“Regular footbathing is crucially important where the control of digital dermatitis is concerned,” confirmed Provita’s Tommy Armstrong.
“As a company we are committed to devising new strategies that will help dairy farmers to both control and treat the problem.”
Provita run a Hoofsure HELP programme for farmers who are using Hoofsure Endurance on their farm. A fully trained member of Provita staff will arrange a visit, score the cows’ feet using our new app and design a unique footbathing and spot spraying plan for the farm. This recommended hoofcare programme is designed specifically for farms with regular reviews and assessments to monitor progress and return on investment.
These assessments can be done at regular agreed monthly, bi-monthly or quarterly intervals. The dairy farm client can then use this information to identify underperforming cows, repeat chronic cases and cows which can be classed as do not breed from. This service can also be used to monitor how individual cows respond to treatments and how the overall herd responds to a recommended footbathing plan.
Brian Rankin from Limavady milks 150 cows, and has seen great benefits since he has signed up for the Hoofsure HELP service. Provita’s Kieran Donnelly has visited the farm frequently over the past few months, and has scored the cows’ feet and arranged a unique footbathing plan for Brian’s farm.
‘I have seen a huge benefit from the visits Kieran has made to my farm. The cases of Digital Dermatitis have reduced a lot, intake is better and my cows overall are more content. In the current climate these checks carried out by Kieran, and the improvements seen on my farm have been the reason I have continued the footbathing protocol given to me,’ Brian explained
Tommy Armstrong recently visited a Co Tyrone farm, which has signed up for the Hoofsure HELP service. The farmer has seen a major improvement in a short space of time since he has been receiving visits from Provita.
‘We had been using Copper Sulphate, but we still had a huge problem with Digital Dermatitis. However since we started to use Hoofsure Endurance and have got checks through the Hoofsure HELP service our problem has really lowered. Since Tommy Armstrong made us a plan using Konquest, Hoofsure Endurance at a 5% footbath and a 25% Hoofsure Endurance spot spray, we have seen a big reduction in Digital Dermatitis very quickly.’
Tommy Armstrong noted that:
“Recent trials have confirmed that control and treatment of digital dermatitis can be achieved using a 5% Hoofsure Endurance footbath solution. This is considerably stronger than the recommended rate.
In this specific trial, carried out on the Co Tyrone farm, a reduction in herd Digital Dermatitis rates from 25% to 2% was achieved within a period of 6 weeks” (see the before and after images)
“But, significantly, the beneficial impact of this approach can be achieved when cows are footbathed on a regular basis.
However, the beneficial impact of Hoofsure Endurance, from a prevention point of view will be seen at a 1% or 2% dilution rate. Individual cows can be treated with Provita Hoofsure Konquest.”
Tommy Armstrong concluded:
“Research from DairyCo shows that lameness can be successfully reduced by up to 70% through effective footbathing, so it is beneficial to farmers to have a tailored protocol in place.”
For further information on the Hoofsure HELP service, call Tommy Armstrong on 07720101444.