Friday, 08 August 2014 17:00

Heavy snow comes at bad time

Written by 

THE HEAVY snow showers falling in Southland and Otago have come at a bad time with most dairy farmers well into calving.

 

"There are a lot of people in Otago and Southland that are in the thick of calving, which will prove challenging with temperatures dropping to zero degrees," says Russell MacPherson.

"Whilst the snow is blanketing pastures it's the wind chill that is really going to test us. The bitter chill cuts through you and new born calves won't be able to cope for long in these conditions.

"Farmers know what they are doing and they will be busy feeding out to stock and pushing them to shelter to get them through. Whilst the wind chill has died down in the past hour the main focus will be rushing the new born calves to the calving shed to keep them warm.

"Sheep farmers will be reasonably thankful that they are not lambing just yet and still on winter rotation," MacPherson concluded.

More like this

Cow, calf nutrition go together

The lead up to another calving period means the next few weeks offer an opportunity to meet the nutritional demands of your cows.

Giving calves a good start

As part of its strategic choice to lead in sustainability, Fonterra places a strong emphasis on calf wellbeing.

Calving cows need starch, energy

While most dairy farmers are heading into spring calving with lush grass cover, cows may need more starch and energy to compensate for pasture deficiencies this season.

Look out for coccidiosis

With calving underway, dairy farmers are being urged to be vigilant for coccidiosis by planning their calf feeding regimes and using nutrition to combat the potentially fatal disease.

Time to start preparing calf sheds

As farmers start calving, it’s time to think about preparing calf sheds. Here are some tips from NZAgbiz’s Calf Rearing Guide on preparing calf facilities and what good practices for setting up your calf shed are.

Featured

Feds make case for rural bank lending probe

Bankers have been making record profits in the last few years, but those aren’t the only records they’ve been breaking, says Federated Farmers vice president Richard McIntyre.

National

Canada's flagrant dishonesty

Deeply cynical and completely illogical. That's how Kimberly Crewther, the executive director of DCANZ is describing the Canadian government's flagrant…

Regional leader award

Eastern Bay of Plenty farmer Rebecca O’Brien was named the 2024 Dairy Women’s Network (DWN) Regional Leader of the Year.

Machinery & Products

Tractor, harvester IT comes of age

Over the last halfdecade, digital technology has appeared to be the “must-have” for tractor and machinery companies, who believe that…

» Latest Print Issues Online

Milking It

Substitute for cow's milk?

OPINION: Scientists claim to have found a new way to make a substitute for cow's milk that could have a…

Breathalyser for cows

OPINION: The Irish have come up with a novel way to measure cow belching, which is said to account for…

» Connect with Dairy News

» eNewsletter

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter