Rearing facilities should be set up and maintained well to ensure calves stay healthy.
Solid biosecurity practices, regular monitoring and timely vaccination are the three key pillars of effective Bovine Viral Diarrhoea (BVD) control on New Zealand farms. Zoetis veterinary technical advisor, Karley DeFrees, explains BVD is a costly but preventative disease that impacts a significant number of dairy farms in New Zealand. Implementation…
Bovine Viral Diarrhoea (BVD) is estimated to cost New Zealand's dairy and beef industries more than $150 million every year, yet many of the tools needed to control it are already well understood. After more than 25 years in veterinary practice, Andrew Weir, animal health technical specialist at LIC, has…
Paynes Titus Excelsior ET, an LIC bull bred by Brad Payne and Claire Brodie in the Waikato, has won the JT Thwaites Sire of the Season 2026 Award.
For decades, successful calving has centred on correct mineral supplementation to prevent milk fever, along with teat sealants to minimise calving mastitis.
Giving calves the best possible start to life has been shown to boost growth and resilience.
Moving Day (June 1) is just around the corner and farmers who are moving farms with the herd are being urged by Ospri to start preparations now.
For Taranaki sharemilkers Elly and Kale Grahame, technology hasn't beeen about overcomplicating their system.
In calf rearing, the smallest details often have the biggest impact. While feed and genetics remain critical, bedding is increasingly recognised as a key driver of calf health, growth, and overall performance.
For decades, probiotics in calf rearing have been treated as a reactive tool – something to reach for when illness strikes. That thinking, according to Matt Collier of Probiotic Revolution, is leaving significant money on the table.
When a cow goes down after calving, it is easy to blame the calving itself. Milk fever, calving stress, poor weather, bad luck. Yet many down cows are not caused by one dramatic event. They are the end result of poorly transitioned cows entering calving under nutritional pressure.
Dry-off feels like a break. For the cow, it's anything but.
Bovine Respiratory Disease (BRD) is one of the most common - and most expensive - health challenges on dairy farms. Often referred to as pneumonia or "shipping fever" (a stress-triggered form that can develop after transport), BRD can hit calves hard and fast.
Mid-season on farm is where good habits are tested. Workloads build, the days stack up, and what felt straightforward at the end of the season can begin to feel like a grind. It is also the point where small lapses in consistency can creep in, often without anyone noticing in…
New research is helping farmers better understand and manage fertility, with clearer tools and measures to support more robust, productive herds.
The dry period isn’t just a farm holiday but a chance to get your herd match-fit for calving and early lactation. If you treat it as a focused phase of preparation, recovery and capacity building, you’ll see the benefits when the cows return to milk.
Research data and practical experience, from New Zealand and around the world, has shown that youngstock rearers can positively influence lifetime productivity of calves, kids and lambs, simply by feeding them well in the first eight weeks of their lives.
Somatic cell counts on the rise in late lactation?
New DairyNZ research will help farmers mitigate the impacts of heat stress on herds in high-risk regions of the country.
Bovonic says a return on investment study has found its automated mastitis detection technology, QuadSense, is delivering financial, labour, and animal-health benefits on New Zealand dairy farms worth an estimated $29,547 per season.
When Ian Smith built a 520-bed free stall barn on his Drummond dairy farm in 2014, it changed the way he farmed.
Summer can be a tricky period on farm. Cows approach the summer period milking well, but the summer heat causes rapid changes in pasture.
As we move towards the warmer, more humid months, farmers across New Zealand are already preparing for the annual challenge of facial eczema (FE).
» Latest Print Issues Online
Milking It
Irish Dilemma
OPINION: The Irish dairy sector is facing a new dilemma - maintaining year-round fresh milk supplies.
Beef Cows To The Rescue
OPINION: Could beef cows play an increasingly important role in improving profitability and resilience on hill country farms?
» eNewsletter
