A FURTHER round of farm trials in the Waikato has reconfirmed the value of Crystalyx Dry Cow dehydrated molasses blocks as a dry cow winter supplement, says Altum Nutrition.

The Jersey breed was one of the foundation stones of the New Zealand dairy industry; not so today with the number and popularity of these brown cows diminishing initially in favour of the larger-framed Friesians but more latterly for crossbreds.

THE CAUSE of an occasional but recurring problem of unusually small calves in dairy herds is a newly identified recessive gene, says Livestock Improvement (LIC).

A STRATEGY shift a few years ago to integrate the dairy and sheep and beef units with a flexible stocking policy provided a step change in performance for large-scale Maori-owned farm business, Te Uranga B2.

BEEF COWS with a genetic tendency to put on fat are more likely to cope with tight times such as drought, a visiting Australian expert says.

ONE OF the country’s large scale dairy farmers says his operation has survived the drought because about half his farms are Canterbury irrigated farms.

THE 34 FINALISTS in the 2013 New Zealand Dairy Industry Awards are now known.

SUPPLIERS TO Synlait Milk can earn 6c/kgMS more for their milk next season, and possibly 12c/kgMS after that, if they achieve new, internationally accredited assurance standards.

HIGH FARM production and heavy stocking rates need not burden the environment, say brother and sister Shayne and Charmaine O’Shea, this year’s supreme winners of the Ballance Northland Farm Environmental Awards.

A LARGE crowd turned out this month to a field day to see how a young couple won the Manawatu/Horowhenua/ Rangitikei  Farm Manager of the Year Award.