Rob Goodwin’s experience with the AHV Longevity Health Plan

Meet Rob Goodwin a third-generation farmer from Longlands Farm in Linton, South Derbyshire.
Rob, along with his family and herdsman Dane, manage 240 cows, milked three times daily, with an impressive average yield of 12,000 litres. They operate an all-year-round calving herd, supplying milk to Arla through a 360 Starbucks contract.

Supporting transition success with AHV products

In the summer of 2022, Rob Goodwin began exploring AHV’s transitional products, guided by discussions with AHV Advisor Rob Kirk.

They initiated their journey with AHV by introducing the Booster Tablet and the StartLac Paste. The results were promising, with cows calving down successfully and their focus soon shifted to addressing udder health challenges.

A strategic approach to Health and Longevity

Rob Kirk suggested a strategic approach, starting with the Booster Tablet two weeks prior to calving to aid the transition of the cow into the milking herd, addressing the negative energy balance. Post-calving, they incorporated StartLac Paste and Metri Tablets to help reduce the risk of milk fever and aid uterine health

After reviewing the results from those first products we used from AHV, we then looked at the AHV Longevity Health Plan.

“Cows seem to transition well into the milking herd and generally cows seem healthier from it. After the cows are transitioning well, the days to the first service started decreasing. Cow’s just seem to be getting going nicely.”

Robust support

“We’ve had some good support from Rob Kirk at AHV, giving us advice and he’s always been on the end of the phone for help if we needed it. We’ve got on well with products we’ve used and the cows seem healthier using it and meaning we’re getting more saleable milk in the tank.

Proactively reducing herd health challenges

By the autumn of 2022, Longlands Farm had shifted from reactive to a proactive approach, thanks to AHV solutions. They observed a notable reduction in health challenges within the herd. Additionally, their reliance on traditional treatment methods significantly decreased.

“After using AHV solution we’ve seen a reduction in health challenges in the herd and also since using AHV products we’ve seen a big reduction in the use of traditional methods used for treating cows.”

Sustainable Farming: Looking to the Future

Longlands Farm’s vision for the next five to ten years is centred around improving cow comfort and animal welfare while minimising the farm’s carbon footprint. They aim to future-proof their operations for the next generation.

“Herd health is a big thing for us here at Longlands. We’ve invested a fair bit in cow comfort and animal welfare, made the most of existing sheds to gain better cow comfort and become more sustainable going into the future.”

Rob Goodwin explains “Going forward I think AHV solutions will help with the longevity of the herd to create a sustainable future for the generation to come here at Longlands Farm.”