July 1, 2015
NZ Dairy Farmer
June 1, 2015
Colostrum Quantity & Quantity on Replacement Performance
Recent research has demonstrated how plane of nutrition and diet during pregnancy can affect colostrum production, milk yield and calf health. Feeding cows to match energy, protein, mineral and vitamin requirements during pregnancy, supports production of colostrum and milk components, essential for the health and development of newborn and growing calves. Research in both cattle [...]
May 1, 2015
Importance of Good Transition
It is important to include fixed (land, interest) and variable (seed, fertiliser, sprays) costs in growing and harvesting pasture or crops to properly evaluate cost benefits of using inoculants when preserving forages. Effective lactic acid producing inoculants have been demonstrated, in controlled trials, to reduce dry matter losses by 5->10%, under good ensiling conditions. Inoculant [...]
April 1, 2015
100 Years Progress in Dairy Cow Production and Feeding
There has been considerable change and progress in cow production and feeding over the last 100 years from 1915, which was also when The Danish Mineral Company formed (now Nutritech International Ltd). There were about 1.1 million people, 634,000 milking or dry dairy cows, 270 butter and 355 cheese factories, producing 31,330 t butter and [...]
March 1, 2015
Mineral Types and Availability
There appears to be some confusion regarding the types of minerals, their availability and factors affecting it. Minerals are usually referred to as being in the inorganic or organic forms, which refers to whether they are bound to inorganic (e.g. chlorides, oxides, sulphates) or organic (contain carbon e.g. amino acids, peptides) elements or compounds. The [...]
February 1, 2015
Interpreting Silage Analyses
Fermentation analyses on silage reports are important for assessing silage quality, and provide clues about the silage making process and factors that influenced the quality of the silage such as: plant maturity, crop moisture, ambient temperature, packing effectiveness, silage additive use, face management, relative numbers and kind of microorganisms that control the fermentation process. Silage [...]
January 1, 2015
Poor Summer Performance
About this time of year farmers may notice a number of behavioural issues with their stock, along with declines in performance. Typical symptoms are grouping together particularly where shade is available, and around water troughs, or an increase in temperamental cows that kick off cups during milking. Peeling skin can occur in severe cases. Such [...]
December 1, 2014
Why use Silage Inoculants and Which are Best?
Farmers often ask if silage inoculants are beneficial when making forage silages, and my answer is yes, irrespective of situation and type of crop. It is a matter of risk and limiting losses, of dry matter and nutrient value, at every stage in silage making and utilisation. Plants naturally have several varieties of bacteria, yeasts [...]
November 1, 2014
Tackling Thermoduric Bacteria in Silages
Thermoduric bacteria are those that can survive high temperatures, such as during pasteurisation, and can cause spoilage in dairy products. The most common thermoduric bacteria are spore forming Bacillus and Clostridium species, which are widespread in the farm environment. One major route of contamination can be from cows eating soil or poor quality silage, producing [...]
October 1, 2014
