Thursday, 27 June 2019 11:55

Tail care key to good stockmanship – DairyNZ

Written by  Katherine DeWitt, DairyNZ developer animal care and biosecurity

DairyNZ developer animal care and biosecurity, Katherine DeWitt on the new tail shortening laws and better options for tail management.

I've seen first-hand on farm how many farmers pride themselves on taking good care of their animals.

That is reinforced by the dairy sector’s commitment to animal care set out in the Dairy Tomorrow strategy. The goal? To be world leading in animal care.

Many farmers are working hard to achieve this goal. It attracted me from the US to be a part of the New Zealand dairy sector.

I’m impressed by how many farmers have made changes to improve animal welfare on farm, even before regulations came into force.

Take tail shortening, for example. From this October, removing the last two-three vertebrae of a cow’s tail will be prohibited. But a vet will still be allowed to shorten or dock a tail under local anaesthetic if it is damaged or diseased.

We know from our interactions with farmers that most of you stopped shortening tails long ago. This is great as it is painful for the cow, and extensive research shows it does not improve udder hygiene, or reduce mastitis and somatic cell count.

Better options for tail management

Good hygiene, stockmanship and vaccination programmes have been found to be a much more effective option.

A cow’s tail actually provides a range of benefits, including allowing her to swat away flies and communicate intentions and moods to herd mates and handlers.

Trimming a cow’s tail hair, or switch, is allowed under the new regulations. This is a good option to help maintain udder health and keep cows’ udders and milkers’ faces clean, while still allowing cows to deter flies.

Tails can be trimmed using hand shears, scissors or electric trimmers. 

It’s up to you and your farm team to decide what works best for your farm system.

Visit www.dairynz.co.nz/tail-management. Or to find out more about the new tail shortening regulations visit www.mpi.govt.nz 

Tomorrow's vision

New Zealand will be world leading in on farm animal care (one of the six commitments and goals in the sector strategy). 

This means the sector will:

Develop and implement a framework that ensures every animal is valued and treated with care and respect.

By 2023 have all farmers implementing and reporting under the framework.

For more about the strategy visit 

www.dairytomorrow.co.nz 

• Katherine DeWitt is DairyNZ developer animal care and biosecurity.

More like this

Owl Farm marks 10 years as NZ’s first demonstration dairy farm

In 2015, the signing of a joint venture between St Peter's School, Cambridge, and Lincoln University saw the start of an exciting new chapter for Owl Farm as the first demonstration dairy farm in the North Island. Ten years on, the joint venture is still going strong.

Featured

Editorial: Credit where it's due

OPINION: While farmers are busy and diligently doing their best to deal with unwanted gasses, the opponents of farming - namely the Greens and their mates - are busy polluting the atmosphere with tirades of hot air about what farmers supposedly aren't doing.

Farmers Lead Sustainability Push: Woodchip bioreactor cuts nitrate runoff in Manawatu

Claims that farmers are polluters of waterways and aquifers and 'don't care' still ring out from environmental groups and individuals. The phrase 'dirty dairying' continues to surface from time to time. But as reporter Peter Burke points out, quite the opposite is the case. He says, quietly and behind the scenes, farmers are embracing new ideas and technologies to make their farms sustainable, resilient, environmentally friendly and profitable.

National

Machinery & Products

» Latest Print Issues Online

Milking It

Fonterra vote

OPINION: Voting is underway for Fonterra’s divestment proposal, with shareholders deciding whether or not sell its consumer brands business.

Follow the police beat

OPINION: Politicians and Wellington bureaucrats should take a leaf out of the book of Canterbury District Police Commander Superintendent Tony Hill.

» Connect with Dairy News

» eNewsletter

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter