Meet Pablo Ackermann, farm manager at Pahau Reserve in Culverden, North Canterbury, milking 500 cows. Over two seasons with Farm Medix, Pablo has built a mastitis management approach that pairs targeted testing with careful attention to detail in the shed.
The testing routine is consistent. Every clinical mastitis case is sampled, along with cows flagged through herd test results. “We sample them and check what is happening with them,” Pablo says. The results guide both the immediate response and the longer-term plan. “Farm Medix helps us choose the right treatment for the mastitis we have in the short term, and helps us take the right decision and strategy for those cows in the long term.”
Alongside the testing, Pablo has focused on the everyday practices that protect udder health. The team is careful not to overmilk, removing cups as soon as a cow is finished rather than relying on automatic cup removers. They work to keep manure from splashing onto the cows and to minimise water at the backing gate. “Little things to reduce SCC” as Pablo puts it.
Those little things add up. Pahau Reserve has cut its somatic cell count by 30% compared with the previous season, and now sits at around 70,000 across the 500-cow herd. That is an excellent result by any standard.
Support has been central to making the system work. “If we have any samples, we have the answer straight away, and they also advise how to deal with the bacteria after we have an issue,” Pablo says. He sees that access as essential for any farm doing on-farm testing. “It is really useful, because it gives you a guide on how to deal with the issues we have. You have someone with the expertise, dealing with that every day and knowing it better than us.”
Asked what it would be like without that support, Pablo's answer is direct: “It would be blindness".
Farm Medix is really useful, because it gives you a guide on how to deal with the issues you have.
Learn more about on-farm mastitis culture with Fresh Cow Dry Cow™, get a clear picture of your farm's hygiene issues with a Snapshot® bulk tank test, or get in touch to talk through what would work for your herd.
The data speaks for itself. Farm manager Pablo Ackermann and his team have driven a massive reduction in their monthly SCC data, proving what targeted management can achieve.
