point-of-view. We will see more and more New Zealand dairy farmers running their own crushes and more professional hoof trimming going on as domestic and international consumers become more interested in the entire milk production process and where their food is coming from. Around the world, consumers are demanding the highest standards of animal welfare.”
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