Peter Bellamy - Waikato

Bellevue Farms: Capturing all of the detail during mating

Dairy farmer Peter Bellamy milks 900 cows in Te Poi with his son Simon, and three other staff. When it comes to heat detection, he sees FIL Detail water-based tail paint as a reliable part of his toolbox.

Peter has used tail paint ever since word got out that tail painting aided in heat detection and recalls those early days decades ago when they would raid leftover paints from the farm, including house paints before purpose-designed products by FIL were available on the market. As soon as Detail water-based tail paint launched, Peter made the switch from oil-based tail paint. “It’s easier to clean up, easier on the hands and more user-friendly in general. And you don’t end up with paint everywhere like you do with oil-based tail paints” Peter says.

Always there to offer valuable product advice, the local FIL Area Manager Greg Duncan had highlighted the environmental benefits of using water-based tail paint. “This aligns with the broader environmental view we are taking now and being aware of the downstream consequences”.

The tail painting process begins on Peter’s farm in September by applying Detail to detect any pre-mating heats and continues through the entire mating process. “Then after mating we continue applying tail paint to pick up any empties. For me, the tail paint tells a story and helps us to capture anything we have missed.”

“Nowadays you need to be on your toes more to get cows in calf.” says Peter, “Along with any rubbed off paint, you’ve also got to look for dulling of colour and dirtiness. We find the intensity of Detail’s fluorescent colours helps with identifying any signs that a cow is still cycling.”

Peter uses the Detail 10 litre bucket. “I like the speed of application. It’s easy to reach the paint at the bottom of the bucket so none of it goes to waste. It’s also really cost-effective. And the beauty of it on my rotary platform is that you’re right there in a handy position for painting, and it dries quickly with the cows’ body heat” he says. For touch-ups and post-mating use, Peter uses the Detail 1 litre applicator.

While Peter also uses heat patches and heat detection collars, he recommends Detail tail paint as “it’s a trusted and important part of my farm’s heat detection system”, adding that “it provides you with a visual status of your cows - whether they have cycled, not cycled, cycled once but not again, or are being mated. Heat detection would be worse if you didn’t use tail paint. I can’t do without it”.