Rewarding farmers who embrace sustainability
Winners of DairyNZ’s Sustainability and Stewardship awards in the Ballance Farm Environment Awards have their eyes firmly fixed on progressing a positive future for New Zealand dairy.
Newborn calves are vulnerable to cold and disease, so careful handling, feeding and hygiene are important to get them safely through their first 24 hours, DairyNZ points out.
When bringing calves from the paddock to the shed, make sure the trailer is clean and disinfected.
Handle calves gently – they are babies! Do not overload the transport – all calves must be able to lie down. Treat the navel with iodine again when you get to the shed.
Colostrum is the first milk a cow produces after calving. Collect colostrum and feed it to every calf in the first six hours of life.
Colostrum is very high in antibodies that protect the calf against disease. Calves easily absorb the antibodies in the first few hours, but after 24 hours they absorb very little. Calves that don’t get enough colostrum in the first 24 hours are more likely to get scours or pneumonia and are twice as likely to die in the first two months.
Around half of calves left with their dam for 24 hours do not get enough colostrum. DairyNZ says don’t starve them – tube feed them.
“Don’t be tempted to starve newborn calves overnight so that they get hungry and will drink. By the morning, their ability to absorb antibodies will have almost gone. If they won’t drink, tube feed them.”
There have been leadership changes at the Hamilton-based Dairy Goat Co-operative, which has been struggling financially in recent years.
OPINION: In recent years farmers have been crying foul of unworkable and expensive regulations.
Another 16 commercial beef farmers have been selected to take part in the Informing New Zealand Beef (INZB) programme designed to help drive the uptake of genetics in the industry.
Trade Minister Todd McClay says Kiwi exporters will be $100 million better off today as the NZ-EU Free Trade Agreement (FTA) comes into force.
Making things simpler, not harder, for deer farmers in farm planning and coping with regulations is Deer Industry New Zealand (DINZ) industry capability manager John Ladley’s current focus.
OPINION: Canterbury milk processor Synlait is showing no sign of bouncing back from its financial doldrums.
OPINION: It seems every bugger in this country can get an award these days.