Two LIC directors not seeking re-election
Two long-standing LIC farmer-elected directors are stepping down later this year.
A new app for farmers has been launched by LIC Automation to help those with CellSense in-line sensors to more easily manage mastitis in their herd.
CellSense is an automated in-line sensor providing farmers with a live somatic cell count (SCC) result within two minutes of cupping the cow. The new CellSense Connected app sends the SCC results straight to farmers’ smart devices. Data is presented in an easy-to-use format on the farmers’ devices (phones and tablets), allowing them to assign a SCC result to a cow during milking.
This means farmers can view reports at their convenience and use them to aid dry off decisions. A flashing light system in the milking shed is an optional extra that alerts farmers to which cows in the herd have a high SCC.
Paul Whiston, LIC Automation’s chief executive says it heard from farmers they wanted an affordable solution enabling better mastitis management.
‘Until now, a herd identification system had to be fitted in the shed so the data from the sensors could be stored. CellSense Connected means no herd identification system is needed. It puts the farmer in control of what is and isn’t recorded.”
The app has been designed for farmers who run smaller operations and are looking for a cost-effective way manage mastitis. LIC Automation have found through on-farm trials that farmers are mainly concerned with the cows that have a high SCC level and tend to record only the outliers in their herd.
CellSense Connected integrates to LIC Automation’s Protrack, allowing farmers to schedule drafts from the app. It is suitable for both Herringbone and Rotary sheds and connects to other LIC Automation products.
A vet is calling for all animals to be vaccinated against a new strain of leptospirosis (lepto) discovered on New Zealand dairy farms in recent years.
Two major red meat sector projects are getting up to a combined $1.7 million in funding from the New Zealand Meat Board (NZMB).
Angus Barr and Tara Dwyer of The Wandle, Lone Star Farms in Strath Taieri have been named the Regional Supreme Winners at the Otago Ballance Farm Environment Awards in Dunedin.
OPINION: The distress that the politicians and bureaucrats are causing to the people of Wairoa and the wider Tairāwhiti is unforgivable.
Dairy
Rural banker Rabobank is partnering with Food Rescue Kitchen on a new TV series which airs this weekend that aims to shine a light on the real and growing issues of food waste, food poverty and social isolation in New Zealand.