FIL Logo
GEA Logo
  • Products
    • Dairy Hygiene
      • Acid
        • Impact Red
        • Jetset
        • Peracetic Acid
        • Quantum Clear
        • Quantum Force
        • Quantum Gold
        • Quantum Red
      • Alkali
        • Impact Blue
        • Quantum Powder
        • Quantum XL
      • Specialty Cleaners
        • Antigerm
        • C3 Chlorine
        • Koncrete Kleaner
    • Udder Health
      • Active Teat Conditioner
      • Active Teat Cream
      • Di-oxishield
      • Emollient Salve
      • Intelliblend
      • Iodoshield Active
      • Organic Teat Conditioner
      • Teatshield
      • Teatshield Active
      • Mastitis Diagnostics
        • Fresh Cow Dry Cow
        • Snapshot
    • Markers
      • Water Based
        • Detail Applicators
        • Detail Pails
      • Oil Based
        • Fleece Mark
        • Foam Mark
        • Tell Tail Aerosols
        • Tell Tail Applicators
        • Udder Mark
      • Spray Marker Dyes
        • Been There
        • Done That
    • Animal Health
      • Black Strap Molasses
      • Bloateze
      • Bloateze DFA
      • Footrot Aerosol
      • Formalin
      • Spray Iodine 2.5%
      • Stock Iodine 2.5%
      • Stockholm Tar
    • Water Quality
      • Farm Chlor Chlorinator Rods
      • Farm Chlor Trough Tablets
      • Trough Tablets
  • About FIL
    • Who We Are
    • Our People
    • Our History
    • Sustainability
  • Farmer's Centre
    • Farmer Stories
    • Advice & Help
    • Meet your Rep
    • Ask the Chemist
    • Events
    • Dairy Hygiene
    • Udder Health
  • News
  • Safety Data Sheets
  • Contact
  • Home
  • Products
    • Dairy Hygiene
    • Udder Health
    • Markers
    • Animal Health
    • Water Quality
  • About FIL
    • About FIL
    • Who We Are
    • Our People
    • Our History
    • Sustainability
  • Farmer's Centre
    • Farmer's Centre
    • Farmer Stories
    • Advice & Help
    • Meet your Rep
    • Ask the Chemist
    • Events
    • Dairy Hygiene
    • Udder Health
  • News
    • News
    • News Items
  • Safety Data Sheets
  • Contact
  • Enquiry List

Meet your rep

Find a retailer

Contact us

 

Chris Thompson - Waikato

Home Farmer's Centre Farmer Stories

Reliable, safe and cost-effective heat detection

Chris and Vickie Thompson have been farming 250 cows on their low-lying dairy farm in Hinuera for 10 years, following 15 years of sharemilking in the local area.

Chris Thompson

Having “used FIL tail paints for as long as I’ve been dairy farming”, Chris says that he made the switch to Detail water-based tail paint when it first came out. With the same efficacy as oil-based tail paints, Chris prefers the water-based formulation because it makes the job “less messy, and easier to clean up”, while also being more environmentally friendly. “There’s no difference in performance between DETAIL and oil-based tail paints” says Chris, adding that “it dries quickly, stays on well and I’ve had no issues at all”.

Chris also prefers Detail because it is less irritating on his cows, saying that “sometimes tail paint can drip down and irritate the cow’s rear end, and if you’re repainting a cow that has been rubbed quite a bit, or rubbed raw, a water-based tail paint is probably less painful for them, and it’s safer for farmers too.”

The day before he starts his artificial breeding programme in early September, Chris begins tail painting and continues throughout the seven-week breeding period. Chris has a simple two-colour painting plan - using blue tail paint on all the cows to start with, and changing to red tail paint once they are mated. “I don’t use any other heat detection products, I prefer the visual approach - and being the only one painting I know what I’m looking for” says Chris.

Chris uses different colour Detail tail paints during the drying off period as well, “It also serves another purpose aside from heat detection. It’s a great tool for identifying different mobs as to when they are going to be calving” he says.

Chris uses a 10-litre Detail bucket and the Tail-Mate roller, and once the cows are mated he uses the applicator bottles to touch up his cows while he’s milking. “The roller was life-changing for me. It allows me to tail paint easily from the pit without having to climb or reach over railing, so it’s eliminated any potential safety issues. The Tail-Mate roller was a godsend!” says Chris.

Chris recommends that other farmers use Detail tail paint, saying that it’s a cost-effective and reliable tool during the mating period that he “couldn’t do without”, and that it has helped him to maintain a consistently high in-calf rate year after year.

Featured products

Detail Applicators

Detail Applicators

View
Detail Pails

Detail Pails

View

Explore more farmer stories

Ryan Wilson
How teat spray tech transformed Ryan Wilson's milking routine

By fully automating his teat spray routine, from mixing to application, Ryan is confident his cows are getting consistent, accurate coverage after every milking without any manual labour from his team.

Ryan Wilson - Waikato

Kevin Salmon
Hard water no challenge for FIL Quantum Red on Northland farm

Kevin Salmon runs a 120-cow dairy operation south of Kaitaia. He purchased the 80-hectare dairy farm a decade ago and hasn’t faced many major hygiene issues in the dairy shed, except for one persistent challenge: high iron levels in the water.

Kevin Salmon - Northland

Stephen Murphy & Emma Wills
How Tasman contract milkers solved their Thermoduric problem

Stephen Murphy started his contract milking journey in the Tasman region three seasons ago. They’ve been milking 500 cows through a large herringbone, which until recently, wasn’t running a wash through the plant as effectively as it should. 

Stephen Murphy & Emma Wills - Nelson - Tasman

    Read More

    FIL Logo
    GEA Logo
     

    Products

    Dairy HygieneUdder HealthMarkersAnimal HealthWater Quality

    Quick Links

    Advice & Help Meet your Rep Safety Data Sheets Retailers Contact Terms & Conditions
    Farmers Industries (NZ) Limited