Farming on sand country comes with its own playbook – and often, it’s one that gets rewritten every season. In wet periods, up to 150 hectares can be lost to flooding. In dry spells, pasture disappears almost overnight. Yet despite these constraints, James Anderson and his team have built a high-performing 1,200-cow herd by focusing […]
Every calf is born with potential – but whether they thrive or struggle often comes down to what happens in the first few weeks of life. During this time, a calf’s immune system is still developing, and its gut is highly vulnerable. Challenges like scours, inconsistent drinking or eating of meal, and inconsistent growth are […]
Young calves face many challenges when they transition from a monogastric into a ruminant in a very short amount of time. Born with a naïve immune system, fast diet transitions and exposure to diseases are the norm for these young calves! Add in mingling of mobs and sometimes transportation into the mix, it is no […]
Calves live on their bedding, so if it’s holding moisture, ammonia or bad bugs, it directly affects their health and growth. Getting quality bedding in place and keeping it dry and treated from the start right through to rearing, is critical for good results. EazyBed Dry introduces a fresh solution designed to help farmers […]
How Jesse and Renee introduced DanMix® Springer Cow Balancer into their system for a smoother calving season Mairoa Dairies, based in Central Plateau run by Jesse and Renee Huffam, is a self-contained dairy operation milking 2000 spring calving cows on a 1,760ha dairy platform. With extreme weather variables – from damp cold winters to extremely […]
Reproductive Problems and Dry Cows – how are they linked? It has once been said that a ‘repro problem is a dry cow problem’. What we do in the dry period has flow on effects for reproduction four months later. So the question is how, and why? Here are a few of the reasons: Over-conditioned […]
Why Customisation Matters Every farm is different – so why are so many mineral programmes the same? Differences in pasture, soil types, cow type, feed systems, and seasons mean your herd’s mineral requirements are constantly changing. Using a generic mineral mix can lead to: Paying for nutrients your farm doesn’t need Missing key deficiencies, therefore […]
Nexulin’ s role in reducing Ketosis Ketosis is a common problem among herds across New Zealand. When a cow ends up in a negative energy state post calving, she starts mobilising her fat stores and using them as an energy source, resulting in body condition loss. This negative energy balance often leads to reduced milk […]
Successful winter crop transitioning As we all know, with any change of diet (or transition), the microbes and the rumen papillae need time to adapt to the new ingredients, so that the digestion and absorption of nutrients keeps going well and also that there is no shortage or sudden overload either! During any feed […]
Recognising the Symptoms: Livestock exposed to mycotoxins may show: Temperamental behaviour (e.g. not walking easily to the shed, kicking off cups during milking Scouring – indication of poor gut health Increased somatic cell counts in milk Lameness and rough coat Liver damage Reduced reproductive performance and infertility Aflatoxin M1 contamination in milk Heat stress and […]
