Case Study – Rex & Sharon Butterworth

Trusti Colostrum Bag & Trusti Pasteur

Rex and Sharon Butterworth, Dairy Farmers of the Year 2016

Case Study Questions

Farm type and location
500 cow Dairy farm in Matamata

• Using the Trusti system highlighted the short falls in our methods prior to the introduction of Trusti. We now have a better awareness of the importance of the gold colostrum and thanks to the Trusti product range we now have the tools to implement a far superior system.
• Ensuring that new born calves get gold colostrum within a few hours of being born is vital to the calves’ short and long term wellbeing. We have always been aware of this but have not always been able to meet our own high standards, through short falls in our ability to properly sore the colostrum.
• The Trusti brand has a comprehensive range of high quality user friendly equipment that makes colostrum management a breeze. When something is practical, easy to use and gets results -you use it. The Trusti system is now an everyday part of our routine. It makes our job easier and more rewarding because we know we have given our calves the best possible start.
• By making a few simple changes to our system we have seen some big gains, namely a reduction of weak calves coming in after a stormy night by feeding them in the paddock before collection if necessary. Once they are inside they are feed a second time, before fitting into the feeding pattern of the older calves. Without having access to a bank of gold colostrum saved up in either the deep freeze or fridge, this was not always possible.
• Our advice to other farmers looking to implement the Trusti system would be “DO IT”. In order to get the most out of the system you need to be prepared. For us we utilised an old fridge/freezer for the storage of the full colostrum Trusti bags. Having some refrigerated and some frozen provides options. Take some time to pasteurise and freeze as much as you can initially. From then on with a small amount of planning it is easy to stay ahead of demand. Once you have done this it becomes second nature. If you don’t have time to pasteurise all your stored colostrum we recommend freezing it asap while it is as fresh as possible. Keeping a few bags in the deep freeze in ready for the following seasons calving gives you that added security for when those first couple of early calves are born, often prematurely.