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Setting standards for auto mastitis systems

INVESTING IN automated mastitis detection isn’t cheap, yet at present there’s little comparable data to help guide the decision.

Herbage test to check nutrition

TEST SPRING pasture, and supplement, to minimise the risk of poor nutrition hitting this and next season’s production, says Altum.

Trial finds stones match sawdust

CALF PENS floored with river stone have been given a thumbs up by Dairy NZ, subject to stocking density.

Aussies target dogs, pigs, rabbits

WILD DOGS, feral pigs and rabbits are the priority targets of a new A$72-million, five-year Australian research project designed to reduce the A$1-billion-a-year damage to agricultural productivity and the environment.

Rotor-seeder eases job

A FARMGARD air seeder and Celli spiked rotor combination turned a major cropping and regrassing project into a simple operation, says Wellsford dairy farmer Paul Shepherd.

Starlings can fire up tractors

STARLINGS HAVE caused at least $9 million damage to farm tractors during the past five years, says rural insurer FMG. Birds love to nest in warm, dry places -- especially tractor engines. But the resulting straw can easily catch fire and destroy a tractor.

High-tech farms help underpin self-sufficient economies

ROBOTIC MILKING of housed cows, ‘slow’ and organic foods and bio-energy are three stand-out impressions for 28 New Zealand farmers who arrived home on August 5 from a 25-day tour of Scandanavia that closed with a brief stop in Russia.

Kiwi sheep handler wins Aussie accolades

WAYNE PERKINS and Nick Wansink travelled recently to Australia to display the Perkinz range of sheep-handling equipment at the Sheepvention field days held yearly in Hamilton, Victoria. Their products received four awards.