| 19 nzdairy DAIRY PEOPLE » Fonterra’s Longburn Farms Ltd Izzi Panettiere and Eva Wooller who have been the main drivers in the team during the staph project. We focused on our priorities—improving efficiency and reclaiming time—and used these as markers to measure our success.” The first step of the new approach was identifying the mastitis pathogens causing issues. “Once we identified the root causes, we were able to create an action plan,” says Izzi Panettiere, the Thornton Park 2IC, who placed in the DairyNZ Practical Skills Award and Dairy Trainee 2024 Awards recently. “As a team we discussed the strategy, answered any questions from the team, and worked together to execute the plan.” “For us, that meant screening our herd for Staph. aureus and segregating positive cows by milking them last. Without collars, it sounded like a lot of work, but they reassured us it would be worthwhile. And it was!” And what was it that encouraged them? “We started seeing results, and that motivated us,” says Jake. “It was a real sense of achievement and very rewarding. Having more time was a huge motivation - time is money. The positive impacts on milk in the vat and animal health were significant. Achieving excellence and stewardship with anti biotic use made us feel successful. With the knowledge gained from understanding the pathogens causing mastitis, our team likes that we are in control.” And always proactive, the team at Longburn Farms focus on preventing mastitis. “We all wear gloves and undertake first milking procedures, which have really nailed our mastitis rates at calving. At that first milking, cows can be susceptible to mastitis as they transition. Whilst it takes a bit more time, the pay-off is well worth it.” Ferreira says. “Discovering that even heifers at calving could carry major pathogens like Staph. aureus led us to implement new biosecurity measures, including testing replacement cows entering the herd. This has resulted in strategic decision making, fewer treatments, no failed treatments, smoother handovers, and less hassle overall, without the work associated with clinical Proudly supporting the team at Fonterra’s Longburn Farms. For all your dairy livestock requirements contact Brownie: Phone: 027 271 4722 Email: sandfly1@xtra.co.nz Proud to support Fonterra’s Longburn Farms Proudly supporting Fonterra’s Longburn Farms Totally Vets is proud to support Jake Ferreira and Longburn Farms by providing animal health care and supplies. Awapuni 06 356 5011 Taumarunui 07 895 8899 Feilding 06 323 6161 admin@totallyvets.co.nz totallyvets.nz mastitis cases.” “Now, it’s just about maintaining our performance. We regularly test the few clinical cases we get on farm the Farm Medix system and use their bulk tank test Snapshot for surveillance to understand any issues,” says Izzi. “Done regularly, it’s a great management tool.” Jake adds, “The team is excited about what we’ve achieved. They all contributed to our success. They’ve even suggested we undertake a similar project for Johne’s disease - now they’re pushing us!”
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