Dairy Farmer

Battling to recruit staff for the remote North Canterbury farm he manages, Jaspal Singh looked closer to home – thousands of kilometres away.

You can’t get good help these days – at least not without a focus on pay, working conditions and leadership.

Retired Taranaki vet Cathy Thompson’s book is full of cattle health information and advice for farmers of all sizes.

There are three categories of alternatives to dairy being developed, and each is on a different timeline.

How the crop is harvested is key to unlocking the nutrition from a bumper maize silage harvest.

What was once a hard row to hoe is now a thriving operation where lameness and costs are down and profits, morale and sleep-ins are up.

Paul Duynhoven knew from early on that he wanted to specialise in an area some in his line steer clear of – farm accounting.

Lincoln University’s developmental dairy farm is working out how to get data to better serve the needs of farmers, both as a measuring tool and a way to improve management.

A need to increase returns led one farmer to take a new look at his sheep. Now he has a mob of almost 1000 milking ewes.

Better dairy prices are expected in 2024 – though there’s a chance that global politics could shift the dial.

The resilience demonstrated by New Zealand amidst these challenges underscores its pivotal role in the global dairy market, writes NZX.

Mid North Farms in Northland works hard to make the most of  the pasture – and the people – it has, designing a ‘looped’ farm systems to maximise production.

The sprayer has a 12 metre boom, significantly longer than a standard boom.

By recycling the effluent on the land, farmers can mitigate these environmental risks and promote sustainable agricultural practices.

Farmers need to be weighing heifers after grazing to keep genetic gains.

The Korteweg family are challenging tradition by the way they dairy farm.

It took a while, but Laura Murdoch overcame the phobia that was one of the obstacles between her and her beloved cows.

The two main aspects to consider are the length of the pond stirrer and the power capacity. 

Sequencing and an Irish partnership are helping Fonterra to pick through a milk culture treasure trove.

Dairy products are expected to have the largest rate of consumption growth among all food categories over the next decade.

There has been significant movement within the dairy industry over the past few months, both locally and globally.

A lot of rain and a lot of rainbows come with this part of Taranaki, where one couple face the challenges and rewards of high altitude farming.

The big challenge for the new government is not going to be the unwinding of the regulations, but what it replaces them with.

A project looking at whole farm systems and soil biology is underway on 10 farms in Waikato and Bay of Plenty.

This integration will allow the verification process to flow automatically between WelFarm and Miraka systems.

A Waikato dairy farming operation found it more financially viable to use CMRs instead of milk in the vat.

Better beef genetics are the missing piece when it comes to getting higher value calves.

Pāmu says it wants to rear 100% of its calves for beef by 2030.

It took a stint in an office to show Montie Hare that farming was what he really wanted to do.

Ongoing research helps Kiwi dairy farmers remain world-leading.

As summer bears down, mineral supplementation can help support heat-stressed cows.

On Central Otago’s Maniototo Plain, Luke and Anna Jeffries aren’t re-reinventing the wheel – they’re just improving it.

A bad year can sap farmers of the will to continue, but it’s important to keep fire in the belly, says an agricultural economist.

Scientists say an extended lactation system could bring about a more worker-friendly environment without affecting profits.

When Groundswell NZ founding member Bryce Mackenzie isn’t lobbying for better policies, caring for a Southland river is another lifelong passion keeping him busy.

NZ dairy stands on relatively solid ground, buoyed by promising GDT results, resilient production levels and robust export performance.