Livestock
High quality forage requires high quality harvesting
Hard work and talent, paired with innovation, technology and connectivity, has seen the May Brothers in Methven grow more than they expected. John Deere equipment and technology has been at the heart of this growth. Words Sarah Perriam-Lampp.
Taking the Complexity Out
For Nic and Kirsty Verhoek, running a high-input dairy system that performs, without burning out your people or drowning in feed complexity, has been a mix of hard data, disciplined simplicity and a ruthless focus on people and cow welfare. Words Sarah Perriam-Lampp.
Fat depth sensor for live animals and carcasses
The success of livestock farming critically depends on careful feed management. Both over- and under-feeding animals leads to lower productivity and risks animal welfare, while affecting milk and meat eating quality. Despite being such a critical factor for New Zealand’s largest export industries, farmers and abattoirs are currently lacking the technology to efficiently and objectively assess fat depth in live animals or carcasses. This article introduces an emerging sensing technology which has the potential to fill that gap. Words Eva Anton.
Sky-high dairy cow prices
Cow prices have reached 10-year highs this season and while it’s great news for the balance sheets of some, it’s creating challenges for others. Words Anne Lee.
Setting up cows for success from birth
Intensive New Zealand-based studies have revealed just how much is riding on ensuring new born calves receive enough high-quality colostrum in their first few hours of life. Words Anne Lee.
Beef on the brink of a revolution
Hill-country beef farmers in New Zealand have long faced challenges such as steep terrain, limited pasture utilisation and declining profitability. But Natasha Cave found in her Kellogg’s report that wearable technology has beef on hill country on the brink of a revolution. Words Sarah Perriam-Lampp.
Treat Wearables as a Tool, Not a System
As virtual fencing and cattle wearables move from buzzwords to real tools being used across sheep and beef breeding and finishing operations on New Zealand farms, one message comes through clearly from Tom Chisholm of AgDesign: the technology is not a silver bullet. Words Sarah Perriam-Lampp.
Better drenching decisions with rapid worm species test
A newly launched lab test is heralding a new era in worm species identification, with fast results allowing farmers to make timely, informed decisions about their internal parasite management strategies. Words Sandra Taylor.
Building wealth beyond the farm gate
Bay of Plenty farmers, John and Catherine Ford, have layered their financial diversification steadily over time to avoid all their wealth being tied up in land and livestock. This has built a second wealth generating engine under their family farm’s balance sheet. Words Sarah Perriam-Lampp, Photos John Ford.
The farming rulebook has changed
The recent record sale of a dairy farm in mid-Canterbury has Tom Laming reflecting on how we can take a different approach to dairy farming’s future. Words Tom Laming.