STOCKMANSHIP SKILLS need more emphasis for the benefit of the growing numbers of workers entering the dairy industry from urban backgrounds, says an animal husbandry expert.

A FREE scheme to help dairy farmers lift the reproductive performance of their herds and get more cows in-calf within the first six weeks of mating is being launched this month.

A MODIFIED quad scraper has made clearing a 114 x 18m standoff pad a breeze, says Northland dairy farmer John Bellamy.

FONTERRA WILL this week hold the first of 50 meetings with farmer suppliers on the new Sustainable Dairying Water Accord.

ANDREW AND Gretchen Freeman aim to get every ewe to rear two lambs, every year, regardless of whether they drop one, two or three. It’s their Ewe 2 strategy, and it’s working.

Winning the 2013 Bay of Plenty Sharemilker/Equity Farmer of the Year title has proved a natural progression for Russell and Nadine Meade (pictured).

By winning the 2013 Waikato Sharemilker/Equity Farmer of the Year title, Andrew and Michelle McPherson are well positioned to attract business growth opportunities.

MANY DAIRY farmers will have to lift their game to comply with a new environmental code of practice announced last week.  

RESEARCH AND Development hubs such as Lincoln, Ruakura and Palmerston North are a great asset but they should have more input from private companies as well as the traditional institutions of the universities and Crown Research Institutes, says Science and Innovation Minister Steven Joyce.

THE IRISH dairy industry is preparing for the lifting of restrictions by the European Union (EU) that limit the amount of milk farmers throughout Europe can produce. The quota under the common agricultural policy (CAP) comes off in 2015.