The three weeks before and after calving will set up the cow’s reproductive system for the whole season.

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.

To ensure optimal growth, health, and well-being of calves, feeding strategies should be considered carefully.

To ensure optimal growth, health, and wellbeing of calves, feeding strategies should be considered carefully.

Ospri is looking forward to carrying out end-to-end control of TB.

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.

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.

It's common to look at reproductive challenges through the lens of the mating season. If cows aren’t cycling, if submission rates are low, or if too many come up empty, most farmers will dig into their mating programme to figure out what went wrong.

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