I’m trying to get the best out of my cows mineral-wise and production-wise, so if I can get them healthy, that’s the main thing. I’d used Agvance before and thought I’d look it up again having seen OptiPrill advertised quite a bit now. Jason came out, we had a chat, and put a plan in place.
I’m feeding OptiPrill, Calsea, and burger fat through a dispenser into my in-shed meal line and I’m really happy with the results. After doing livers and bloods last year, the results came back sweet as. My in-calf rates have been a lot better after a full season on the supplements.
First off, the palatability of OptiPrill is really good. The cows seem to love the molasses flavouring – they eat all of it so I don’t need to worry.
I’m really happy with the customisability of the minerals. Working with Jason, we’ve been able to tweak mineral levels as needed, like trying burger fat at 50g a cow a day, which lifted everything quite nicely. We don’t dust for colostrum cows or milkers and we haven’t had any down cows, so that’s been a massive step forward. I’ve got more of an understanding of minerals and how they work with the cows since I got into Agvance supplements, and I’m still learning heaps. We try different things, and there have been times when it hasn’t worked 100% and we’ve gone away, adjusted things, and come back.
Working with Jason has been great. He’s helped me keep costs down by only adding minerals to the mix that we need, rather than just a combination of everything. We can work on mineral mixes and know the cows are getting what they need and see them respond to it. All my minerals go through the vets, so they’ve got an eye on it, and they’ve got no issues.
Another thing is affordability. Agvance products are half the price of other companies and with better minerals as well. I recommended them to my brother and he’s swapped his two farms to Agvance too. And delivery is sharp. When I’ve run short, I can message Jason and I’ve got a tonne on farm in the next day or two.
We’re moving away from OptiPrill next season but that’s because my mineral dispenser can handle powders, so we can customise even further. It’ll knock a bit of cost off as well. Minerals are an expense but if I can minimise those costs and get a better outcome, then it’s definitely worth it.
Agvance has great products. I’m really happy with the results we’ve seen and I’d recommend them to others.
JASON LAURENCE 215 COWS, 65 HECTARES, WAIKATO
I milk 360 cows on 108 effective hectares on peat soils near Puketaha and have been using Robin Boom for 20 years who has been advising me on fertilisers using Ballance fertilisers and Agvance trace elements. I have also been using Agvance Solutrace minerals blends (Amino and CuZinc) feeding them direct to my cows for 18 years and am very happy with both the advice from Robin and performance of animal minerals. Liver biopsies from cows have always shown excellent levels since using Solutrac mixes. Farm production is up to 162,000 MS (1500 MS/ha), largely off home grown feed – clover based pastures and maize. Visiting farmers and consultants often remark on how much clovers are in my pastures compared to other farms in district.
PAUL CLAUSEN 360 COWS, GORDONTON
It has been awesome to work with the Customizer program for the past 8 years. We have many customers in the Culverden region using your minerals & they are very happy with the results, with many repeat orders occurring. It has taken a while to use the new program, but is it generally straight forward and it keeps a good history on previous orders used. We have built up a good relationship with Agvance and enjoy working with Shaun & Canaan (Agvance agents) who are enthusiastic and do a lot of work behind the scenes. Delivery has also has been reliable direct to farm. Overall your minerals are very good & repeat business says it all!
NORTH CANTERBURY VETS – CULVERDEN, SOUTH ISLAND
We farm on peat land on the edge of Hamilton City; mineral deficiencies can be a real problem in our area, particularly copper and selenium. We have used Solutrace formulations for years, with excellent results. Since using these products, our cows have always looked in good health with shiny coast & have never shown any deficiency symptoms you would normally expect on peat land. Our submission & conception rates are excellent & our cows always produce exceptionally well. Using Solutrace is a breeze, being in totally soluble powder
form they are very easy to handle & go into solution instantly on contact with water. For us, these products are a quick simple cost effective way of taking care of the trace mineral requirements of our cows.
WAYNE FORD 475 COWS, HAMILTON
Plantation Road Dairies Ltd farms a 340 ha effective flat irrigated modern dairy farm milking 1400 cows all year round. The farm is nestled alongside the Waipawa River in Central Hawke’s Bay and has breathtaking views of the Raphine Ranges. 90% of the farm is free draining Takapau silt over red metal. We have used Solutrace Amino for a couple of years now. Over time the product has been adapted to our personal requirements owing to our intensive farming system. We dissolve the daily requirement into water by using a wash down hose in the front end loader bucket each day and add to the mixer wagon. It is a very simple system and it enables a little mineral to be effectively mixed through an 8-12 ton load.
KEVIN DAVIDSON 1400 COWS, HAWKES BAY
I farm 72ha milking 240 cows at Newstead next to Dairy NZ’s Lye Farm, using a nil nitrogen fertiliser regime. Robin Boom has been providing fertiliser advice for 3 years and during this time I have seen our pastures improve and clovers return. In last year’s drought (2015) which is one of the worst the Waikato has experienced, our farm was noticeably greener than surrounding farms including Lye Farm as shown in the pictures. Our cows are currently producing 620 kg MS/cow (2066 kg MS/ha) using predominantly clover based pasture and maize silage grown on the milking platform, and our goal is to get production up to 700 kg MS/cow. We have been using Agvance minerals in with our base fertiliser and Robin has customised an animal mineral blend provided by Agvance for feeding our cows which goes into our TMR mixer and fed in the animal shelter barn with our maize silage.
DAVID MCCONNELL 240 COWS, NEWSTEAD
I farm 320ha at Horsham Downs milking 830 cows and have been using Robin Boom for soil fertility advice and have been using Agvance trace minerals for our cows for many years. We have been very satisfied with the advice Robin has provided and the Solutrace mineral blends from Agvance for animal health.
NEVILLE HENDERSON 830 COWS, HORSHAM DOWNS
I have used the Agvance Solutrace minerals through my inline water dispenser for the past 2 seasons & seen good results, achieving low empty rates & reduced animal health issues. I am very pleased with the Agvance product.
RICHARD WORTH 180 COWS, MORRINSVILLE
I have used the Agvance premix minerals through my inline mineral dispenser on my in-shed feed system and the Agvance product has worked well. In winter/spring I use the macro elements, magnesium, salt, calcium as well as the Agvance Solutrace minerals & monensin in the mix and I get good levels into cows, as well as being able to put in what I want for a cost effective price. Through the summer/autumn zinc was added and gave good facial eczema protection through the high spore counts of this season.
BROCK & JANINE FISKE 320 COWS, OHAUPO
