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.

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.

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.

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.

Senior Policy Advisor

Principal Policy Advisor

The Emissions and Profitability Project is a study aimed at better understanding the relationships between physical farm performance measures and profitability, with a focus on reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

The Resilient Pastures programme is a seven-year initiative focusing on enhancing pasture performance and persistence on dairy, sheep and beef farms across the upper North Island.

Farm systems specialist

Senior partnership lead