Area Manager - Eastern Bay of Plenty

This page outlines what to consider when selecting international bulls, how their breeding values are evaluated, and which traits are assessed for New Zealand conditions.

Area Manager - Cambridge, Te Awamutu

Tune into this Talking Dairy in 10 episode for an update about DairyNZ’s recent submission on the National Freshwater Framework under the Resource Management Act reform.

Fodder beet is a crop with high yield potential, offering many benefits for dairy farming, including adding body condition to cows and having less environmental impact than other feeds. It must be managed correctly to ensure the health of your cows.

Swedes serve as winter feed for livestock. They thrive best in cooler, moist conditions and dislike waterlogged areas and dry spells. For best growth, avoid soils that are either too light and drain quickly or too dense and retain too much water.

Fodder beet is a feed option for cows that requires careful planning to avoid health issues such as acidosis. Before feeding it, you should measure your crop yield and test the leaf and bulb to determine its nutritional content.

For the best outcome at calving time, know the signs and stages of labour, how to calve a cow, and the immediate care needed after calving. Check springers regularly to help identify the signs of labour, ensuring timely interventions if needed.

Clean and comfortable calf sheds help create a nurturing environment for calves, reduces the risk of disease and encourages high growth rates.

Give calves the best possible start to set them up for a long, productive life. Maintain routine hygiene and health practices from birth, such as regularly cleaning feeders, limiting movements between pens, and following a vaccination plan.

Prioritising the health of bobby calves makes transporting them more efficient. Additionally, they must meet requirements for transportation before leaving the farm to keep them comfortable and healthy.

Providing the right amount of the best colostrum early in life is the right thing to do for your calves. Gold colostrum provides energy and health benefits for all calves and is part of world-leading animal care.

To ensure optimal growth, health, and well-being of calves, feeding strategies should be considered carefully. Research indicates that feeding a higher daily allowance, split into multiple feeds, is better for calves.

More farmers are using wearables for heat detection and to ease pressure on skilled people at mating time. But do they lift repro results? Hear what the research says in this episode with DairyNZ’s Paul Edwards and CowSmart vet Line Ferriman.

Environmental specialist