THE WORLD’S largest robotic dairy farm under one roof has swung into operation in South Canterbury.

Massey researchers are four years into a trial which could have profound implications for beef and dairy farmers alike. Peter Burke reports the details as relayed at a recent Beef + Lamb NZ and DairyNZ dairy/beef integration day in the Manawatu.

The problems caused by droughts in the far north have been well documented but a sometimes forgotten pasture species can help mitigate the impact. Gareth Gillatt reports.

TALL FESCUE is increasingly becoming the pasture of choice on some of Landcorp’s Northland farms in the face of increasingly severe summer droughts. 

SOUTH CANTERBURY farmer Alvin Reid is a happy man when he wakes up in the morning without having had a text overnight from his robotic farm.

A SURVEY prompted by lack of data on calf deaths in the New Zealand dairy industry has found there’s a huge range in mortality.

LAMBS GRAZING high sugar ryegrass (HSG) grow faster and heavier than lambs grazing a standard ryegrass (SRG), according to a two-year trial on three farms in the southern South Island.

FOUR FARM sales earlier this month suggest that recent falls in dairy payout forecasts have not diminished appetite for investment in the industry, says a leading national rural property salesperson.

THE WORLD'S largest robotic dairy farm under one roof has swung into operation in South Canterbury.

WITH TALK now turning to reform of the Resource Management Act, like clockwork an opinion article appeared in the Dominion Post: “Dairying muddies NZ’s thinking”.