HEIFERMAX

Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) are accepted management tools in many industries. Quality control programmes such as ISO 9000 and HACCP rely on them to give consistent results, leading to uniformity of the end product or result.

The trend to single enterprise dairies milking large herds of cows and employing labour to do this has lead to problems not encountered on the multi-enterprise, family run farms of the past. Here one family member did the same job and knew exactly how it was done and what the expected outcomes were, therefore the results were consistent. Modern dairies need to have procedures in place to ensure consistent results, even though multiple staff members may be involved in a particular task. 

The most economic end product of heifer rearing is a well grown, healthy heifer, ready to calve at ≈ 24 months, capable of milking to her genetic potential and of remaining in the herd for several years. While there are many ways of achieving this result, it can be useful to standardise methods on individual farms, so that everyone involved knows how specific tasks are performed. This is particularly important on farms which have various people caring for heifers and conversely, for farms where one particular person cares for calves. Single calf carer farms tend to have consistent results when that staff member is working but if they are absent, results often deteriorate, so the SOPs are useful for stand in staff members.

SOPs take time (& therefore money) to develop, so it is important that they actually contribute positively to the enterprise.

Benefits, either direct or indirect are:-

• They lead to consistency, which is great for calves which become stressed when changes are forced onto them by changes of staff, feeding rates, noise levels etc.
• People thrive on consistency; it is easy to do a good job when you know exactly how the job should be performed and what the outcomes should be.
• Training can be enhanced by having SOPs to refer to; this ensures that steps are not overlooked.
• SOPs can be used as a reference for trainees to refresh their memory.
• They can be used by other staff members if they need to cover for the normal heifer care person.
• They can be referred to by staff members to encourage other team members to do jobs properly (”Oh - I always thought we were supposed to do Χ this way - let’s check the SOP to see where I went wrong”)
• Having written SOPs and encouraging staff to use them will help reduce injuries and may work in the farms favour if an injury does occur.
• Written SOPs, in conjunction with documented training sessions can give some protection to the enterprise in the case of a staff member’s negligence leading to legal action.
• SOPs will encourage procedural consistency which will maximise efficiency and minimise deviation from the recommended methods. This approach is likely to give the best & most consistent results.

Uses of SOPs

The purpose of an SOP is to give detailed instructions on how to perform a specific task. The master copy of an SOP should be in a reference manual so that staff members can refer to it at any time. This should contain more detailed information than the one displayed in the work area.

SOPs can be used for:

• Improving work practices
• Orientation & training
• Advanced or refresher training
• Job description development
• Safety & accident prevention
• Staff reviews
• Workplace reminders
• Time management
• Environmental protection
• Biosecurity

Generic SOPs can be developed by advisors but the best ones are those specifically developed for the farm, by staff members who know how things are done on that farm. These take into account the idiosyncrasies of infrastructure, tools and methods on that farm.

How to develop a SOP

• Firstly, identify areas which would benefit from having standardised procedures in place.
• Prioritise the selected areas - chose the areas of, say, collecting calves from the paddock, treating sick calves, milk feeding, etc. The most important ones to work on are the ones which are likely to be improved most by having clear, written protocols.
• Select the most appropriate team member to oversee the development of SOPs in this area. The person with overall responsibility for the heifers is the most obvious choice but the staff member who does the job most often is likely to have valuable input.
• Staff members are more likely to comply with SOPs if they have been involved in compiling them, so get the whole team involved.
• Compile a list of processes, within the selected area, which need an SOP. These might include collecting colostrum, measuring colostrum quality, preserving colostrum, labelling colostrum for storage, refrigerating colostrum & freezing colostrum.
• The extent of each separate SOP should be determined - what is covered and what is not e.g. does collecting colostrum include how to clean test buckets? Does it cover prepping the udder?

Writing the SOP

• Give the SOP a descriptive name
• Detail its scope and list related SOPS e.g. “this SOP covers feeding colostrum to calves; for details of how to clean test buckets and prep udders see SOP numbers X & Y.”
• Prominently list any hazards which exist or any safety precautions which need to be taken.
• Detail any safety equipment or protective clothing needed
• List all equipment & supplies needed
• Detail, in sequence,  the steps needed to complete the task
• Keep the list short; if necessary, break tasks into sections to lessen the number of steps needed

Simple tasks can be presented in a checklist style; more complex procedures can be presented as linear or branching flow charts, which make following the sequence of actions easy.

Once the SOP has been completed, it is useful to make an abbreviated version to have on the wall in the work area. The more detailed version should be given a logical name & number e.g. colostrum1 and filed in a place which is easily accessible by staff members,

An important thing to remember is that SOPs are dynamic and should be reviewed and revised regularly to make sure that they remain pertinent to the particular task.

The incorporation of SOPs into the enterprise management will ensure a detailed and consistent approach to the many facets which contribute to the financial outcomes of a modern dairy business.