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Jeremy Bryant, NZAEL.
Farmers thinking about cutting artificial insemination (AI) this mating season will save very little now and lose a lot in the long term, says Jeremy Bryant.
The manager of DairyNZ subsidiary New Zealand Animal Evaluation Ltd stated “AI using high breeding worth (BW) bulls is a cost effective way to continuously improve the profitability of your herd and to maximise cow capital value."
The use of service bulls -- part or whole season -- complicates grazing management and brings hidden costs such as feed and damage to infrastructure. Bulls also introduce risks to staff safety and animal health.
Farmers deciding to opt out of AI this year will need to consider their strategy for herd replacements in the 2017-18 season. Calves reared from service bulls are highly likely to be genetically inferior, and this will have a detrimental impact on farm profits.
It is estimated that bringing just one year of naturally mated replacement heifers into your herd will cost at least $30,000 in lost profit over ten years. This loss can be reduced by buying surplus heifers from other farmers, but this is likely to be expensive.
“Farmers who need to buy replacement heifers will be vulnerable to market supply and demand, and could end up paying top dollar for below average genetic merit animals,” says Bryant.
Farmers looking to save cash or gain extra revenue next season could consider other AI options offered by breeding companies.
This could include more targeted allocation of elite dairy sires to their highest BW cows, while using cheaper beef or short gestation-length sires over low BW/PW cows.
The first major update to the Dairy Cattle Code of Welfare in more than a decade has been released, marking what DairyNZ describes as an important step in ensuring animal welfare standards continue to evolve alongside scientific evidence and on-farm realities.
DairyNZ deputy chair Cameron Henderson has been re-appointed unopposed for another term.
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Farms across the upper North Island are trialling different pasture mixes as part of a research programme that aims to build greater resilience into farming systems.
The Royal New Zealand College of General Practitioners (the College) and Hauora Taiwhenua Rural Health Network are calling for investment in a proposed new training pathway for rural GPs, warning that many rural practices are struggling to recruit while a large share of the existing workforce nears retirement.
Federated Farmers has called on Central Otago District Council (CODC) to drop or vote down a plan to truck sludge from Alexandra and Cromwell to farmland near Lauder, warning it would compound an "outrageous" situation created by a separate council's decision weeks earlier.
Synlait has swung to second-half profit as operations stabilise, but the dairy processor still posted a $75.4m annual loss.
LIC shareholders have elected a new North Island representative to the co-operative's Board, along with five representatives to its Shareholder Reference Group (SRG), following the company's Annual Meeting held in Invercargill.
Farmers across parts of Southland and South Otago are continuing to deal with difficult conditions after a prolonged run of wet weather, with pressure building around feed supply, stock management, pasture damage, farm infrastructure and everyday workloads.
Federated Farmers says it welcomes Labour's commitment to reviewing the Sharemilking Agreements Act, calling on other major parties to do the same.
