Once-a-Day Calf Feeding: How Probiotics Boost Heifer Growth
Matt Collier, Probiotic Revolution, says calves will drink a lot of milk once-a-day with their probiotic Calf Xtreme.
New Zealand dairy farmers are benefiting from the global food demand to a greater extent than their Australian counterparts, says Mark Bennett, head of Agribusiness ANZ Regional Australia.
Bennett said at the National Fieldays that dairy farmers in Australia had not captured farmgate returns to the same extent as in New Zealand in the last year and, as a result, confidence was lower.
"After improved seasonal conditions and a return of irrigation supplies, Australian dairy farmers are still pondering what it might take to capture the much-talked-about food demand explosion - particularly in Asia," he said.
Confidence is down following recent price outlook for the 2013 season, which could see returns in export production fall by around 10% to 15% in 2013.
"While dairy farmers in southern states have been able to produce surpluses over the past two years that allowed debt reduction and consolidation, it has not been enough to stimulate investment and demand for expansion," Bennett said.
Bennett added that land prices in all dairy regions in Australia appeared to have softened somewhere between 5% and 20% and that it would take an improvement in farmgate prices (which could still be driven by a lower AUD), and continuing good seasons, to help turn things around.
Agriculture is extremely important to the economies of both countries, and is one of ANZ's priority global sectors.
Bennett said his visit to the fieldays was a great opportunity to connect with ANZ New Zealand colleagues.
"ANZ is the biggest banker to agribusiness in Australasia, and we want to continue to leverage our skills and knowledge in agriculture and link up our business on both sides of the Tasman.
"This will help us to better support our clients doing cross-border trade both here and throughout Asia-Pacific."
B+LNZ's Wormwise veterinarian Mary Bowron has won the Best Sheep and Beef Vet of the Year Award in recognition of her outstanding contribution to New Zealand’s sheep and beef sector.
Researchers at Massey University are using a special piece of scientific equipment to improve the measurement of greenhouse gas emissions from pasture soils.
More signs of a booming kiwifruit sector.
OPINION: David Seymour and James Meager's plan to make it easier for farmers and orchardists to operate drones can best be described a 'courageous' move.
New Zealand wool is reaching new heights as air filtration companies move away from synthetic products to biodegradable alternatives.
Opuha Dam's ability to protect South Canterbury communities from major flooding has taken a significant step forward, with Opuha Water Limited (OWL) successfully commissioning a new outlet valve capable of releasing record volumes of water from the dam ahead of a weather event.
OPINION: After hogging the media limelight for telling a NZ Chinese MP to "go back home", Winston Peters has decided…
OPINION: With fuel prices soaring, one would have expected most farmers to be reclaiming excise duty on petrol.