Bovine Viral Diarrhoea (BVD) is sometimes viewed as a dairy industry issue, but the reality is that the disease can have serious consequences for beef breeding herds as well.
When Fraser Hasnip returned to his family farm in Pirongia, Waikato, he saw an opportunity to do things differently.
Body Condition Score (BCS) is a critical element in managing the health and reproduction of the dairy herd.
Bull management involves ensuring the right number of healthy bulls for your herd, minimising stress and reducing injury risks.
I've written a series of articles for Rural News, starting with 'The Basics of Grazing', then 'Stock Handling', followed up by 'Evaluating Stock Condition'.
Rearing facilities should be set up and maintained well to ensure calves stay healthy.
Solid biosecurity practices, regular monitoring and timely vaccination are the three key pillars of effective Bovine Viral Diarrhoea (BVD) control on New Zealand farms. Zoetis veterinary technical advisor, Karley DeFrees, explains BVD is a costly but preventative disease that impacts a significant number of dairy farms in New Zealand. Implementation of a BVD control plan can help protect your herd from this avoidable disease.
A new app designed in New Zealand aims to help sheep, beef and deer farmers capture, analyse and use body condition score data more effectively.
Although preventable, lamb loss from clostridial diseases during the first year of life on New Zealand hill country farms continues to be an issue. A field trial, where lambs were vaccinated at docking and weaning, demonstrated that vaccination was highly effective, lowering clostridial deaths by 23%. Zoetis veterinarian Dr Victoria Chapman unpacks the importance of robust animal health programmes, vaccination timing and the potential harmful consequences for stock when vaccination isn't given.
Bovine Viral Diarrhoea (BVD) is estimated to cost New Zealand's dairy and beef industries more than $150 million every year, yet many of the tools needed to control it are already well understood. After more than 25 years in veterinary practice, Andrew Weir, animal health technical specialist at LIC, has seen firsthand the impact BVD can have on herd performance. We asked him about the role of persistently infected (PI) animals and the practical steps farmers can take to reduce their risk.
In the past, a bull could sit comfortably in a breeding team for several years with little change, but today, that’s no longer the case.
Scanning is a great time to start identifying and managing groups of ewes based on feeding priorities. Wormwise's Mary Bowron discusses some of the possible reasons ewes lose condition in early winter - and it's not necessarily internal parasites.
Paynes Titus Excelsior ET, an LIC bull bred by Brad Payne and Claire Brodie in the Waikato, has won the JT Thwaites Sire of the Season 2026 Award.
New season data from LIC shows a strong reproductive performance for the 2025-26 season, with a lift in key metrics compared to last season.
Parasite testing platform FECPAK has launched a facial eczema testing solution that delivers faster results.
Clostridial diseases are a major cause of sudden death in young lambs and calves, and for King Country farmer and veterinarian, Stacey Turner, vaccinating with Ultravac 5in1 is a non-negotiable animal health practice.
Healthy, well-grown calves are the building blocks of any future dairy herd. Giving them the best start to life is crucial, and the primary strategy to reduce the burden of disease caused by rotavirus infection is vaccination.
Beef + Lamb New Zealand's Wormwise programme manager Ginny Dodunski outlines when, why and how to treat cattle for liver fluke this winter.
Beef + Lamb New Zealand is reminding farmers with lucerne stands to graze them hard over the next few weeks in preparation for a winter weed control programme.
Genetics plays a central role in helping farmers lift per-cow productivity over time.
Irish company Micron Agritech will be bringing their animal health diagnostic technology to National Fieldays, with The Micron Kit, a rapid Faecal Egg Count (FEC) testing system for gastro-intestinal worms and liver and rumen fluke in cattle, sheep, horses, goats and llamas.
For decades, successful calving has centred on correct mineral supplementation to prevent milk fever, along with teat sealants to minimise calving mastitis.
Giving calves the best possible start to life has been shown to boost growth and resilience.
Moving Day (June 1) is just around the corner and farmers who are moving farms with the herd are being urged by Ospri to start preparations now.
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