Dairy Farm Aantjes-Blokhuis: A step forward with the AHV Herd Health Plan

Dairy farm Aantjes-Blokhuis is located in Haasdrecht, a town in the Dutch province of South Holland. On the farm, they are AHV users from the very beginning. For eight years now, Martijn and Francesca have been using AHV solutions to improve and maintain the animal health on their farm to their satisfaction. Since almost all solutions are already used and the farmers still wanted to give transition and fertility some extra attention, they decided to start with an AHV Herd Health Plan (HHP) in the beginning of 2024. This specific HHP focuses on transition and fertility. Besides the health of the dairy cows, the farm applies a proactive protocol for the calves to grow into healthy young stock and eventually healthy dairy cows. We spoke to Martijn and Francesca about their experiences and findings so far.

History of the farm

The farm with 200 dairy cows is mainly run by Martijn. Right next to the dairy farm, 25 camping sites have been created where tourists can enjoy the beautiful landscape in which the farm is located. The barn is designed and altered to be workable for one person. The cows are milked by three DeLaval milking robots and a Lely feeding robot operates in the feeding alleys. The farm’s breeding goal is set to breed strong and robust cows that tend to experience fewer major health issues. That is why a three-way cross with Swedish red, Fleckvieh and Holstein is used, and this is reflected in the beautiful variegated company roaming around the barn. The company’s young stock are reared at a different location, this is completely outsourced. Just before the cows are due to calve for the first time, they return to Martijn and Francesca’s location.

Introduction to AHV

Ever since Martijn started using the AHV solutions, he was supported by AHV Farm Advisor Wim Streefland. Meanwhile, the products and the use of it are now a standard routine for Martijn. “When Wim visited the farm for the first time, I was still a bit hesitant. At the time, I was already looking for an alternative to traditional methods myself, but it had to be workable. Much had already been written about having to reduce traditional methods, but there was still the question about how this could be achieved. After I had listened to Wim’s story, I could relate to it, but I still wasn’t quite there yet.” When Wim visited again a year later, Martijn noticed that he was ready and he started using AHV solutions. Through visible results and the trust that came with it, the use of products and programs has continued to expand at this farm. Additionally, the company continues to evolve in terms of a proactive health approach.

From specific product implementation to proactive health plan

When asked which products are used on the farm, Martijn replies “What solutions do we actually not use? I think we implement every product you have. At the very beginning, we started with the Quick, Extra, and Aspi and mainly tackled the ‘problem cases’; i.e. cows that were visibly experiencing health problems.” As AHV developed more products, these new products were also introduced on the farm. These included the Booster Tablet and Booster Powder, the latter of which is often used for drenching. Now, eight years later, the company has grown considerably. By starting the Transition & Fertility HHP, they are using the most proactive approach AHV has to offer.

Looking at the transition and fertility focus, various products are applied. Among others, the Booster Tablet, Metri Tablet, Aspi Tablet and StartLac Tablet. AHV sees the proactive HHP as the next step in animal health. The concept of the HHP is to administer the same products to all animals in the herd at set times in the cow’s lactation. The idea behind this is that issues can be prevented, allowing costs to produce more consistently. By providing the cow with the right support at the right times in the lactation cycle, the cow’s immune system comes into its own power, making the body strong enough to prevent challenges later on during certain risk moments.

The next step in animal health

The HHP does not only consist of using the right products at the right time, but another important aspect is the intensive guidance that is tailor-made for each farm. This guidance involves several people from AHV. Before a HHP is started, an intake takes place with both the company’s regular AHV Farm Advisor and an HHP Specialist. During that intake, goals are set in terms of herd health and performance. The next step is to take samples for risk assessment and discuss the results. After this process, the targets are reviewed again before starting implementation of the HHP. After the first three months, the figures are discussed. In this, the AHV Farm Advisor is supported by an AHV Veterinarian. Discussing the (quarterly) data and providing overall support to the farmer is a continuous process within the AHV Herd Health Plan.

Switching working methods

Martijn: “When we first started applying the Herd Health Plan at our farm, we had to get used to it. You have to find you way again with this new protocol, but after a while it worked out by itself. Of course, you have to invest some time when you administer everything at set times in the lactation. However, if a cow experiences serious health problems and is lying flat on the ground, you can easily spend half a day on that one cow. With this approach we prevent such situations.”

As we speak to Martijn and Francesca, they have just discussed the quarterly figures again with their AHV Farm Advisor Wim and HHP Specialist Marieke Claasen. During the past months, there were some challenges in terms of grazing due to the changing weather conditions. These changes naturally affected cow performance. Despite this situation, the figures displayed that the HHP-cows showed an increase in milk production. The cows that were not yet on the HHP, on the other hand, lagged somewhat behind in production. “It is very nice to see that the cows within the HHP, that received the AHV-solutions at set times, are in the plus. We hope to see a more constant production and health without big peaks and dips in the future. We also notice that fertility is improving since using the products, the uterus of the cows cleans up better and that helps considerably in terms of fertility. If everything just runs well, the cows are healthy and get through the dry period in good condition, that also benefits the calves.”

Healthy calves vital for the future

Martijn and Francesca have experienced for several years that it pays off to proactively support cows during their cycle. Nowadays, they have extended that vision to the calves as well. Caring for the calves is primarily Francesca’s responsibility, and she dedicates herself intensively to this. “From internships I did for my studies at the ‘Higher Agricultural School’, I experienced that at the majority of farms attention is mainly paid to the dairy cows and that the care for the calves often lags behind. This is why I gradually picked up care for the calves here at the farm, to see how we can also optimally support them. A good start for your calves is extremely important for their further development into dairy cows. It already starts with colostrum quality. When calves experience serious health problems in their young lives, they often do not achieve their full potential as dairy cows.”

Proactive routine for calves

Francesca: “Before we started with the new approach for calves, I noticed that the daily animal dosage for the calves was quite high. When I became more involved with the milk recording data guidance for our dairy cows, I got into a conversation with Wim and Marieke about AHV’s calf products. About two years ago, we started with Reco Paste, Aspi and Respi. In the beginning it was mainly focused on respiratory and digestive health, but now we focus on the overall health of the calves.” Without even noticing it herself, Francesa is already working quite proactively with her standard routine for the calves. “When a calf is born we use the QS Spray on the navel as standard, after the calf has received colostrum (for the first three days), we start providing them Calf Start through the milk. We do that twice a day for a period of three weeks. Then, when they go to the straw pen, they are given Respi through the milk via the drinking machine. Once the calves are off milk, I give them Booster Powder through the pellets.”

When we walk into the barn with the calves’ straw pens, it is clear to see that Francesca’s approach is really paying off. The calves are alert and clean and run lively through the pens. “What I notice with the calves is that there almost no problems with their intestinal health in the first two weeks anymore, now that I am using Calf Start. The first weeks are often decisive for the rest of their lives and if all that goes well then you are just very happy. The other day I was standing in the straw bedding and I looked at the calves and thought: they are doing really well! Respiratory health used to be a serious problem here, but by using AHV Respi it is going really well at the moment, so I am very happy about that.”

Wishes for the future

When asked what motivates the couple to continue developing with AHV in the future, they answer: “Working with the products is not difficult at all; when you apply it routinely, you will see the result. Besides, it also brings a piece of job satisfaction when you experience fewer health problems among your livestock. In the past two years, for instance, we have not experienced any serious health problems among our dairy cows. An additional financial benefit is that we have to keep less milk out, because the cows have not been treated with traditional methods. We have virtually stopped using traditional methods already, but for the future, we hope to eventually work completely without them.”