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.