News & Advice

Good rumen development is the key factor in determining whether your calves will cope with weaning off milk well without any growth setbacks. When calves are born, the rumen is small and inactive; the abomasum is the main stomach being used at this time. As calves begin consuming meal, roughage and water, the rumen begins […]

The phantom. The nightmare. Empty cows at your final scan that, when you look back through their records, were early mated, had a good heat and never returned to heat. These are phantom cows, the cows that have a good early heat, are put up for AI, do not return to heat, but are not […]

Bovine viral diarrhoea (BVD) can quietly reduce herd fertility, productivity, and profitability long before obvious clinical signs appear. Regular monitoring, strategic vaccination, robust biosecurity, and early identification of persistently infected (PI) animals are key to preventing losses and protecting herd performance. BVD is a common but complicated disease. The production and reproductive costs of the […]

Calving is now upon us, and, while it is hard to think very far forward when you are in the mire of breaking in new heifers, you should already be thinking about mating and how you can maximise conception rates. Transition management sets the foundation Transition management is a key first step, and a well-considered […]

What is it costing your business? Johne’s disease remains one of the most significant and costly diseases affecting New Zealand dairy herds. While DairyNZ estimates the national cost at $44–80 million annually, the real question is: what is it costing your own business? The challenge is that many of the losses caused by Johne’s disease […]

Mooving Day is a major date in the New Zealand dairy calendar, bringing farm ownership changes, contract transitions, and livestock movements across the country. Careful planning helps protect animal welfare, support staff, and ensure compliance. Use this practical Mooving Day checklist to stay organised and minimise risk.   What Mooving Day means for your farm […]

With dairy payouts almost as good as they have ever been, and demand for stock inflated by a current burst of conversion activity, stock prices are similarly near all-time highs. Calves are, of course, no exception, so it makes sense to do what you can to ensure the calves born on your farm get off […]

In the context of increasing drench resistance, the adoption of more advanced diagnostic tools has become essential. You may be familiar with the Parasight Systems we have been using in clinic over the past several years; we are now in a position to share key findings from real world data collected from our client base. […]

Salmonellosis has long been recognised as an important cause of disease in cattle. Based on information from the country’s veterinary diagnostic laboratories, MPI has observed an increase in the incidence of salmonellosis in dairy cattle since the spring of 2024. The trend of increasing salmonella cases, first observed in spring of 2024, extended into the […]

The use of teat sealants has evolved through several phases in New Zealand’s dairy farming practices. In the late 1990s/very early 2000s, when the products were first brought to the New Zealand market, they were somewhat haphazardly managed, and this resulted in terrible outcomes. At that point they became regarded as generally doing more harm […]

As farmers, we are often asked to think outside the square about product use. FerAppease®, a synthetic pheromone, is one of these products. Farmers are all aware of pheromones; we see it in our cows and bulls at mating. And we see products using pheromones to deal with stress in cats and dogs. Google AI […]

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is one of the top global public health and development threats identified by the World Health Organisation. It is estimated that bacterial AMR was directly responsible for 1.27 million global deaths in 2019 and contributed to 4.95 million deaths(1). By now most farmers will be familiar with the traffic light classification of […]