News:
| Bug Busting Day for Academy Members |
 We know we’re on to a winner when we run a farm open day and over 50 people turn-up, including a high proportion of members who were attending an FM Academy meeting for the first time. That’s what happened in Ayrshire in mid March, when Area Manager Heather Wildman ran an event in conjunction with the MDC called ‘Bug Busting Day’. The event had a strong emphasis on milk hygiene and reducing cell counts and bactoscans. “Members recognise that occasionally their farms might be susceptible to issues and therefore improving your routine can both identify problems and save time in the long run. “Where once the bugs and high bactoscans would cause tangible signs of mastitis, farmers are reporting cows with high counts with none of the usual symptoms. The bugs are manifesting themselves differently,” explained Heather.” Speakers Kate Cross and Hugh Black from the MDC, plus local vet Ed Hewitt from the Armour vet practice and Brian Wilson from Fullwoodhead Dairy Supplies, covered all of the main areas that should be assessed, including parlour cleaning routine and calving and mastitis regime. “A lot of members said they had forgotten certain elements or were not doing all they could do on others,” said Heather. “They believed a small improvement in one or two areas would help and reminders on these proved very beneficial.” So successful was this meeting that Heather now has one planned for Campbeltown and First Milk Academy is looking to roll out the sessions across the country. “It was a great success, not least because it hit the nail on the head in terms of the issues covered. There were some good open, frank discussions, with some very good questions and the event was a success because of the input from those who went along, just as much as from the speakers involved,” she added. Tom Shearlaw, who farms at Craigenton Farm at Turnberry, endorses Heather’s view. He sent his cow girl Samantha Matthews for the day, and believes she got a lot of positives out of it. “Instead of listening to me about how important it is to keep hands or the udder clean, she heard it from someone else, and I think that had a bigger impact. I’m very positive about the day, and what she brought back to the farm.” Kate Cross, from the MDC was also delighted with the event: “We picked very topical subjects and dealt with them in very interactive, practical ways. Everything we talked about they could relate back to their farms, “ she added. |