News & Advice

In the world of dairy farming, ensuring the reproductive success of your herd is crucial for maximising productivity and profitability. One of the most critical periods in this process is the pre-mating phase, during which cows exhibit heat signs. Understanding these signs and leveraging new technologies, such as wearable collars, can significantly enhance your herd’s […]

Cow wearables are no longer a novelty on New Zealand dairy cows. With over two years of collar analysis under our belt, I thought it appropriate to share a snippet of findings and trends we have picked up while working with client data. ‘Days the First Heat’ vary between farms (and first calvers always take […]

The use of cow monitoring technology in heat detection and rumination changes, has become commonplace on many dairy farms around New Zealand, but how about its use for detecting mastitis and reducing the financial impact of one of the most prevalent health issues in the New Zealand dairy herd?  Detecting mastitis with cow monitoring devices […]

During pregnancy testing, we often find cows that are pregnant but not to their most recent insemination. With the recent uptake of automated heat detection, more questions have been raised about this – why are pregnant cows being inseminated when we are using the most accurate heat detection currently available?  How cow monitoring data works […]

For years, the approach to mating has been to apply heat detection aids sometime before mating starts, to monitor the heat activity and to then implement a strategy for anoestrus cows. This is a sound strategy which supports the good basic farming principles of calving cows early, optimising recovery and achieving high premating heat rates. […]

About 90% of illness in the dairy cow occurs in the transition period, i.e. the three weeks before calving through to the three weeks following calving. There is huge demand on the dairy cows during this time. From being late-pregnancy, non-lactating animals with small changes in energy demand, they go through calving (which is inherently […]

As I am writing this, the total number of cows wearing some sort of monitoring technology in New Zealand is probably somewhere between 600,000-800,000 and growing.   In fact, the number of cow devices has doubled every year since first being introduced, so do not be surprised if this number has increased greatly again by this […]

The transition period, often defined as the period from three weeks before until three weeks after calving, is a challenging time for the health and performance of a dairy cow. Metabolic and reproductive health issues within the transition period are common and can cause a reduction in productivity and increases in costs and losses even […]

While pregnancy testing, we often find cows that are pregnant but not to their most recent insemination. In the past, we have put this down to inaccurate records, incorrect heat detection or the known but rare cases of cows showing heat while pregnant. We now have herds with automated heat detection, in the form of […]

The number of animal monitoring devices, commonly known as ‘collars’, is doubling every year. Why is this a growing trend and what options are available on the market? Labour shortages, higher payouts and a global demand for boosting dairy sustainability are all drivers behind an increased uptake of technology on farms. Data is being generated […]

Automated heat detection, real-time health monitoring, virtual fencing – technology has arrived in the dairy industry, and it is here to stay! We now have the ability to accurately monitor individual cows in real time by using this advanced equipment to observe, assess and refine our systems to achieve our goals, whatever they may be. […]

The results are in: Mating season is over, and the outcome should be appropriately considered – what went well and what did not? And, more importantly, why? Although these considerations affect next season’s approach to mating, another challenge is equally important – Dry-off. And the foundation for achieving top results next year is laid down […]