36 | nzdairy DAIRY PEOPLE » Barnan Dairy Tracing root cause of mastitis outbreak Sue Russell Darrell Wendelgelst and his parents Bart & Nancy converted their Waiwera South farm to dairy back in 1996. At that time, the dairying sector in the region was beginning to boom and Darrell says it just made good sense to make the move from a smaller 50ha dairy farm at Kaitangata and undertake the conversion. The farm at Waiwera South is 190ha, 175ha effective and carries a herd of 440 Holstein Friesian cows in a high input system. A 148-ha run-off is just 5km away and is used for growing supplements (grass silage and barley for silage). Calves and heifers and some beef cattle are also grazed on the run-off. The farm is gently rolling with heavy soil and can be dry at times through summer. The farm supplies Fonterra and milks all year with split calving commencing late July and March. Enabling all year milking requires some infrastructure and in the case at Barnan Dairy Farm, cows are housed comfortably inside through winter. “Our free stall barn can house up to 450 cows and they are all inside in winter regardless of whether they are in milk or not,” Darrell explains. When it is time for cows to calve they do so under cover in a loa ng area bedded in straw. The space can easily accommodate up to 200 cows and means that all calves get off to the very best of starts. Asked how kind the weather-gods having been through autumn Darrell says it’s been a challenging summer/autumn. “We have had a late autumn dry period though that has put some pressure on supplements”. The power-house for milk production is a 40-aside Rotary. Assisting on the farm, along with wife Julie are three other workers who have been with the couple for 1 ½ and 4 years. Asked what occupies his days Darrell says taking care of the young stock as well as managing the dairy farm keep him busy enough. Located smack-bang in between Dunedin and Invercargill Darrell says his connection to the land runs deep and he intends to stay where he is. The farming journey has thrown its fair share of challenges too, with mastitis in the herd caused by, Darrell says, a milking plant not geared up for the high volume of milk the ‘girls’ produce daily. This led to year’s endeavouring to nd ways to overcome it, given his plant supplier was not helpful. “I ended up getting advice as to what was really behind the outbreak in mastitis impacting most of the herd from two guys in North America.” “Undermilking cows and teat end damage provides the environment where mastitis can run rife. Vets identi ed these as major causes of the mastitis, but could not identify what was causing it! “It’s been hugely frustrating for me and I was disappointed that I couldn’t nd local help. It took six years before I got on to the guys in North America who could see straight away what the problem was.” What was disappointing, he says, is that the milk machine testing system didn’t pick up the issue, because the milking machine is only tested when it is dry and the problems were when the cows were milking. Darrell has gone as far as MPI to get the issue resolved but again, he says, has not had constructive feedback from them. This journey has shown Darrell that he’s got the ability to dig-deep and get through tough times, though he acknowledges there were some seasons where he felt like giving up. Fortunately, mastitis issues are working their way through and out of the herd, con rming to Darrell that the advice he did receive from the American engineers was spot-on. The couple have two sons, Ashley, 16 and Hayden, 14 years old. Historic issues impacting on cow fertility have also been a challenge. Tests identi ed that the herd was low in Iodine. “Turns out an iodine de ciency pre-mating can cause non-cycler cows and low conception. Once I got the right advice from the NZ Dairy Business Centre in Ashburton, this problem thankfully has turned a corner and heading in the right direction. “I ended up getting advice as to what was really behind the outbreak in mastitis impacting most of the herd from two guys in North America. Undermilking cows and teat end damage provides the environment where mastitis can run rife. Vets identi ed these as major causes of the mastitis, but could not identify what was causing it!” Julie and Darrell Wendelgelst. BOTTING BROS. LIMITED BALCLUTHA 6LODJH 3ORXJKLQJ 'LJJHU 7UXFN +LUH -$0(6 0$7+(: Find us on Facebook !" ! #! $ % & & '
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