Lower North Island farmers “cautiously optimistic” heading into winter – DairyNZ
Cautiously optimistic is how DairyNZ's regional manager for the lower North Island, Mark Laurence describes the mood of farmers in his patch.
WIDESPREAD CONCERN about the welfare of fully housed cows in New Zealand is not well-founded, says the chair of the National Animal Welfare Advisory Committee, Dr John Hellstrom. If such systems are good, animal health should improve, he says.
In a paper delivered at the recent NZVA annual conference in Palmerston North, Hellstrom argues that many large-herd cows kept outside all their lives suffer poor welfare at certain times of the year.
For example, sacrifice paddocks don’t provide good animal welfare especially when calving cows are not drafted out onto dry calving places. Hellstrom notes the current DairyNZ advice on sacrifice paddocks makes no reference to animal welfare.
“The provision for shade and shelter for outdoor grazing is still inadequate on many dairy farms. While the use of housing and stand-off pads is increasing, there are examples of poor animal welfare because some of these facilities are poorly designed or misused. Another potential animal welfare problem related to intensification is the risk of a skills gap developing between cow handlers and the increasingly complex welfare demands of intensive production systems.”
In respect of overall animal health, Hellstrom says intensive systems should lead to an improvement, provided good management systems are in place. But he acknowledges a risk of disease spreading rapidly in an intensive operation.
Intensive farming is relatively new to New Zealand and Hellstrom says we can learn from mistakes made in such places as Europe. Most cow housing now built in New Zealand is more sophisticated than has been traditional in Europe.
Also of concern is lameness, resulting from a combination of the distance some cows have to walk and state of the races.
“If you get a lot of animals walking down big races that are not well maintained and if they have a lot of metal or are very muddy you end up with foot problems for sure – both lameness and footrot. I am not able to say if it’s increased, but there are certainly new strains of organisms turning up and some of them are nastier than they we have traditionally had.”
A good outcome from intensification is achieved by good farm layout and having smaller mobs of cows for milking, Hellstrom says. New green-field operations have the best chance of getting this right.
“My key message is that intensification can work provided there is adequate animal welfare planning from the start; but if it’s not built in then things are likely to deteriorate.
“Animal welfare considerations have to be central to the planning. Intensification looks pretty inevitable; it’s a case of getting it right, not trying to deny it.”
Boutique Waikato cheese producer Meyer Cheese is investing in a new $3.5 million facility, designed to boost capacity and enhance the company's sustainability credentials.
OPINION: The Government's decision to rule out changes to Fringe Benefit Tax (FBT) that would cost every farmer thousands of dollars annually, is sensible.
Compensation assistance for farmers impacted by Mycoplama bovis is being wound up.
Selecting the reverse gear quicker than a lovestruck boyfriend who has met the in-laws for the first time, the Coalition Government has confirmed that the proposal to amend Fringe Benefit Tax (FBT) charged against farm utes has been canned.
Holstein Friesian excellence was front and centre at the 2025 Holstein Friesian NZ (HFNZ) Awards, held recently in Invercargill.
The work Fonterra has done with Ballance Agri-Nutrients Ltd, LIC and Ravensdown to save farmers time through better data connections has been recognised with a national award.
OPINION: Dust ups between rural media and PR types aren't unheard of but also aren't common, given part of the…
OPINION: The Hound hears from his canine pals in Southland that an individual's derogatory remarks on social media have left…