Bryan Holmes - Waikato

Bryan Holmes runs 700 cows on 205-hectares at Matamata in partnership with his parents. They first conducted a Farm Medix Snapshot® bulk milk analysis to help understand the root cause of the elevated SCC they were experiencing.

The test revealed the presence of coagulase-negative staphylococci (CNS) in the herd. CNS are part of normal skin flora, however they can invade the teat canal and cause the cow to have an immune response, resulting in elevated SCC levels. While extremely common in New Zealand, CNS are hard to detect because cases are often subclinical.

When teats are chapped or damaged, the skin produces cracks and crevices that allow mastitis-causing pathogens to inhabit the teat skin.

Learning more about how healthy teats will limit the opportunity for CNS to thrive on teats, Bryan reviewed his teat spray systems and processes.

Bryan says it ultimately came down to ensuring all four staff were consistently using the correct mix ratios. He knew they weren’t going to achieve that manually or with his existing system, so he was introduced to FIL’s Intelliblend automatic teat spray mixing and delivery system.

The Intelliblend automatically draws teat spray and emollient straight from the drum and accurately mixes it at set ratios of concentrate to water.

“As soon as I knew more, the Intelliblend was a no-brainer,” says Bryan. “100% accuracy. It’s the best thing I’ve seen in terms of teat spray mixing systems.”

Plus, the transition was easy for all staff. “You’re only a button press away from changing the ratio, so it’s pretty simple and it’s fast. We have no time tied up with teat spray. All we have to do is replace the drums.”

Bryan has also found the alarm on the Intelliblend useful. “We know when that alarm comes on, we’ve got a couple of days before we run out [of teat spray], which gives us enough time to get another drum under way. It means we are never running out of teat spray now.”

“In terms of product usage, we are using exactly what we are supposed to be using. I have confidence in the unit - every time is 100% and that’s a good figure!”

At the time, Bryan also decided to make the switch to FIL products. He’s now been using FIL’s Iodoshield Active and Active Teat Conditioner through the Intelliblend for two seasons.

“I was looking for some better information and guidance around teat spray. It was time to try something new”, says Bryan. “Ever since we installed the Intelliblend, the mix ratios have been correct and our cows’ teats haven’t looked better.”

With a previous somatic cell count of 250,000, the farm is now sitting under 150,000. And with a significant improvement in the herd’s teat condition, Bryan has also seen a reduction in mastitis cases.

“I feel like we have crossed a bridge in terms of mastitis control. We have had two cases of mastitis in the last two months [June and July 2023].”

To keep on top of his progress and mastitis control, Bryan uses the Farm Medix Check Up® test kit. Check Up is an individual cow analysis, allowing famers to perform lab-quality testing on farm.

“We culture all our milk samples on farm, which has really allowed us to dial in on the bacteria and it gives us an indication on how bad it is. When we are finding mastitis straight away, we can see what strain it is and deal with it accordingly.”

Moving forward, Bryan has a positive outlook for the future of the farm with a current goal to keep the cell count below 150,000.

“We’re in a good space right now and I am hopeful that with the teat condition and teat spray we will be able to keep on top of mastitis,” concludes Bryan.