Eltham Vet
Eltham Vet Services is a 10-vet practice that has served the farms and family pets of Central and South Taranaki with distinction since 1937. For your pet’s healthcare & your peace of mind contact or visit us.
As we sit down to write this editorial, our boss is away—but the clinic team is still in full swing! We’d like to extend a warm welcome to our new clients and say farewell to those who have moved on. If you haven’t had an RVM (Restricted Veterinary Medicine) consult with your key vet yet, now is a great time to contact the clinic and get this booked in.
We also have some important dates coming up:
You may have already met Tina, our new vet, out on your farms. She'll be working across both dairy and equine cases—please join us in giving her a warm welcome to the team.
NOTICE OF MEETING
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING will be held at the Vet Clinic, Railway Street, Eltham
on Thursday 17th July 2025 commencing at 12.30pm.
AGENDA
1. Apologies
2. Minutes of the 2024 AGM
3. Annual Report
4. Adoption of Balance Sheet
5. Appointment of Consultant Chartered Accountant and Financial Reviewer
6. Election and confirmation of appointment to Executive
7. Directors Remuneration
9. General Business
Mr P Muir (dairying member) to retire from the executive by rotation is available for re-election. Mr S Matthews retires by rotation and is unavailable for re-election.
Nominations for these positions must be received by the Secretary by midday Thursday, 3rd of July 2025. Nomination forms are available at the clinic.
Financial Accounts for the year ended 31.3.2024 will be available on request as soon as the financial review is complete.
As we head into the cooler, wetter months, nitrate poisoning becomes an important risk to keep front of mind—especially for dairy farmers grazing cattle on rapidly growing pasture or crops like brassicas and cereal grasses.
What is Nitrate Poisoning? Nitrate poisoning occurs when cattle consume plants with high nitrate levels. Under normal conditions, the rumen converts nitrate into harmless ammonia. However, if nitrate levels are excessive, the conversion process is overwhelmed, resulting in the formation of nitrite—a toxic compound that reduces the blood’s ability to carry oxygen. The result is oxygen starvation, even though the lungs are functioning normally.
When Are Nitrate Levels Highest? Nitrate accumulation is most likely during periods of rapid plant growth, particularly after droughts or frosts (stressed plants), cold cloudy weather (plants unable to photosynthesis and convert the nitrate), or nitrogen fertiliser application quite late in the season. Ryegrass, oats, green feed crops, and some brassicas (like kale and chou moellier) are common culprits.
Signs to Look For
Symptoms can appear within hours and may include:
If you suspect nitrate poisoning, remove stock from the pasture immediately and call the vets. This is an emergency—early treatment with methylene blue can be life-saving.
How to Reduce Risk
Need Help? We can arrangenitrate testing and are happy to advise on grazing management and risk assessment. Don’t hesitate to give us a call if you’re unsure—prevention is always better than cure.
For many Kiwi farmers, Body Condition Scoring (BCS) is a familiar term — but it’s easy to overlook just how valuable this simple tool really is. Used properly, BCS is one of the most effective ways to improve herd performance, reduce animal health issues, and support more profitable farming. Having cows in the right condition at the right time isn’t just about improving welfare, its about improving reproduction and productivity.
Why Good BCS is Crucial:
Better Reproduction
Cows in optimal condition at calving (BCS 5.0 for mature cows, 5.5 for heifers and 2nd calvers) have significantly better reproductive performance. They return to cycling sooner & conceive earlier in the mating period
Improved Milk Production
Cows in optimal condition at calving can mobilise body reserves efficiently, and produce more milk, increasing farm profitability. Cows that calve in good BCS will produce more milk at peak. It is more efficient to dry off early to reach BCS targets than milking on in late lactation chasing production at the detriment of BCS.
Fewer Health Issues
Young cows below the ideal BCS target are at higher risk of: Mastitis, Uterine infections, Poor immune function
When Should You Be Body Condition Scoring?
BCS isn’t just a one-off job — it’s a seasonal management tool. To get the most value from it, here are the critical times to assess your herd:
Prior to planned Dry-off
At Calving
Pre-Mating
The Cost of Getting It Wrong - Poor condition costs money.
Body Condition Scoring isn’t just a “nice to have” — it’s a core part of good herd management. In New Zealand’s pasture-based systems, where margins can be tight and timing is everything, getting BCS right means healthier cows, better production, and stronger profits.
We have accredited vets who can arrange help scoring your herd or developing a BCS-based management plan so get in touch.
Multimin is an injectable mineral supplement with copper, selenium, zinc and manganese proven to work in NZ production systems. This is a mineral supplement that can be used at many different times to give many different advantages.
Trial work done in NZ has proven to reduce rates of clinical disease and death in calves by over 50%. Diseases such as scours and navel ill have been shown to halve in number when given a shot of Multimin within 24 hours of birth, even if your number of sick calves was low to begin with. It is recommended to give 1mL/50kg, so for a 40kg calf give a 0.80mL shot. This costs roughly 80c per calf exc GST, seems like a no brainer for such a big head start for a young calf.
Another point in time to consider a Multimin shot is 4 weeks pre-calving in your herd, this has been shown to reduce rates of sub-clinical and clinical mastitis.
Premating is the other recommended time of giving a multimin shot, research has shown significant reproduction benefits, such as a 3.3% higher in calf rate, an average of cows getting in calf 3.4 days earlier an estimated 4:1 ROI from a 4 week pre-mating shot.
Multimin has brought out a new product called Multimin Evolution. This has the same mineral make up as Multimin, however it contains higher levels of Zinc. It has 50% more Zinc than any other trace mineral product in NZ. Specific zinc benefits proven in cattle studies include:
Multimin is not the only trace mineral supplementation we offer at Eltham Vets, however it is the only trace mineral supplementation shot that has specific NZ research to back it up. Other options include Marks-Min, Prolaject B12 (one with and one without selenium), Multiboost B12, and VetTrace (oral daily supplement, one with and without copper).
As calving season approaches, now is the time to plan your calf rearing strategy and vaccinate your cows to protect against Rotavirus, a costly and aggressive cause of calf scours.
Understanding Rotavirus
Rotavirus affects calves aged 3 days to 6 weeks, spreading via the faecal-oral route. The virus damages gut lining cells, causing severe diarrhea, dehydration, and illness. Outbreaks can lead to high mortality rates, and surviving calves often suffer permanent gut damage, reducing nutrient absorption and lifelong growth rates.
Vaccination: A Key Preventive Measure
Vaccinating your cows against Rotavirus boosts antibody levels in their colostrum, providing newborn calves with critical immunity. Discuss with your vet to choose the best vaccine for your herd, such as Rotavec or BioBos. Key points:
Maximizing Vaccination Success
To ensure your vaccination program is effective:
Vaccine Options
Our clinic stocks two vaccines, all boosting antibodies against Rotavirus, Coronavirus, and E. coli:
Plan your vaccination and colostrum management now to give your calves the best start. Contact our clinic to discuss vaccine options or schedule FPT testing.
Calving is the ultimate challenge to the immune system, as the barrier that stops pathogens from entering the uterus is opened during calving. At the same time the cow faces large demands due to colostrum formation and lactation. This drains energy, protein, fats, macrominerals (Ca, Mg, P) microminerals (Cu, Se,I) and vitamins. Both the udder AND the immune system compete for the golden currency of the body which is glucose. When the immune system is challenged, glucose is diverted away from the udder, impacting milk production. Microminerals/trace mineral supplementation has the common theme; Copper, Iodine, Selenium, Zinc, Cobalt (B12 formation) and vitamins are involved in effective immune function (amongst an additional multitude of enzymes, hormones and cell processes in the body).
Hi, I’m Tina! I graduated from the University of Edinburgh in 2016 and made the big move to Taranaki in 2019. I’ve spent the last few years at Energy Vets in Inglewood before making the move to Eltham. I’ve always had a strong interest in dairy and horses, particularly reproduction, calf health and surgery. When I’m not working, you’ll usually find me in the CrossFit gym, at the beach or catching up with friends.
Eltham Vet Services is a 10-vet practice that has served the farms and family pets of Central and South Taranaki with distinction since 1937. For your pet’s healthcare & your peace of mind contact or visit us.
