07/04/08
NMR is adding a mobility monitoring option to its web based Herd
Companion system from April. This will be available to its customer
base – that includes 60% of UK dairy cows – free of
charge.
“We are aware of the growing need for simple yet effective
mobility monitoring systems on farm to ensure that measures taken
to reduce the prevalence of lameness are having the desired effect” says
NMR’s development manager Ben Bartlett.
“Producers using the Herd Companion system, either themselves
or through a third party such as their vet or adviser, can download
and print out a mobility scoring sheets with line numbers of
all their cows.
“The system then allows the scoring of cows in line with
the new national mobility scoring method developed by industry
organisations including the Tubney Foundation and the University
of Bristol.”
Using this standard approach, cows will be scored from zero (not
lame) to three (severely lame). Data is then entered via the
website by the farmer or a third party and is then displayed
in both tabular and graphical form through the Mobility Monitor
section on Herd Companion enabling trends to be followed at the
herd and individual cow level.
“The producer, herdsman or foot trimmer can use the system
to monitor mobility at whatever frequency is required to give
an up-to-date report on lameness,” adds Mr Bartlett.
Estimates put the cost of lameness to the UK dairy industry at £150
million a year or £100 a case. “To reduce this, and
minimise the incidence of lameness in the herd, producers should
consider a more routine mobility recording system.”
NMR’s new Mobility Monitor will be demonstrated at the
National Cattle Mobility Event being held at Harper Adams University
College on Sat 19 April.
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