Understanding udder health
Last month we talked about why dry cow management is critical, though often overlooked. This month I wanted to dive further into the dry period’s importance to udder health.
A governance group has been formed, following extensive sector consultation, to implement the recommendations from the Industry Working Group's (IWG) final report and is said to be forming a 'road map' for improving New Zealand's animal genetic gain system.
The IWG was charged with evaluating the dairy sector's genetic improvement progress and recently put forward recommendations to drive faster rates of genetic gain in New Zealand's dairy herd.
The IWG report said the current system for genetic gain in New Zealand was not fit-for-purpose and that, as a result, New Zealand's genetic herd had lagged relative to other advanced dairy industries.
Importantly, the IWG report noted its confidence that New Zealand can catch up to fully harness the benefits of genomics for faster genetic gain, unlocking increased profitability and improving environmental outcome.
Upon the report's release in July, DairyNZ, LIC and CRV all committed to making changes for the sector's benefit and will each participate in a newly established governance grup to take the report's recommendations forward.
The governance group met yesterday and identified six workstreams to action the report's recommendations, including:
The governance group has commenced a process to appoint an independent chair for a two-year term, alongside an appointed project manager.
“The report clearly outlined how New Zealand can improve the rates of genetic gain and we are fully committed to ensuring that the recommendations are actioned to benefit the entire sector,” DairyNZ chief executive Campbell Parker says.
“We have had productive conversations about how we can implement the recommendations and are determined to work together and overcome sector challenges to ultimately deliver benefits to our New Zealand dairy farmers – through animals that are more resilient, profitable and easier to farm into the future.”
He says the governance group parties will work together to develop outputs that meet the needs of other stakeholders in the sector to access and participate in a one genomic breeding worth index.
He says they will also ensure they have the right reporting mechanisms set up for the workstreams for transparency and consistency, and an engagement plan is being developed to ensure all interested stakeholders can participate effectively in the governance group process.
The governance group will provide regular updates.
Sitting Beef + Lamb NZ farmer director Scott Gower has been voted out by farmers.
The New Zealand Veterinary Association (NZVA) says it will be working alongside the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) and Animal and Plant Health New Zealand (APHANZ) as they attempt to improve access to veterinary medicines.
Federated Farmers says it welcomes a recent court decision which granted a stay on rules in the Southland Water and Land Plan until legislative changes can be made by government.
A holistic approach to sustainability sees Pukatea Dairy Farms take out the top award at this year's Canterbury Ballance Farm Environment Awards.
Registrations are now open for the highly anticipated South Island Dairy Event (SIDE) 2025, taking place April 7-9 in Timaru.
Scientists from the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) are part of an international team working to develop a low-cost diagnostic tool that could significantly improve food crop production in developing countries.
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