Tactical use of AI
A major player in this project is LIC with Beef Genetic Product Lead, Paul Charteris pointing out his organisation have the majority market share in terms of inseminations of dairy cows.
Rebecca Hickson says no one breed of bull is better than the other – it’s the traits and the genetics that counts. She says there are good and poor performing bulls in every breed, so understanding the traits of any bull should be the focus.
“When you look at the question of should you use a bull or a straw, there’s a whole lot of things at play. I believe that if you use a straw, use a good one that will deliver for you and for the most part won’t cost more,” she says.
But she adds, if a farmer is going to use a bull, they should use a good one. Hickson says farmers have told her they don’t need genetics because they feed their calves well. But she notes that while better feeding will always give you a better animal, even on a lower nutrition plain, better genetics will always outperform lower genetics.
When rearers are selecting calves, Hickson says there is sometimes a tendency to select the bigger calf over the smaller one. But she says there is no guarantee that a bigger calf will grow into a bigger animal and there is data to suggest that the small calf may in many cases be the best bet.
“This is because the beef breeders have done a phenomenal job of creating ‘curve bender bulls’ – meaning that while a calf may be born small, it will grow fast, will calve easily, but is at least, if not more valuable than the larger calf,” she says.
Hickson says farmers, calf rearers and finishers who have long standing, close relationships do their best and this is the pathway to producing better beef animals. She says she’d encourage farmers when they are picking the straw for their dairy cows to not only look after their own needs, but to think about others down the value chain.
Federated Farmers president Wayne Langford says while people are opening about mental health, there’s still disproportionately high rates of suicide and depression in rural communities.
Skewed policy, favouring forestry over farming, should be blamed for Alliance Group’s proposal to close its Timaru meatworks, says Federated Farmers.
FIL has launched a new online survey to gain valuable insights into the challenges dairy farmers face in meeting their milk quality and mastitis prevention goals.
Alliance Group has announced a proposal to close its Smithfield meat processing plant in Timaru, South Canterbury.
Lambing is now well advanced around much of New Zealand, including in areas where drought-like conditions are presenting real challenges for farmers, on top of a poor run of prices for their product.
A new trade agreement between New Zealand and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) could boost New Zealand’s halal meat exports.
OPINION: Normally farmer good organisations are happy to use the media to get their message across to politicians and the…
OPINION: It's that time of the year again when milk processors announce their annual results and final milk payout for…