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?

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.

DairyBase Manager

Ryegrass selection for a dairy farm system involves key decisions: choosing the right ryegrass variety (from annual to perennial), picking an endophyte for insect control, and selecting ploidy (diploid or tetraploid) and a heading date.

Disbudding is the process of removing a calf's horns between one to six weeks old. This prevents injuries to both the farm team and other animals.

Irrigation systems require suitable application depth, rate, and return periods to meet soil, plant, and climate needs. This page encourages evaluating your system against its design specifications to find potential improvements.

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, reduced growth and milk production.

Flexible milking is a term for milking practices that fall between the traditional once-a-day (OAD) or twice-a-day (TAD) milking.

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.

Comparative Stocking Rate (CSR) is a tool to measure the balance between feed demand and supply on a farm. It is determined by calculating the amount of livestock weight per hectare versus the annual feed available.

White clover is crucial for New Zealand dairy pastures, offering nutritional value and fixing nitrogen to boost other grasses' growth. Yet, shade hampers its growth, and overusing N fertiliser can outcompete it.

Milk cooling is the process of lowering the temperature of milk after milking to maintain its quality.

Heifer rearing is essential for your dairy farm's success. The page discusses three basic methods: rearing stock on your dairy farm, contract grazing, and purchasing grown replacements.

Creating a new pasture isn't just about sowing. Good management, especially in the first year, can boost its performance and longevity. It's only successfully established once it's dense and has survived a summer.

Alderbrook Farms have focused on continuous improvement over the past 20 years and are always striving to be better.

Tauranga farmers Nick and Mary Dowson initially decided to give flexible milking a go from Christmas onwards as a strategy to cope with dry summers.

Using the LEAN principle, DairyNZ developed this training programme to help enhance dairy farm management by identifying and eliminating waste, improve safety, streamline milking times, and enhance team communication and engagement.

Taranaki has long been a centre for dairy science with research and demonstration farms in Stratford, Hawera and Waimate West.

Bill and Shirley Wright are sheep and beef farm owners from Cave.