Proactive visitor biosecurity management helps protect your herd and your business. Visitors can unknowingly bring in diseases, weeds or pests that threaten animal health and farm productivity.

Dairy stockmanship covers interactions between cows and people, and when practised effectively, creates a safe and efficient work environment; it also improves animal health and production.

Vet Kirsty Ashcroft shares farmers’ top tips for getting value from wearables — from starting with the basics and avoiding alert fatigue to using data with your vet to lift decision-making and animal health.

Animal feed can affect animal health, milk quality and food safety, and the source of dairy products can be important to buyers and consumers. That’s why it’s important when buying and selling feed, it can be traced to its origin.

What prompted the Lincoln University Demonstration Dairy Farm’s move to full-season 10-in-7 milking? And what impact has it had on animal health, fertility, production and staff wellbeing?

Clusters in dairy milking are a set of components that include a claw and four fully assembled cups. Selecting the right clusters and setting them up correctly will increase milking efficiency and improve animal health.

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.

Integrated cattle handling facilities, including head bales, crushes, and AI races, are essential for safe and efficient animal health tasks for both cows and handlers.

The transition period in a cow's life requires precise feed management to ensure health and optimal milk production. It’s important to set BCS targets, monitor those targets and adjust your feed budget as required, especially pre- and post-calving.

How can your actions during calving impact success at mating? Find out about the herd fertility cake concept and the key ingredients to focus on between calving and mating to improve in-calf rates.

In this episode, Jac McGowan and Mitch Cooper, veterinarian and DairyNZ’s Senior Technical and Policy Advisor, discuss how to prevent and manage down cows during calving season. Get practical tips on how to recognise early signs, treatment and care.

Read more on how DairyNZ is understanding how predicted changes to climate will affect cow health and welfare.

Bovine tuberculosis (TB) is a serious disease that threatens herd health and New Zealand’s dairy and beef industries. TB control and eradication is a shared responsibility, led through the TBfree programme managed by OSPRI and supported by DairyNZ.

Managing down cows is crucial for dairy farmers. When a cow is down, it's important to promptly diagnose the cause, decide on a treatment, and follow a management plan.

Heat stress in cows happens when they can't dissipate the heat they generate, leading to discomfort and lower milk yields. Unlike humans, cows can start feeling the stress at temperatures below 20°C.

Clinical ketosis is a metabolic disease in cows, occurring when they are in severe negative energy balance, particularly during early lactation and may occur as a secondary condition to other health challenges the cow may be experiencing.

Mycoplasma bovis (M. bovis) is a bacteria that affects cattle, impacting their health, welfare and productivity. If your farm is affected by M. bovis, there's support available, including financial assistance.

Our understanding of animal welfare has evolved. Instead of focusing solely on health and production, there is now a broader perspective that considers behaviour and affective state, which considers an animal’s experiences and overall wellbeing.