A New Zealand company with a Canadian connection has a new leg band it says can replace the use of footbaths to control dairy cow foot diseases.
Dermashield was introduced to dairy farmers at the Canadian Dairy Xpo in Stratford.
Why it matters: Managing foot problems is one of the largest costs on a dairy farm.
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The technology, sold by FarmMedix, a provider of mastitis risk management and monitoring, has a Canadian connection, says Foucauld Thery, CEO of Farm Medix at CDX.
The technology that slowly releases copper ions was created by Integran, a Canadian company that calls itself “the world leader in metallurgical nanotechnology”.
The product is made in Canada.
Dermashield is a band of fabric with a core of copper that releases copper ions at a rate of 17 mg per day, about one per cent of the copper sulphate used in a traditional footbath per cow.
“It’s a very small amount because it is very targeted,” to the hoof, says Thery.
Footbaths are unpopular because they’re labour-intensive for farmers, and dirty and challenging to clean, as copper sulphate or formaldehyde are unhealthy for people to handle or to put into the environment. However, they’re the major tool to manage cow hoof diseases, especially strawberry foot rot.
“Dermashield enables the dairy farmer to ensure the cow has a constant footbath,” says Thery.
The copper ions in the band are released when moisture contacts the band. The green material leaks down the hoof and in between the hoof digits and helps to limit infections. The band is secured above the dew claw, on the back hooves, says Thery. If there’s an infection, they can be added to the front hooves, but more infection happens on the rear hooves, so they are protected first.
The company’s big challenge was to find a Velcro strap that could survive the hostile environment of dairy barns. Thery says the band is almost impossible to pull apart after it’s put on a cow and they need to be cut off and replaced once per year. Most farmers cut the band off and replace it around calving time.
“The idea is to install them when the cow is most susceptible to having issues so calving seems to be the right point in the cycle.”
According to Farm Medix, the Dermashield can be used as general protection, worn year-round, can be used when a cow has an increased risk of problems, such as after heavy hoof trimming or with superficial injury and it can also be used in conjunction with therapy such as during treatment on active lesions.
Thery says their data show that the ankle band disease control results are on par with running cows through a footbath with formaldehyde five times per week. The bands are $50 each and last a year.