Understanding Nutrition, Financials and Cow Collars 19-23rd June 2023, Canterbury and Otago.
May
02
Mar
01
I hope you have had a well-earned rest and your batteries have now been fully re-charged and you are rearing to go. 3 simple questions to ask oneself and to discuss with your management team/business partners. Where are we and how did we get here? Where are we heading, and…
Feb
13
As we approach the end of this season and look towards the next, contract milking contracts are front and foremost in both farm owner and contract milkers’ (CM) minds. Some are new entrants, some looking to change farms and others to re-sign with the present owner. The contract is a…
Jul
07
Calving time is just around the corner yet again, if not already slowly kicking into gear for some farmers with the odd slipped cow! By now we will have our plans in place to be safely calving our cows down and easing them into their productive zone while juggling the…
Feb
11
It’s got to the time of year when the talk down at the pub/Facebook/discussion group has turned to scanning results, 6 week in calf rates and empty rates, but are we actually making fair comparisons with the neighbours results? Are we comparing apples with apples, or are we comparing them…
Jan
07
It's green, the cows eat it and it grows when it's got sunlight, water and warmth... what more do I need to know about choosing a grass type for my farm? Should I choose a short rotation or a perennial? Are more four chromosomes better than two? What actually is…
Dec
13
It’s getting to that time of year again… at the time of writing the trees are decorated, the Warehouse is a madhouse, and we've eaten our share of scorched almonds already. As those of us involved in agriculture know, the cows don’t take a day off, so how can we…
Nov
28
It seems that warmer weather has finally arrived! Most people seem to be relishing this bit of a heatwave, but how are your cows faring? A cow is most comfortable at temperatures much lower than we are, with their comfort levels being between -10 and 18 degrees Celsius. The THI…
Sep
01
Last year one of my relations climbed Mount Everest, and in doing so he conquered his seventh of the seven summits, and this got me thinking about setting goals and how we work to achieve them and empower others to achieve theirs. Now, I am no expert on this whole…
Aug
20
How do you manage your colostrum herd? For how long has the measure of a good colostrum period been that the cow has had her 8 milkings and looks okay? She ticks the box and she’s on her way to the main milking herd. There she will need to compete,…