Ballymoney farmer wins quad bike

Winners of the Honda Fourtrax 250ES quad on the Ecolab stand at Balmoral Show were the Hanna family, John, Jane, Rachel (3) and Michael (21mths) from Ballymoney. They took delivery of their prize from Irwin Farm Supplies/Ecolab dairy hygiene specialists Nathan McKendry and Maurice Wylie. Picture: Julie Hazelton

Throughout the three-day Balmoral Show, customers who purchased products from the company’s udder care, hoof care, and milking parlour chemical ranges, were entered into a prize draw to win the quad worth almost £5,000.

The County Antrim man was delighted to learn that he had the winning ticket. “I’ve never won anything in my life, and this is a real surprise. It’s a fantastic prize!”

John Hanna, and wife Jane, run a herd of 150 commercial dairy cows. They have been using Ecolab’s flagship teat spray Blu Gard for more than three years.

“We have two Lely Astronaut A4 milking robots, and the Blu Gard is compatible for post spraying through the machines.

“Some of our cows are milked up to five times daily, and teat condition and overall udder health is excellent.”

Irwin Farm Supplies/Ecolab dairy hygiene specialist Nathan McKendry said: “Blu Gard is one of our best selling products. In fact, in the last twelve months we have sold enough Blu Gard in Northern Ireland to treat over ten million cows. This volume of sales is testimony to the quality of the product. “

Blu Gard is a VMD approved teat spray which has been successfully tried and tested against common contagious and environmental pathogens such as Staphylococcus Aureus and Streptococcus Uberis.

It is based on Linear Dodecylbenzene Sulphonic Acid and offers an effective killing agent which lasts for up to nine hours. Blu Gard boasts high levels of emollients and skin conditioning agents, and is available in 20 litre, 200 litre and 1,000 litre containers.