Congratulations to Kuljeet Singh (KJ) for Reaching the New Zealand Dairy Industry – Canterbury/North Otago Awards Finals! Kuljeet Singh (KJ) has earned a place in the final round of the prestigious New Zealand Dairy Industry Awards (Canterbury/North Otago region), recognising his dedication, innovation, and commitment to excellent farm management. Managing a herd of 730 cows […]
New ways to supplement zinc for facial eczema. Getting enough zinc into youngstock and dairy cattle to help prevent facial eczema is an ongoing challenge. No method is perfect, and blood testing for zinc is critical to ensure serum zinc levels are sufficient for facial eczema prevention. Water, feed and bolusing have been the main […]
Are Your Cows Struggling with Flush Spring Grass? Written by Louise Salter, BSc (Hons) Agriculture, Animal Science. Levucell SC has been proven time and time again to enhance the digestion of lush spring grass, which can be harder for cows to break down. Studies¹ show substantial improvements in fibre digestion throughout the grazing season, with particularly […]
After 10 years in the making, New Zealand farmers and contractors have finally had the opportunity to try new bacterial forage inoculant technology. Feedback on the new L. Hilgardii bacteria has been overwhelmingly positive, with the unique combination of bacteria and enzymes in MAGNIVA® Platinum having a noticeable effect on silage quality, palatability and temperature. […]
New Zealand farm businesses can significantly reduce silage spoilage and retain more nutrients in their forage thanks to improvements in silage preservation technologies. At a time when feed costs are rising, it is now more important than ever to reduce the impact of silage losses to retain valuable, locally grown feed. What are silage losses? […]
Biotin (Vitamin H or B7) is an essential water-soluble vitamin. It is naturally present in some feeds and can be synthesised by rumen microbes. Usually, ruminal biotin synthesis supplies sufficient biotin for biological functions, however, diets containing high quantities of grain may reduce the natural synthesis of Biotin by the rumen. Biotin for hoof hardness. […]
Facial eczema is caused by a toxin, sporidesmin, which cows eat when grazing pastures high in fungal spores. Trials conducted at AgResearch by Dr Neale Towers calculated the effect of low doses of sporidesmin on milk yield. Over a three week period, production across the herd had dropped by as much as 25%. For a […]
Heat stress can significantly impact cow health and production. It can lead to reduced feed intake, rumination, rumen function, milk yield and milk fat and protein levels, and increased respiration rate and risk of acidosis. While many of us are aware of practical solutions for heat stress (such as providing shade, increasing access to water […]
