Ron Dawydko

“Our lactating treatment usage is down somewhere around 12% from this time a year ago.”

Located 40 minutes east of Niagara Falls, Anchor Farms Inc. can be found in Akron, New York. With nearly 300 animals currently monitored, Ron Dawydko, partner, has helped establish Anchor Farms as a leader within the dairy industry by implementing the smaXtec system.

“It has exceeded my expectations.”

Anchor Farms originally adopted the smaXtec system in January 2023 after considering several other monitoring systems available on the market. Since implementing the system, Ron was delighted with the impact it has had on the farm saying, “smaXtec does everything I was told it could do and more. It has exceeded my expectations.”

Decreasing somatic cell count and antibiotic usage

To be more specific, Anchor Farms has actually seen a decrease in somatic cell count. “Before using the smaXtec system, we had consistently been running at 100,000 SCC, and after 6 months, we now run 80,000 SCC.” But smaXtec’s impact doesn’t stop there. According to Ron, “the drop in SCC has been nice, but the savings are really in what we spend on antibiotics. Our lactating treatment usage is down somewhere around 12% from this time a year ago.” This decrease in antibiotic usage can be attributed to the transition from reactive treatment to proactive care. “Before smaXtec, antibiotics were our primary line of defense. Now, antibiotics are our 2nd or 3rd option. We do not automatically treat cows with mastitis with antibiotics and that’s all because we catch them before they blow up!”

More milk in the tank

The decrease in somatic cell count and antibiotic usage is just the beginning. Ron emphasized, “We are putting more milk in the tank because fewer cows are treated on a weekly basis. Treatments have gone from primarily antibiotics to early therapy treatments like Banamine, anti-inflammatories, udder balm, and aspirin.” He added, “Early detection means quicker recovery times and less stress on the cow.” At Anchor Farms, Ron has found that “every pound of milk you keep on the front side of her lactation curve is 3 – 6 pounds on the back side of her peak.”