Hygiene breakthrough set to end foot rot infections
A technology that has delivered the biggest hygiene breakthrough in 50 years is set to bring an end to foot rot infections in sheep and cattle and improve milk quality in British dairy herds.
Byotrol, The British company behind the technology, has developed a unique range of agricultural products called Agrisphere, an animal healthcare range that incorporates Byotrol technology to prevent and control microbial causes of lameness.
Agrisphere has been proven to out perform existing products available on the market based on Iodine, Chlorohexadine and Alcohol.
As a safer choice for the environment, it protects animal welfare and reduces the amount of hazardous/toxic/ and corrosive chemicals used within the industry that pollute land and water ways, and find their way into the food chain.
The Agrisphere product range also benefits the farmer and milk companies by helping to prevent, control and reduce SCC counts, TBC counts & Thermudurics allowing farmers to produce improved quality of milk. As a result the farmer can obtain increases in payments received for milk, whilst extending its shelf life, make savings in the amount of water and electricity used and allow improved qualities of by-products made of milk by the dairy.
Byotrol and their partners The Active Group have conducted a 12 month study on 22,000 sheep and 2,500 cattle which has produced ground breaking results that showed in 90% of all cases, the treatment was successful several days after application of the Agrisphere range. The majority of farmers involved in the trial reported significantly better performance compared to other treatments on the market.
Since then around 250 farms who are customers of The Active Group have used the product on a total of more than 170,000 animals and clear up rate for dermatitis and foot rot has averaged in excess of 85% with similar levels of ongoing success in the months following initial treatment.
Byotrol, which was originally developed in the UK by inventor Stephen Falder to stop the spread of hospital bugs such as MRSA, actively kills microbes and bacteria for days where current products last a few minutes. It can be used on any surface, wet or dry. Though hostile to microbes, Byotrol is extremely gentle to other living things making it ideal for use in agriculture where for decades farmers and animals alike have had to put up with harsh, dangerous products that potentially risk their health. Equally important for farmers is the fact that Byotrol requires no special storage or disposal procedures.
The launch of the Agrisphere range, available through The Active Group and leading agricultural distributors comprises teat wipes and dips, hand and equipment sanitisation and hoof bath products. As well as combating and controlling the spread of digital dermatitis and mastitis it can also play a vital role in helping reduce residual traces of iodine and chlorine in the dairy food chain by eliminating the need for iodine based wipes and products which are currently used by thousands of farmers to sanitise a cow's teats prior to milking.
Dairy farmer Tim Laycock from Lawns Farm in Blackpool has been trialling the Agrisphere range on his 160 strong herd for 12 months. His herd had been suffering from repeat bouts of dermatitis which was affecting the way that they milked.
Commenting Tim said, "I have been trialling the Agrisphere Hoof Bath and it has made a significant improvement to the health of my herd. I used the product intensively in the beginning and I am now on a maintenance programme that means only using the product twice a week."
Continuing Tim said "The Agrisphere range is great news for farmers as it will help improve the quality of milk and the health and wellbeing of cattle herds across the country. It has made a real difference already to my milk yield because if a cow can walk better then they will inevitably milk better too."
Agrisphere is one of the most significant breakthroughs in farm hygiene in Britain, and has recently been launched into Ireland, South Africa & Scandinavia .The dairy industry plays a vital part in Britain's economy and Agrisphere will help British dairy products retain their premium position in the international marketplace.
In addition to being used for hygiene control in the Agricultural sector, Byotrol technology has been extensively tested within the food, hospital, cleaning and hygiene sectors and is readily being adopted by large household names.
Byotrol technology is now being rolled out across the UK in a wide variety of products and is set to revolutionise the hygiene and cleaning industry.
