Here are some of the new products or updates to previous products that have been announced as of January 13, 2011. Return to this section of the Progressive Dairyman website periodically to find out what new products will be impacting the dairy industry.

Allflex USA introduces new one-piece tag

Allflex USA is introducing a one-piece, self-piercing tag called the A-Tag. The new tag comes in three convenient sizes for beef and dairy operations – calf, cow and feedlot.

The tag comes with a self-piercing, pinhole tip designed for reduced animal stress and faster healing. A longer tag anchor means higher retention in thick-eared animals. Tag application is quick and easy with the company’s yellow A-Tag Applicator featuring a flip-pin design.

Cow and calf tag sizes, available in nine colors, are packaged blank in bags of 25 and 100. Numbered tags are available in bags of 25 tags. Feedlot tags, available in 20 colors, are packaged in bags of 50. Custom marking and numbering for all sizes using Allflex’s patented laser-ink permanent marking is available by special order.

–From Allflex USA news release

Elanco launches milk strip test in U.S.
Elanco recently announced the addition of Keto-Test® to its current line of products for dairy producers. Keto-Test is a color-changing test strip for milk that indicates the presence of ketones in the milk of dairy cows. Though commercially available in other countries, this will be the first U.S. introduction of the product.

This product is designed to provide dairy producers an easy-to-use and cost-effective alternative for ketosis screening to help determine if further investigation is warranted. This test can be used as a simple alternative on any cow that would be considered for a urine ketosis test.

An estimated 15 percent of cows in U.S. dairy herds have elevated ketones during the first 60 days of lactation when they are at highest risk due to increasing metabolic demands brought on by lactation1. Elevated ketone levels have been associated with increased incidence of displaced abomasums, lost milk production, impaired reproductive performance, and an increased risk for early culling. Ketosis frequently goes undetected and is commonly referred to as subclinical ketosis.

This product is a simple, quick, non-invasive test that requires no special equipment or training and can be easily performed in the parlor when cows are handled for milking.

–From Elanco news release

EPA-approved Proxitane® AHC now available in dairy
KMG Chemicals, Inc. , recently announced that Proxitane® AHC – the number one broad-spectrum disinfectant used in dairy production worldwide – is now EPA-approved and ready for use in U.S. dairy facilities.

This product is a broad-spectrum peracetic acid-based disinfectant that is specially formulated to optimize its disinfectant action via its strong oxidizing action, with no known risk of resistance build-up. It works by the generation of free oxygen, which ruptures cells and denatures proteins in the target microorganism.

The EPA-approved broad-spectrum disinfectant is ideal for fogging, spraying or immersion. It has cleaning and disinfecting applications for all buildings, vehicles, and containers and is excellent for addressing key pathogenic organisms in a wide array of dairy production. It allows re-introduction of livestock with minimal delay. It does not stain and leaves no residues.

–From McKinley Communications news release

Salmonella Newport Bacterial Extract vaccine with SRP Technology now available
Pfizer Animal Health announces the availability of Salmonella Newport Bacterial Extract vaccine with SRPTechnology, an effective management tool in the control of salmonellosis. This vaccine effectively controls infection and fecal shedding of Salmonella Newport, resulting in reduced disease incidence and improved herd performance.

This product is an effective management tool to help control disease. Milk production and herd performance of cattle sub-clinically infected with Salmonella can be improved through greater control of salmonellosis in vaccinated herds. A published study conducted in a dairy herd with no clinical signs of salmonellosis demonstrated that vaccination using Salmonella Newport Bacterial Extract vaccine with SRPTechnology resulted in 2.5 pounds more milk per cow per day in vaccinated cattle. There also was a reduction in somatic cell count associated with vaccination. ¹

Salmonellosis is an economically devastating disease to the dairy industry, and incidence is on the rise. According to the 2007 National Animal Health Monitoring Service report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, 48 percent of all dairies were infected with Salmonella . The percentage of operations infected with Salmonella was nearly twice that of 1996, and over that same 10-year time period, the percentage of cows infected with Salmonella has more than doubled to 13.7 percent.

Epitopix LLC manufactures this product. Pfizer Animal Health acquired global rights to the vaccine earlier this year and will become the exclusive distributor beginning in 2011.

–From Pfizer Animal Health news release PD