Hoofcare Wins the Day at AgriScot

For the second time in three years, animal healthcare product manufacturer, Diversey, has won the AgriScot Product Innovation Award.

The winner this year was the companies Deosan HH+ hoof care product, which it describes as a more environmentally friendly and therefore easier to dispose of product than traditional foot bath formulations.

The award was presented to David Jackson, Diversey’s Scottish and Cumbrian account manager as part of AgriScot online.

Mr Jackson stated: "We were delighted to win the competition again and it shows that our strategy of producing novel ways of helping health and hygiene on the farm, yet with products that are kinder to the environment, is paying off.”

"Lameness is one of the biggest animal welfare challenges dairy farmers face and has been for over 20 years. At any one time, as many as 20-25% of a dairy herd can be lame with losses to lameness averaging 2% of milk revenue.”

"Deosan HH+ directly improves the strength and structure of the hoof without masking the symptoms of lameness."

Diversey claims that their new foot bathing solution is proven to prevent hoof degradation using safer and more cost-effective methods than existing solutions.

Mr Jackson added, “walk-through footbaths designed to limit bacterial infection and to harden the hooves have been the standard approach to reducing lameness. However, until now the available solutions employed have not been sustainable."

"The Deosan HH+ formulation restores hoof hardness without damaging the earth, your animals or the value of milk. It boosts natural prevention from the use of a strong mineral acid that supports the reversal of the hoof degradation process, optimising hoof hardness in a safe way that does not trick the animal into thinking they are free from pain."

“The product is100% water-soluble, which significantly reduces its environmental impact.”

The judging Product Innovation competition judging panel consisted of Brian Sangster, representing BAGMA (British Agricultural and Garden Machinery Association); Alistair Kingan, whose Kingan Farms was crowned Scotch Beef Farm of the Year at AgriScot 2019; and Ken Fletcher, editor of The Scottish Farmer.

The judges stated: "Standing still is not an option for any business and it is competitions like this that pump life and energy into the industry.”

“The winning product ticked a few boxes for us, not the least of which is that it is an everyday use product that fulfils two aims – it is effective in ‘doing what it says on the tin’ and it is also much less toxic and easier to dispose of than current products."

Also, in the short leet for this prestigious award were: A new rat bait formulation from BASF, Storm Ultra Secure; DeLaval’s VMS V310 robot milking machine and Kverneland's MD Disc a new system for high-speed crop establishment.

The winner received £1000-worth of free advertising in The Scottish Farmer.