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.

A pasture feed wedge is a tool that visually displays your farm's current pasture situation. By ranking your paddocks based on average pasture cover, it can help you make proactive decisions about pasture management.

Late summer strategies in dairy farming involve continuous monitoring of feed demand and body condition score (BCS). This page discusses how managing pasture effectively, considering factors like over-grazing and dry periods, is crucial.

A well-designed and maintained track for your dairy herd can save time and money, and improve cow welfare.

A successful dry period for cows entails hitting body condition score (BCS) targets before calving. This page emphasises the importance of meeting the cow's energy needs for maintenance, activity, BCS gain, and pregnancy during this time.

Grass staggers is a metabolic disease in cows caused by a magnesium deficiency. By giving cows extra magnesium in their diet, you can prevent health issues like grass staggers and milk fever, which can help increase milk production.

Heifers, or young female cows, require careful planning and patience when introducing them to the milking herd. The page you're reading details steps to minimise stress and enhance milk production during this transition.

Successful weaning in calves relies on proper nutrition, adequate weight, and gradual transitions. It's important to ensure calves are consuming the right amount of feed and meeting their weight-for-age targets.

Feeding and nutrition play a critical role in a young heifer's development. A well-fed heifer grows more, produces more milk, and competes better with mature cows. Your heifer's diet needs sufficient energy and protein for optimal growth.

Early lactation once-a-day (OAD) milking is a short-term strategy used during the calving period. Understanding the benefits and trade-offs helps you make informed decisions for your herd and business.

An Automatic Milking System (AMS) lets cows choose when to be milked by a robotic system without human help. It has a robotic arm and an identification system. When a cow enters, it's checked if she's due for milking.

Body Condition Score (BCS) is a critical element in managing the health and reproduction of your dairy herd. It's essential to maintain BCS targets, as too thin or too fat cows can negatively affect reproductive performance.

Maize silage is a high-quality forage supplement made by ensiling maize crops in stacks or bunkers, used to supplement pasture. This silage has notably low levels of sodium, calcium, and phosphorus, making it a useful carrier to supplement magnesium.

Heifer grazing involves estimating your farm's ability to support the growth of dairy heifers to meet their target weights. It's important to evaluate the number of heifers your land can sustain based on the amount and quality of pasture.

The design of the milking bail, pipework, and pit in dairy farming is crucial for the safety and comfort of both cows and workers. This page outlines ways to ensure optimal cow flow and worker efficiency in the milking process.

The teat cup liner is the part of the milking machine that touches the cow's teat, significantly affecting milking performance, udder and teat health.

Maximising pasture growth is key to increasing your dairy farm's profitability. To do this, you need to identify the lowest producing paddocks and understand their potential by comparing them with the best ones.

Dry matter is a crucial dietary requirement for dry cows. This page outlines the energy a cow needs, considering its weight gain or loss. The feed requirement considers the cow's maintenance, pregnancy, and weight gain.