Drenching to boost milk production

Did you know that EPRINEX is the only lactating dairy cattle product that actually has scientific evidence to show that it increases milk production and reproductive performance when cattle are treated at/or around calving time? This is because EPRINEX is different to other drenches in that it was specifically formulated for its potency against gut worms in cattle. In fact, several hundred different molecules were tested before EPRINEX was discovered and found to be the most superior both in potency and in food safety – it’s the only product that has a worldwide nil milk withhold.

Studies in New Zealand, including in 2017 an independent study from Massey University, showed if you treat at calving, you’d expect on average 8.22kgMS/cow/lactation extra over 274 days in milk. No other product can show data even close to this. Cydectin® (Zoetis, New Zealand) have one study from 1998 (although not published in peer-reviewed scientific journals) to show an average increase of only 4.26 kgMS for each cow treated per lactation. There are no studies to show whether abamectin treatment increases milk yield.

You may well think that adult cattle don’t actually have worms and actually you’d be right. So why do we see a productive benefit when we treat with EPRINEX? The reason that adult cattle carry a very low worm burden is because their immune system prevents the parasite from establishing in the abomasum (stomach) in the first place. The larvae from the pasture are still eaten so the immune system has to stop them from becoming adults. It’s this immune response to the parasite larvae in the stomach that lowers the cow’s appetite. The gut tells the brain that it’s full and the cow spends more time lying and idling and less time eating (almost an hour a day). If you treat with a potent drug such as EPRINEX it seems that appetite can be significantly increased, increasing grazing time and food intake.

If you’re looking at drenching your cattle in order to boost your milk production, we suggest that you use a product that has been proven to do what you are trying to achieve and with the added benefit of excellent food safety.

Dave Douglas - Sales Manager, Franklin Vets