Milk fever wastes time and massively stresses cows and farmers, says Taranaki farm consultant Pat Poletti.

Within the next several weeks, farmers with spring calving herds will start drafting up springer mobs. This action allows closer monitoring and management of cows that are near calving and entering the transition period.

Hawke's Bay animal health supplier Animal Health Direct is further promoting its mineral tonic for calves launched in 2017.

Good onfarm animal management will be essential if plans to eradicate Mycoplasma bovis are to succeed, the New Zealand Veterinary Association says.

Going for eradication of the cattle disease Mycoplasma bovis is “absolutely” the sensible choice, says Professor Frank Griffin, founder of the Otago veterinary diseases laboratory Disease Research Ltd.

Livestock monocultures and inappropriate drenching practices are helping raise internal parasite resistance to triple combination drenches, says AgResearch.

New Zealand's 4.8 million milking cows excrete 1000 tonnes of nitrogen a day in their urine, and 200 tonnes of this end up in groundwater, says CRV Ambreed.

With dry off date just around the corner for the vast majority of spring calving herds, it is easy to assume the next few months leading up to spring presents an opportunity to relax and take a breather. 

Good Autumn growth sets the scene for maximum growth rates in beef cattle post-weaning, but beware worms in pasture, warns Paul McKee, an animal health technical manager at Ravensdown.

A calm temperament in ewes improves ovulation rate and successful pregnancies, according to a study published by The University of Western Australia (UWA).