An important part of calf rearing is reflecting on how the season has gone. It doesn’t take much to forget the bad times, especially towards season’s end. As the calves become stronger and their immune defence develops, we forget about the hours of electrolyting scouring calves, the frustrations of calves with no suck reflex, transitioning […]

If you are a dairy farmer with a spring calving herd, now might be a good time to reflect on how many downer cows you’ve had to treat for milk fever (periparturient hypocalcaemia) last spring. Treating downer cows is not only stressful, it’s expensive in terms of treatment costs, time, energy and the impact on […]

The element sodium (Na) is essential for all animals. It functions as a major extracellular cation and is essential for maintaining osmotic pressure in the body as well as water regulation. It is essential for transporting nutrients around the body and removing waste from cells. It is also involved in nerve impulse transmission and muscle […]

Falling pasture quality over the coming months can dramatically affect the performance of milking animals and young stock, but countermeasures are available. Spring calving cows should be “in their groove” by November – they will have peaked in production and now be gradually easing back while regaining condition as best they can. Carefully reared calves […]

In terms of reproductive performance, if conservative by nature or restrained by budgets it might be worth starting with the little things and working up the food chain rather than concluding the big cost items are beyond reach and do nothing. Essential trace minerals are reactive elements that are required in tiny amounts that get […]