Foot and Mouth Disease outbreaks could have a detrimental impact on any country's rural sector, as seen in the United Kingdom's 2000 outbreak that saw the compulsory slaughter of over six million animals.
This is the first in a series of articles from Beef + Lamb New Zealand's Informing New Zealand Beef programme. The seven-year INZB partnership, supported by Beef + Lamb New Zealand and the Ministry for Primary Industries' Sustainable Food and Fibre Futures fund, aims to boost the sector's profits by $460m.
By September, most herds are already calved and are heading towards mating. The window to influence pre-calving minerals has passed, and decisions made in the transition period are only just becoming obvious.
OPINION: When it comes to biosecurity, we often hear about the end of a response, but it’s the beginning that helps determine our success.
It took a stint at university to remind Otago dairy farmer Megan Morrison that being stuck in a classroom was not for her.
Beef + Lamb New Zealand says it is seeing strong farmer interest in its newly launched nProve Beef genetics tool, with early feedback and usage insights confirming its value in helping farmers make better breeding decisions and drive genetic improvement in New Zealand's beef herd.
Milton dairy farmer Chris Wills says he began using probiotics in spring 2023 to address somatic cell count (SCC) grades when cows transitioned from their winter barn to lush spring pasture.
The calving season brings with it significant nutritional demands on the herd.
Treat your farm boundary like a border. This was one of the messages delivered to farmers at a recent Beef + Lamb New Zealand Protect Your Patch workshop in Lincoln.
Feeding infected milk is high risk for spreading diseases such as M. bovis.
To ensure optimal growth, health, and wellbeing of calves, feeding strategies should be considered carefully.
Another milestone has been reached in the fight against Mycoplasma bovis with the compensation assistance service being wound up after helping more than 1300 farmers.
The move to bring bovine TB testing in-house at Ospri officially started this month, as a team of 37 skilled and experienced technicians begin work with the disease eradication agency.
Ewe feed requirements lift markedly in the last month before lambing.
Success in calf rearing is often measured by minimising health issues and achieving target weaning weights.
As dairy farmers know all too well, the calving season brings with it significant nutritional demands on the herd.
We've come a long way in dairy farming over the past couple of decades. Genetics are better, sheds are more modern and we have more data at our fingertips than ever before.
At the heart of the SmaXtec system is the ability to monitor animal health, including early disease detection, alongside reproduction issues such as heat identification, optimal insemination windows, calving notifications-on average 15 hours before the eventalongside abortion detection and fertility issues.
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.
I wrote an article in the May 6th issue of Rural News about how when set-stocking ewes for lambing, they need spreading lightly - and topped up with cattle after the lambs have dropped.
Six industry organisations, including DairyNZ and the Dairy Companies Association (DCANZ) have signed an agreement with the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) to prepare the country for a potential foot and mouth outbreak.
Beef + Lamb New Zealand (B+LNZ) is a funding partner of DAGI (Drench and Grazing Integration), a new digital tool designed to help farmers manage parasites more efficiently and reduce reliance on drenches.
Beef + Lamb New Zealand (B+LNZ), in partnership with the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) and other sector organisations, has launched a national survey to understand better the impact of facial eczema (FE) on farmers.
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