A SEASON average somatic cell count of 75,000 would be good for any dairy farm, but for a first-year conversion it’s extraordinary, says dairy technology company Tru-Test.

A TEAT care product launched this spring extends a link established between cow teat health and manuka honey, says GEA Farm Technologies’ FIL technical manager Drew Chadwick.

 THE LIVESTOCK death toll from a blizzard in the American west is put at more than 20,000 head, but the disaster has gone barely noticed in a country focused on the government shutdown and the debt ceiling threat to its financial reputation.

IN PLANNING a new dairy conversion in Central Hawke’s Bay, Campbell Chard wanted the operation to use recycled water as much as possible.

ROBOTS TRAVERSING dairy paddocks, patch spraying a treatment here, applying some fertiliser or effluent there: sounds far-fetched but the reality is the technology’s already available and a commercial product is just around the corner.

A NEW mid-sized turbine has made setting up a wind and solar energy generation system more of an option for farmers, says Tecnico managing director Tony Pearson.

The National Animal Welfare Advisory Committee (NAWAC) says it is addressing concerns about the long-term housing of dairy cattle.

CHINA'S DEMAND for dairy imports is set to grow for at least the next two years, as its local milk production struggles under structural change in the supply chain, a new industry report has found.

DAIRY FARMERS went home from one spring bull sale last week confident their purchases will mean extra days in milk compared to if they’d bought elsewhere.

NEW ZEALAND’S primary exporters are enjoying buoyant trading conditions despite slower economic growth in China and other emerging markets.