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.

Trace elements, including cobalt, copper, iodine, selenium, and zinc, play a vital role in dairy cow nutrition. Your cows need these elements for functions like growth, reproduction, and milk production.

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

Pregnancy testing is key in managing your dairy herd. It tells you which cows are pregnant and their conception time, which helps you to plan effectively.

Magnesium supplements can help prevent metabolic issues in your cows, such as milk fever and grass staggers. Start giving these supplements two to three weeks before calving and continue until spring pasture growth slows.

Giant buttercup, one of 14 weedy Ranunculus species in New Zealand, is harmful to dairy pastures because cows find it distasteful due to its toxin, protoanemonin. This weed spreads across dairy farms, damaging pasture quality.

Effluent storage on your farm is crucial and requires careful planning and design. With a well-designed storage system, you'll experience peace of mind, improved irrigation, efficient use of nutrients and water, and enhanced environmental protection.

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.

Establishing a healthy pasture requires attention to several factors: sowing date, seedbed preparation, sowing depth, and perennial ryegrass sowing rate.

This page informs you on how to make informed decisions about when to start and stop irrigation, with factors like soil temperature, moisture status, weather forecast, water restrictions, and evapotranspiration rates being essential considerations.

Electronic identification (EID) systems in dairy farming consist of a transponder, reader, and data processing unit that communicate via radio signals.

Managing your cows during the transition from pregnancy to lactation helps prevent diseases and optimises seasonal performance. This period sees the cow's nutrient requirements spike but intake doesn't match up, leading to negative energy balance.

The key to preventing lameness on farm is good record keeping, identifying risk factors and developing a lameness prevention plan.

Lameness treatment in cows is crucial for quick recovery. This page details how to effectively treat various hoof conditions, such as white line disease, sole bruising, hoof wall cracks, and digital dermatitis.

Rotary milking systems have gained popularity due to their increased milking efficiency in larger herds. Learn how to improve milking efficiency in rotary systems with practical tips to save time and boost productivity.

Velvetleaf is a pest that affects crops, seen in fodder beet and maize crops nationwide. This weed can live on farms for up to 50 years and withstands digestion and silage methods.

Maize is an essential crop for New Zealand dairy farmers, helping enhance feed supply, manage climatic risks, and support pasture renewal. Growing maize on a dairy farm can also extract soil nutrients and reduce costs in high-fertility effluent areas

Proteins are essential for many metabolic functions in dairy cows, including growth, lactation, and reproduction. This page explains that the protein in feed, known as crude protein (CP), is calculated based on the feed's nitrogen content.

Summer dairy farming involves efficiently using spring pasture before summer heat and dryness diminish its quality. You should formulate a summer management plan early to ensure profitable production.

Erosion control is the practice of preventing sediment and nutrients from entering waterways and preserving topsoil on paddocks.