Mineral tonic supplement for calves
Hawke's Bay animal health supplier Animal Health Direct is further promoting its mineral tonic for calves launched in 2017.
New Zealand's dairy industry must catch up with world-best standards in respect of the environment and animal welfare, says Animal Health Direct founder Richard Kettle
He believes public perception and the new generation of farmers emerging are driving necessary changes.
“Urban people want to see green fields, healthy looking cows with free access to shelter and fresh clean water,” he says.
“If this perfect picture cannot be seen, dairying runs the risk of an end-user backlash. We will see reduced dairy consumption locally and by our trading partners.”
Consumers increasingly want to be at the farmgate and feel a connection with their food.
He says the sometimes unrealistic picture they have in their minds is what they want to see, and every effort must be made to present this scene they are after.
Animal Health Direct recently released a range of Belgian bolus products new to New Zealand via veterinary clinics.
The first – CalciTop – is a fast-release bolus containing Diacalcium phosphate as an inorganic salt for slower release of calcium, and calcium formiate as an organic salt for fast release of calcium 4.5 g phosphorus; 1.5 g magnesium and 200.000 IU per kg Vitamin D3 for milk fever prevention.
New Zealand's diverse cheesemaking talent shone brightly last night as the New Zealand Specialist Cheesemakers Association (NZSCA) crowned the champions of the 2026 New Zealand Cheese Awards.
Tracing has indicated that the source of the first velvetleaf find of the 2025-26 crop season, in Auckland, was likely maize purchased in the Waikato region.
Fish & Game New Zealand has announced its election priorities in its Manifesto 2026.
With the forage maize harvest started in Northland and the Waikato, the Foundation for Arable Research (FAR) is telling growers of later crops, or those further south, to start checking their maize crop maturity about three weeks prior to when they think they will start silage harvesting.
Irrigation NZ is warning that the government's Resource Management Act (RMA) reform risks falling short of its objectives unless water use for food production and water storage infrastructure are clearly recognised in the goals at the top of the new system.
More than five million trays, or 18,000 tonnes, of Zespri’s RubyRed Kiwifruit will soon be available for consumers across 16 markets this season.

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