News & Advice

How well have your bulls come through the season, and how many may you need to replace at upcoming winter bull sales? Bulls should be inspected for their general health and overall physical appearance. Are they lame, has the conformation of their feet deteriorated, or are their claws overgrown? Do their hips appear normal, or […]

Long-acting drench capsules have long been used in ewes at or around lambing. Their success results from reducing the periparturient rise (PPR) in parasite eggs being passed by ewes before and after lambing. The PPR occurs from a lowering of the ewes’ immune system from late gestation until soon after lambing. The period of the PPR […]

Outside of fine wool production, lambing percentage and concurrent lamb survival are key drivers of sheep profitability on many New Zealand sheep farms. The trace element status of ewes pre-tup and through pregnancy may have a profound effect on ovulation rate, implantation rate, embryo survival through pregnancy, and, ultimately, the overall health of the newborn […]

It has been said that ‘if you are farming livestock, you are also farming worms’. When selecting genetics in replacement stock, it takes years or decades to see the desired traits come through. The same occurs with worms – historical farm practices have determined the genetics of the worm population that is on your farm […]

Lambing percentage, and ultimately lamb survival, is the major driver of profitability for sheep enterprises in New Zealand. The two leading causes of lamb losses due to abortion are Toxoplasma and Campylobacter, for combating which there are two exceptionally good vaccines available. The uptake of Toxovax® is particularly good as it is a once-in-a-lifetime vaccination […]

Antibiotics are medicines for treating bacterial infections in humans and animals alike. Antibiotics are designed to interfere with specific biological processes that are essential for bacterial life. However, it is possible for bacteria to evolve and develop resistance to antibiotics. This can happen through random, natural mutations that give the bacteria a survival advantage, letting […]

Every year the word “yersinia” gets thrown around when growing youngstock, but do you know what it is? The effects? How to treat it? Yersinia is a gram-negative bacterium, with several different strains affecting cattle, sheep, and deer. While it is a common organism that lives in a normal intestinal tract, given the right conditions, […]

For as long as ruminants have been farmed in New Zealand, trace mineral deficiencies have had an impact on the ability of stock to perform at expectation. It is generally considered that there are five different trace elements which are most likely to cause deficiencies in the New Zealand setting – cobalt (B12), selenium, copper, […]

Ewes that undergo copper deficiency during pregnancy can give birth to offspring with congenital nervous system disease. Lambs may appear normal at birth, and they may not express neurological disease until they are 1 week to several months of age (even though the condition is a result of deficiency of the dam) – this is […]

  Many farming systems have designated youngstock properties or areas of the farm where youngstock do most of their rotational grazing. Whilst this is a sound and practical way of managing the all-important formative years of your cattle, it is not always the best way to manage the unseen challenge lurking beneath – that is […]

A faecal egg count performed 10-14 days after a drench is a simple and cost-effective means of checking that the drench you are using is working. This can be done either after your pre-weaning or weaning lamb drench or at 50-70 days after capsule insertion. The utilisation of this procedure is becoming more and more […]

Faecal egg counting (FEC) for cattle and sheep is an increasingly important tool in the ongoing battle to slow or delay the onset of drench resistance. Technology is evolving quickly in this area with several “new” methods emerging. Manual FEC, using a modified McMaster technique, is the age-old tried and true method for monitoring parasite […]