increase font size
Calf with Angus dairy cross tags.
New ear tags for dairy stock will sort out genuine Angus dairy cross cattle from all the rest, say its promoters.
A new Angus X Dairy tag, launched in partnership by Angus New Zealand, CRV Ambreed and Allflex, allows farmers to tag and identify dairy calves which are 50% Angus, having been sired by a registered Angus or Performance Recorded Angus Cattle (PRAC) bull.
Angus breed representative Guy Sargent says the ultimate goal with the new tag is to ensure dairy farmers get the premiums they deserve for higher value offspring. It also gives the buyer of a calf certainty about what their purchase.
“It’s to improve the integrity of the offspring,” says Sargent.
“Angus cattle are highly sought after and the tags verify that a verified Angus sire has been used over the dairy cow.”
Using registered or PRAC recorded Angus bulls allows farmers to tag their progeny with Angus X Dairy tags. These bright green tags identify the premium quality of the offspring, enabling the dairy farmer to attract higher premiums at the point of the sale and further down the supply chain.
Beef semen has become a more attractive option for dairy farmers wanting to on-sell calves to the beef industry, adding greater value to their business and making sure every mating results in a saleable calf.
Last year was a record year for beef semen sales for CRV Ambreed with an 8% jump in beef straw sales. This trend is expected to continue.
And the return is good: a straw of beef semen costs about $20 and quality dairy/beef bull calves sell at $150 to $300.
Grazing product manager Peter van Elzakker says dairy farmers in the past may have chosen other beef breeds over Angus because their offspring can be harder to identify among other black calves. The return may not be as good if a calf cannot be verified as Angus, he says.
Only dairy farmers using registered or PRAC Angus bulls with their herd, either via AB or natural mating, may use the tags on their progeny.
The Angus X Dairy Allflex tags are fully compliant with NAIT regulations. They are compatible with all dairy and beef operations and are endorsed by Angus New Zealand.
CRV has produced the first homozygous polled bull to make New Zealand’s prestigious Ranking of Active Sires (RAS) list, demonstrating the strides the company is making in breeding top-quality polled bulls.
The use of collars and monitoring technology use on farm is expected to keep climbing, says MSD New Zealand livestock business unit lead Pauline Calvert.
As Mycoplasma bovis (M. bovis) resurfaces in Canterbury, CRV is reassuring dairy farmers it has rigorous production processes and health testing programmes in place within its supply chain.
A Canterbury Hereford stud specialising in providing beef genetics for the dairy industry is claiming a major breakthrough in breeding for more environmentally friendly animals, with reduced urinary nitrogen emissions.
Some dairy farmers could be missing out on up to 160 kgMS of production because they are not herd testing.
New Zealand is out of step globally in looking to put a price on agricultural emissions from food production.
Lavender Hill, a sustainable lavender farm in Auckland’s Riverhead, has been awarded a Silver Qualmark rating and 4-star recognition for sustainable tourism by Tourism New Zealand.
Fonterra farmers are in line for a record milk price of $10/kgMS this season.
Regenerative farming trials in Gisborne, in partnership with Woolworths, LeaderBrand, and Plant & Food Research, are uncovering promising opportunities for sustainable vegetable farming in New Zealand.
OPINION: Last week around 400 farmers turned up at Mystery Creek to hear Prime Minister Christopher Luxon speak as part of Federated Farmers’ ‘The Restoring Farmer Confidence Tour’.
Construction has begun on Farmlands’ new Taranaki store.
OPINION: A group of University of Auckland academics claim a carbon tax is the most effective way for New Zealand…
OPINION: The new Labour Government in the UK is facing the wrath of farmers. Last week thousands of farmers and…
