Sophie Ireland | BVSc

Sophie Ireland | BVSc

February 7, 2023

Mixed Animal Veterinarian

Sophie joined MVS in January 2023 and works with both the small and large animal team.

Sophie is a Massey University graduate and spent time with MVS on her university placements and decided she would like to be a part of the team!

Sophie grew up with an array of her own animals over the hill in rural Tauranga and has wanted to be a Vet since day one!

Outside of work Sophie enjoys going to the beach and local waterholes with her dog, adventuring outside and exploring the beautiful walks in NZ, going to the gym, and socialising with her friends and family.

Introducing our new Farms Services Administrator

November 26, 2021

Haana Gaskell has joined the MVS team as our Farm Services Administrator.

Haana has a range of knowledge and experience in administrative and customer service roles throughout the Waikato. Coming home she is excited to join the dairy industry having grown up on a dairy farm here in Matamata.
Haana’s role as Farm Services Administrator is to coordinate all routine seasonal bookings for our dairy farmers, take charge as our InfoVet Administrator and provide support to our Farm Marketing Team. We look forward to introducing you to Haana next time you are in the clinic.

Are you looking for a solution for tail end calves?

November 2, 2021

We are getting a lot of enquiries around tail end calves at present, with everyone wanting a silver bullet injection.

Once infectious diseases such as Coccidia and Yersinia have been ruled out or cured, the next step is to give these calves a helping hand to catch up. While Multimin injection and copper boluses will help, the main thing these calves need is the correct nutrition to help finish their rumen development.

This is where Nourish calf feed comes in. This high quality feed has been designed to develop the calf’s rumen meaning the effects last long after the meal has finished.

https://www.ruminate.co.nz/growyourfuture

Give our Retail Team a call on 07 888 8197 to get your order in.

Did your Submission Rate hit the mark?

October 25, 2021

Many of you will be hitting the 3 week point of mating in the coming days and we are already hearing stories of farmers disappointed in their 3-week Submission Rates.

If your submission rate is less than 90% or even if it’s more than that and you’re still worried, then now is the time to act.

If you do nothing then you are leaving it to chance, but if you act quickly it is still possible to give these animals three chances at mating before Christmas. By utilising a CIDR sooner we can reduce the empty rate of these cows and get another AB calf or use a short gestation semen to gain up to 10 days in milk next season.

Call the clinic on 07 888 8197 to book in, or to discuss with one of our vets.

Farewell Katherine Martin

October 22, 2021

After almost twenty years working alongside our Dairy clients Katherine is moving on.

At the end of next month, Katherine will be leaving the team here at Matamata Veterinary Services.

Katherine joined us here as an Office Junior back in 2002 and from that point has thrived and evolved within this position to her current role as Key Account Manager for our Dairy clientele.

Her role today requires Katherine to work closely with MVS farm clients assisting with Farm Data Management, keeping of important records and making sure time sensitive jobs are booked appropriately. This role has proven hugely valuable to both the practice and the clients we serve.

Over the years many current and past clients have expressed their appreciation for the focus, dedication and effort Katherine has put into her role and there is no doubt she will be missed.

So as we turn our focus to the tough task of recruiting a suitable replacement, we wish to thank Katherine for all of her hard work and efforts over the time she has been part of our team and wish her all the best with future plans.

The end of an era at Matamata Veterinary Services as Murray Eddington retires

October 19, 2021

At the end of this month, after 33 years on the MVS team, Murray will be taking off his overalls and gumboots for one last time….

Murray started with us as a Technician back in the late 80’s under the leadership of our Practice forefathers – Jeff Grimmett, John O’Flaherty, Adrian Joe, Nigel Kittow and Mike Hills.

Back then each Vet filled every role from cat castrations to colic surgeries. Technicians like Murray working closely with the Veterinarians, knew to expect the unexpected when fronting for work.

At this time Veterinary Technicians were a very new concept and Murray accepted this challenge whole heartedly, becoming one of the first ever Technicians in New Zealand, paving the way for the others that followed.

It was always a job with a lot of variation and under the close supervision of Adrian Joe, Murray developed an impressive skill base testing milking machines.  This skill has proven extremely valuable and is widely recognised to this day.

It is fair to say that Murray leaves very big boots to fill and we will definitely miss him.
So, on behalf of us all here at MVS, we wish Murray the very best for a well-earned retirement.

Farewell Muzz and thank you for all the hard work.

Are you confident in heat detection? – Mating is almost upon us!

September 15, 2021

In fact if you are looking to do premating heats, you probably should have your tail paint on already.

Heat detection is on of the biggest drivers for a successful mating and where you can make the biggest gains through a few small changes.

Making sure your staff are well training can be a game changed to your results.

MVS is able to provide on-farm reproduction training to make sure you hit the ground running.

If you’d like to book this, please give the clinic a call on 07 888 8197.

Covid-19 Alert Level 2. How will this look at MVS Farm?

September 7, 2021

The Government have announced that our region will be going to Alert Level 2 from 11.59pm Tuesday 7 September 2021. On that basis, we would just like to remind clients of how this will best work from our business’s perspective.

The Shop

To minimise shop traffic, we encourage clients to continue using the outside pick up system currently in operation, as it reduces unnecessary contact of both MVS Staff and clients wanting to maintain the extra level of social distancing.

1. The retail area will now be open through the front doors only. Side doors will remain closed to assist with limiting through traffic
2. Masks are to be worn in the shop at all times and clients are to maintain a 2m distance between staff and one another while in the building
3. There will be a table set up near the door way with a QR code to scan and a register for those people without the ability to scan the code.

It is mandatory that everybody collecting supplies from the outside system or entering the premises either scans the QR code or manually records their visit in the register on arrival. Hand sanitiser will be available at this point, please use it

4. We ask clients to use only the farm retail/dispensary area to obtain supplies from that area and refrain from walking into the small animal area.

5. Likewise if clients if need pet supplies, please use the small animal entrance. This is to minimise foot traffic through the clinic.

On Farm

1.  Please ensure our Vets and Techs have sufficient space of >2m between them and you when attending calls.
2. If there is risk of this not being possible (as there often is with needing to help to restrain animals) please wear a face mask.
3. Please inform us if any of your farm staff or family members have cold or flu symptoms, or are currently isolating/awaiting COVID test results.

Our aim, as it has been throughout this latest Lockdown, is to continue to provide valued clients and their animals uninterrupted access to veterinary services and products. By following the guidelines above, we are giving ourselves the best possible chance of continuing to do so.

Thanks again for all of your support throughout this. It is hugely appreciated.

Vets are an essential service. A reminder for happens at Level 4 for MVS Farm

August 18, 2021

VETS are an essential service and we have been told to continue business as usual but with some obvious changes to facilitate social distancing….

Under Covid-19 Alert Level 4 we wish to provide further information to Dairy and Livestock farmers on our operations going forward.

1. On farm visits are to continue largely as normal but without person to person contact. Please ensure a 2m distance is maintained at all times and that we have easy access to clean water allowing us to be able to wash hands as required.
2. We are still supplying a full range of Animal Health Products and essential Small Animal Services again with obvious changes aimed at eliminating person to person contact so clinic/shop doors are closed from 5.00pm today. We ask you to phone the clinic prior to arriving, which will enable us to get you the correct advice and assistance you require. We will be using our ‘drive through’ system again. The following are the steps you need to take to use this system with minimal disruption to you:

MVS drive through collection area protocol:

1. Call the clinic and place your order of required supplies.
2. We will provide you with a bin number and a time they can be collected.
3. Enter the clinic area between Ag-Worx and MVS and drive past the two roller doors on the right.
4. At the back of the clinic just as you turn right through the carpark, behind the clinic there is a collection area with numbered green bins in which you will find your order.

When collecting larger orders such as bags of minerals, we will ask you to pull up near the collection area and call the clinic to say you have arrived. Our staff will then bring your order out to your car.

Thank you for your understanding in these extraordinary times.

Regards

The MVS Team

Winner of R M Williams Rugby Jersey

August 8, 2021

Congratulations to Peter Eriepa and Lacey Reece who won the recent competition in the July issue of Herd Scene.