Dairy veterinarians can’t be everywhere, but with help from technology and innovative vet services, it’s getting easier for dairy producers to access the herd health and management services they require on a daily basis.
When it comes to cow pregnancy checks, for example, many producers still require a visit from the vet to scan cows and confirm pregnancies. Rachel Budd, DVM with Metzger Veterinary Services based at Linwood, Ont., is looking to address that challenge with a healthy dose of technology and innovation.
Budd recently launched a Metzger dairy division with the goal of helping producers and vets to work more effectively to meet the veterinary needs of cows. “There are actually a lot of things that we get called on farm to do as dairy vets that the farmer is more than capable of handling themselves,” she says. “We’re trying to provide training and tools, number one, but also some new technologies that’ll help people be a little bit more self sufficient, or a lot more self sufficient in some cases.”
Like other large animal services, Metzger continues to offer traditional herd health services but Budd looks for opportunities to reduce the need for vet visits. For preg checks, she’s looking to rely more on blood pregnancy testing. It’s not new technology, having been used effectively in the U.S. and Alberta for some time, but it is new to Ontario dairy farms. “It’s super accurate and really easy,” she notes.
Metzger is also offering ultrasound training and rentals. “I’ve been teaching ultrasound courses for about three years, but there’s a lot of people that aren’t sure if they want to purchase a machine by the time they finish the course, so we’re offering them the option to rent for a few months and to see if they like that.”
In this report from Canada’s Outdoor Farm Show in Woodstock, Ont., Budd also discusses the role the new Metzger Vet Academy YouTube channel can play in helping dairy producer manage their cow health needs.
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