During recent years West Coast farmer Andrew Robb has milked up to 925 cows on his 365ha (effective) dairy platform, but he’s driven numbers down since, and today is down to about 700 cows.

OPINION: The war in Ukraine is causing massive losses for the country's farmers and these include dairy farmers.

The McCullough Farm Partnership, adjacent to the shore of Lake Karapiro south of Cambridge, milks 610 crossbred Friesian cows, producing around 300,000 kgMS annually.

Boutique cheesemaker Little River Estate was named one of four supreme winners at the NZ Champions of Cheese Awards last month.

"Climate change and how quickly it's happening is the biggest challenge for us," says Trevor Johnson, owner of Paparata Station owner - 50km west of Taumarunui.

Genetics can help dairy farmers take steps this season to reduce their emissions while they wait for further new tools and technologies to be developed, says CRV managing director James Smallwood.

The volume and depth of genomic data on elite dairy cows in the US dwarfs what is available in New Zealand.

Dairy farmers being able to prove to consumers that their animals are happy, healthy and well cared for will be vital for the industry's next ten years, a panel discussion on "Dairy 2032" has been told.

Manawatu dairy farmers Gregory and Brooke Dorn have tapped into some excellent Holstein Friesian genetics to not only raise the quality of their herd’s milk, but to ensure the future of the herd’s best cow families is guaranteed.

Canterbury dairy farmer Julie Bradshaw has applied lessons from a five-year National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA) irrigation study to make science-based decisions while also using genetics to improve her herd – with the overall goal of reducing the farm’s environmental footprint.