Farming in the Lake Rotorua catchment means meeting challenging N-loss targets. Knowing they had to do their bit for the environment, Steve and Paula Holdem began looking at tools to reduce their N-loss from their farm.

Many farmers are looking for ways to get better value from their pasture, get through NIWA’s predicted El Niño summer, and control on-farm costs. Could deferred grazing provide a solution for some farmers?

The BCS competency assessment determines your ability to accurately and consistently body condition score.Assessment is required for those who have not passed an assessment before or for those whose certification lapsed more than 2 years ago.

Justin and Melissa Slattery have been on their 100 ha farm at Elstow, between Tahuna and Paeroa for 6 years.  Their approach to farming is to be good stewards of the environment through having simple systems that are resource efficient.

Research Data Analyst

NZ Animal Evaluation Manager

Composting is an effective way to dispose of dead stock while creating a useful product and minimising the potential for groundwater contamination. If managed well, composting can be low cost and relatively odour free.

Discover the benefits of flexible milking for dairy farms - DairyNZ provides insights on milking intervals beyond OAD and TAD.

Sodium is vital for dairy cows, aiding in water balance and nerve and muscle function. It's expelled routinely and needs replacing. This page discusses how certain regions, like the Central Plateau pumice soils, can be deficient in sodium.

Changing to shorter twice-a-day (TAD) milking intervals allows you to redesign your day and achieve a better work-life balance. The traditional TAD milking intervals in New Zealand have been 10-14 hours, leading to long workdays.

Bovine viral diarrhoea (BVD) is a widespread disease impacting around 80% of New Zealand's dairy and beef herds, causing losses in reproduction, increased disease, and reduced growth and milk production.

Once-a-day (OAD) milking is the practice of milking cows only once during a 24-hour period. This page covers the reasons and options for implementing OAD milking on your farm.

The nature and scale of many dairy farming businesses is changing and there are many self-employed business opportunities available for individuals and partnerships.

Calculating Metabolisable Energy (ME) needs is important for dairy cows. You adjust for feed quality by adding or subtracting 4% per MJ ME/kg DM from the standard 11.0 MJ ME/kg DM.

Here you’ll learn about ways to make your herringbone dairy more effective, often for little or no extra cost. The swing-over herringbone is the most common dairy type in New Zealand, used on 69% of dairy farms.

The page focuses on the importance of well-designed and maintained intersections between the yard and track on a dairy farm.

Carbohydrates, forming about 75% of plant dry matter, provide the major energy source for dairy cows and aid in milk glucose and fat production.

Body Condition Scoring (BCS) is a method to monitor dairy cow health and productivity. This page provides a guide on how to carry out BCS, highlighting specific body parts to check, including the backbone, ribs, hip bones, and more.

Understanding calf digestion and rumen development is crucial for successful growth and future production.