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High country healing with Isuzu FX Series
A stone’s throw from Mount Kosciuszko, in the Biggara valley, sits the McKimmie family farm.
It’s been a tough few years for husband-and-wife team, Mal and Belinda McKimmie: a summer of tragic bushfires in 2020, loss of stock, fencing and other infrastructure, and then came the COVID-19 pandemic.
As owners of M&B McKimmie Livestock Transport, they are no strangers to moving local stock safely and quickly.
Needing a rugged, ultra-reliable truck suited to the task, they find Isuzu’s FXY 1500 (FXY 240-350 6x4) with manual transmission fits the bill, especially out on the bush tracks.
“The truck played a huge part in helping our community in Biggara following the fires— helping to transport burnt cattle and moving stock to safer areas,” said Belinda.
“But on a regular day, we can be picking up livestock in the Snowy Mountains farming district, driving long distances on back roads and then travelling to the selling yards in regional centres.”
Sitting at 24,000 kg GVM, the FXY’s generous power rating of 257 kW @ 2,000 rpm, torque of 1,422 Nm @ 1,400 rpm and simple, no-nonsense design—as well as its capability in harsh high country weather—were all appealing purchase points.
“We got the Isuzu for the power and stability going up steep hills and windy corners; the bogie axles really help with balancing the cattle and the movement on top of the tray.”
“In summer I haven’t had any overheating issues,” said Belinda.
With many of her trips involving reversing down narrow access tracks, Belinda notes the FXY’s large mirror coverage comes in handy.
“It gives me a feeling of safety and given the terrain, I’m hugely reliant on those mirrors.”
The McKimmie’s also undertook the extra expense and upkeep of installing premium rubber agri-matting into the truck’s tray for the travelling comfort of their clients’ stock—an addition that generated repeat business throughout the region.
“People love what they do and want to look after their stock. They’re really looking for that extra care.”
The McKimmies also use the truck for carting hay on the farm and taking their horses to compete in campdrafting competitions.
Despite five years of rough and dirty work, the truck has required had no downtime or repairs apart from essential servicing, and the McKimmie’s depend on Isuzu for all their aftercare needs.
“We live quite far away, but the dealership at Wodonga always provide a loan car and services the truck quickly.”
“Isuzu Trucks are built for the work we do. I couldn’t imagine looking anywhere else for my next truck purchase.”
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Trace minerals are required for optimal growth, reproduction, and immunity. Optimising trace mineral status relying solely on oral supplements across a herd may fail because of variation in individual intake and reduced absorption due to antagonism of other ration components and minerals. The use of injectable trace mineral supplements has been associated with positive reproductive outcomes including improved conception rate, increased odds of pregnancy and greater final in calf rate. A study conducted on 2,168 dairy cows, administered injectable trace minerals, four weeks prior to calving and again four weeks prior to the start of mating showed treated animals had a 3.3 per cent greater final in-calf rate, and a reduced time from start of mating to conception, compared to control animals 1 . The Importance of B12 Dr Carl Eden, Technical Services Veterinarian with Boehringer Ingelheim says “Vitamin B12 is sometimes referred to as a ‘super vitamin’ because it is only required in very small amounts but vital to many essential metabolic pathways. However, demand for B12 can vary considerably during the year and we see serum levels of B12 fall at critical times, such as the first few months after calving.” Vitamin B12 contains cobalt, so deficiency in cobalt can lead to deficiency in vitamin B12 because ruminants get most of their B12 as a byproduct of ruminal fermentation where the bacteria in their rumen assemble B12 from cobalt for use by the cow. Sub-optimal trace mineral and vitamin B12 status at calving, mating, and drying off has been shown to negatively impact growth, reproduction, and immunity. Using a trace mineral injectable containing vitamin B12 can improve trace mineral and vitamin B12 status at these critical times. Marks-Min with Vitamin B12 – The Evidence In the largest trace element study to date, Marks-Min Injectable Trace Mineral with Vitamin B12 demonstrated remarkable results when compared to a reference trace mineral injection. “Given the differences between Marks-Min and other products on the market, we wanted to generate a compelling data set to demonstrate how effective it was compared to the pioneer product. We entrusted this work to a third-party research company” says Dr Eden. “We chose farms that were at the top of their game from a reproductive perspective. We made sure that the farms had no evidence of trace element or vitamin B12 deficiencies or excess.” Across all outcomes of interest, Marks-Min demonstrated clear non-inferiority when compared to the reference product. Outcomes measured included submission, pregnancy and conception rates, and six week in-calf rate. Marks-Min demonstrated it is highly suited as an alternative treatment to the reference product. Reference: 1. Hawkins, D., and B. V. S. Franklin. New Zealand Dairy Veterinarians Newsletter 24 (2007): 12-16 Company website: livestockfirst.com.au Company email address: CustomerCare.Australia@boehringer-ingelheim.com Company video: https://vimeo.com/1138807630?fl=pl&fe=cm
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