No shortcuts on transition cows at McArthur Farms

McArthur Farms Team: Sebastion Lemus, Naun Dorantes, Raul Liberato, 

Daniel Salazar, Senyo Akahoho, Dale Craig, and John Gilliland

By David Greene

Regional Sales Manager

Diamond V

McArthur Farms in Okeechobee, FL, is a family-owned dairy founded in 1929 with four dairy units and 9000 cows. Two of the herds are housed in tunnel ventilated barns and the other two herds are housed outside with cooling ponds and shade cloth. McArthur Farms General Manager John Gilliland says, "We are committed to producing quality milk." Dale Craig is the herdsman and has a 25,000 Rolling Herd Average with a 150,000 somatic cell count. 

This is not an easy task in the hot humid climate in south Florida. It is accomplished by paying attention to detail. Cow health is a priority and one of the most challenging times for the cow is at calving and transitioning to the milking herd. John says they use a team approach to handle the cows during this critical time. John said, "Our goal is to get cows off to a good start and the rest of the lactation will take care of itself".

Dale Craig says, "When it comes time to work the transition cows, all hands are on the cows. We feel like having enough labor is the key to handling the transition cows properly". One example of this is when the cows are in the travel lane going to and from the milking parlor; the employees are all standing and monitoring the cows as they move down the lane. The farm relies on its veterinarian, Dr. Frank Bernard, to train the employees to monitor the cows closely and treat the cows as needed. Dale says, "Give employees the knowledge, tools, and training to perform their jobs and then challenge them to do it".

Dr. Bernard has a strict protocol that the employees follow to help the cows transition smoothly. He has the team keep detailed health records so they can track all challenges in the transition cows. All fresh cows are given a physical examination at calving. The temperature, attitude, and rumen contractions are recorded. A fresh cow drench is administered if needed depending on the cow's status based on the exam. Rectal temperatures are recorded daily for the first 10 days, urine is monitored for ketosis, and uterine exams are done at day 5 and day 10. 

These cows are processed ASAP and it is a high priority. The cows are kept in the hospital pen for 2 - 3 days until milk is clear, then they are moved to the transition group. Dale says, "It is critical not to overstock the transition group. Our pen stocking rate is only 75%". The first lactation cows are housed separately from the second and later lactation cows until they are at least 280 days in milk.

Feed is delivered to the cows 3 times per day, pushed up 12 times per day. They are fed for 15% push-out. Dr. Blaine Ellison is the herd's nutritionist. He is part of the team approach to handling the cows properly. The milking herd's ration contains Diamond V XP Yeast Culture, the transition cows are top-dressed with Diamond V XP, and the fresh cow drench contains one quarter pound per head as well. John said, "We started using Diamond V several years ago just in the summer to help with heat stress and the results were very noticeable so he chose to leave it in the ration continuously". "The top-dress on the transition cow ration helps with getting the cows on feed quicker so the highest dry matter intakes can be obtained as soon as possible", says John.

Working with McArthur Farms, you definitely see what John meant when he said they use the team approach. One acronym for the word team is "Together Everyone Achieves More". That is very visible at this operation.

Back to main page