The first full season of ten-in-seven variable milking on the Lincoln University Dairy Farm (LUDF) started well but the "then wheels fell off," the farm administrator, Jeremy Savage, revealed at the recent farm focus day.

With milkings typically taking around 17 to 24 hours a week per worker, many farmers have been focusing on milking smarter to reduce hours and creative ways to shorten the working week - like the 22% who report they are using flexible milking.

Farming is becoming increasingly complex. Until recentyl, farmers had relatively few issues to focus on: feeding cows, producing milk and hopefully making enough money to feed their family and pay off their mortgages.

OPINION: Do calm cows produce more milk?

DairyNZ and NIWA have joined forces to help farms with wetland design and performance.

It will likely be a case of second - or third - time lucky for the winner of the 2022 Valden Cow of the Year, with five of the six finalists of the prestigious Holstein Friesian cow competition having been nominated at least once before.

Maximising per-cow production has always been an interest of Manawatu dairy farmers Craig and Raewyne Passey - and Holstein Friesian cattle have proven the ideal breed to achieve this.

Over 420 dairy farmers gathered in Oamaru last week for SIDE 2022, with a focus on building skills and discussing solutions to challenges facing the farming sector.

A young cow frolics in a paddock in the upper Brancott Valley, then gallops to the fence to see the treats in store.

The finalists in the 2022 Ahuwhenua Trophy competition for the top Māori sheep and beef farm have been announced.