Data sharing initiative wins national award for saving farmers time
The work Fonterra has done with Ballance Agri-Nutrients Ltd, LIC and Ravensdown to save farmers time through better data connections has been recognised with a national award.
The equivalent of ‘currency’ for cows will be updated next month to better reflect the industry’s focus on efficient, high quality milk production, says LIC.
Production worth (PW) is an economic index calculated for all New Zealand dairy cows as an estimate of their lifetime production ability. It helps farmers identify the top performers in their herd, to decide which cows to keep or cull, and to help figure a value for buying or selling.
Four traits figure in the PW calculation: milk volume, milk fat, protein and liveweight. A fifth trait will be added in February -- somatic cell.
Somatic cells are produced by a cow’s immune system to fight an inflammation in the mammary gland (mastitis). Some cows are more prone to it than others and it can curb their ability to produce milk, even when the infection is cured.
The update will make PW more relevant for today’s farmers, says Malcolm Ellis, dairy farmer and LIC’s general manager NZ markets.
“Somatic cell can hit a cow’s health, production and reproduction. On our farm PW is a tool to lead culling decisions, to identify and retain the most valuable cows in the herd; but like many other farms we also review somatic cell data to help inform those decisions.
“We want to make that secondary consideration seamless, with all that information in PW.”
It will be the first update of PW since it was introduced in 1996 by the forerunner to LIC. Somatic cell was added into BW in 2005.
Managing director of Woolover Ltd, David Brown, has put a lot of effort into verifying what seems intuitive, that keeping newborn stock's core temperature stable pays dividends by helping them realise their full genetic potential.
Within the next 10 years, New Zealand agriculture will need to manage its largest-ever intergenerational transfer of wealth, conservatively valued at $150 billion in farming assets.
Boutique Waikato cheese producer Meyer Cheese is investing in a new $3.5 million facility, designed to boost capacity and enhance the company's sustainability credentials.
OPINION: The Government's decision to rule out changes to Fringe Benefit Tax (FBT) that would cost every farmer thousands of dollars annually, is sensible.
Compensation assistance for farmers impacted by Mycoplama bovis is being wound up.
Selecting the reverse gear quicker than a lovestruck boyfriend who has met the in-laws for the first time, the Coalition Government has confirmed that the proposal to amend Fringe Benefit Tax (FBT) charged against farm utes has been canned.
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