Hayden Dorman and Jessie Chan came onto the Rakaia farm as lower order sharemilkers in 2009. Within two years they had purchased the herd and now lease the farm.
With pregnancy scans mostly completed, farmers are being handed their reproduction 'report cards' for last season's mating.
South Island dairy farmers' attitudes towards breeding are rapidly changing, with cow performance data driving sire selection in an effort to maximise the value of herd progeny.
Good bull management means running adequte numbers of bulls with the herd, reducing their stress, and handling bulls to minimise the risk of injury to people and animals.
The Winter Grazing Action Group (WGAG) is stressing to farmers the importance of having grazing contracts in place for the coming season.
The energy building among the industry's young people in the lead-up to the autumn harvest sale has already proven to sale organisers that they did the right thing by instigating it.
Up until now the dairy industry has largely left the monitoring and management of cow body condition scores (BCS) to individual farmers, but change is imminent as scrutiny builds from within the consumer base of our valuable markets.
The chance of an extra set of eyes on a dairy farm is not to be sniffed at, so a recent on-farm show and tell day in the Waikato created a great deal of interest.
A clever trough monitoring system from Australian supplier Farmbot, allows farmers to remotely monitor water supplies to stock, using a clever device aptly named the Wireless Trough Sensor.
This is the first article by Chris Balemi of Agvance, of a two-part series and covers cattle hoof make up, causes of lameness and what can be done to prevent lameness in cattle.
New Zealand Holstein breeders are offering their best for the Autumn Harvest Sale at Cambridge Raceway in April.
Samantha Tennent is the new general manager of WelFarm, XLVets’ assurance programme.
The chair of a new committee set up to review the handling of Mycoplasma bovis outbreak says it isn’t a witch-hunt.
A Waikato dairy farming couple have proven they’re at the top their game, taking out two prestigious titles at New Zealand’s largest cattle showing event.
Breeding and genetics are a long-term game and it’s three years from the time we make the choice around which straw or bull to use, until we really know whether it’s been a smart decision. So, it’s understandable that most farmers are thinking ahead when it comes to their breeding.
Phosphorus (P) is critical for healthy plants to grow in New Zealand’s naturally P deficient soil, says Hamilton-based Soil Scientist Dr Gordon Rajendram.
Incorporating certain varieties of plantain into a cow’s diet has been shown to reduce the nitrogen concentration in their urine, which can leach through soil into groundwater.
Cambridge dairy farmer and breeder Brad Payne would herd test ten times a year, but he works as an LIC AB Technician during October so reluctantly sacrifices data he’d get during that month of the year.
Four generations have farmed on John Totty’s 465-hectare property at Staveley, mid-Canterbury with Jersey cows featuring prominently throughout the years.
Livestock Improvement Corporation (LIC) say continued investment in gene discovery and genetic analysis technology is allowing their farmer shareholders to improve cow production valued in the millions.
Ground-breaking collaborative research into improving dairy fertility genetics has been recognised in the annual Kudos Awards.
On many farms the level of mating success achieved is very much based on the quality of the feed.
Prior to the 1600’s the liver was considered to be the most important organ in the body, much more so than the heart and the brain.
The total number of TB-infected herds in Hawke’s Bay has risen to 20, following the recent reclassification of a new herd in the Waitara Valley.
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