Talking Dairy

How does heat stress affect cows, what are some warning signs, and what can you do on farm to make life more comfortable for your cows? In this episode, Tom Buckley, farm manager for Owl Farm in Cambridge, goes into detail about the strategies they’re using to combat heat stress. Meanwhile, DairyNZ’s Jac McGowan talks about the science behind heat stress: how it affects cows, the warning signs, and what current research is underway.

Links:
Owl Farm’s heat stress strategies
DairyNZ’s heat stress info

Have feedback or ideas for future episodes? Email us at [email protected]

Connect with DairyNZ

Stay up to date with advice, latest research, tools and resources. Read, browse, scroll, listen, or be there in person. Visit dairynz.co.nz/get-connected 

How do you hold onto more of your profit when the milk price is up? We’re chatting with DairyNZ business specialist Paul Bird and Waikato farm owner Stephanie Gudgeon about the spending habits of high-profit farmers. Paul covers DairyNZ’s analysis of about 500 farm businesses, while Steph shares how she and husband Andy make their business work to achieve what’s important to them as a family.

Links:
Mark and Measure course
ChooseFI podcast
On Purpose podcast
Elevate Your Life podcast
Cooking The Books podcast
The Fed and Fearless podcast
The Barefoot Investor
Rich Dad Poor Dad
Atomic Habits
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People
The 5 Love Languages
Budget Case Studies
‘Hold onto your profit’ Inside Dairy article

Have feedback or ideas for future episodes? Email us at [email protected]

Connect with DairyNZ

Stay up to date with advice, latest research, tools and resources. Read, browse, scroll, listen, or be there in person. Visit dairynz.co.nz/get-connected 

Two agriculture emissions pricing options, alternative to the NZ ETS, have just been released by He Waka Eke Noa. How do the options work and how much will farmers end up paying for their on-farm greenhouse gas emissions? To help you get your head around the options and have your say, we put some questions to agriculture industry leaders Bruce Thorrold (DairyNZ strategy and investment leader) and Dave Harrison (Beef + Lamb New Zealand general manager policy).

Have feedback or ideas for future episodes? Email us at [email protected]

Connect with DairyNZ

Stay up to date with advice, latest research, tools and resources. Read, browse, scroll, listen, or be there in person. Visit dairynz.co.nz/get-connected 

When it comes to breeding decisions, which animal traits matter the most to Kiwi dairy farmers? Should environmental traits should be part of the Breeding Worth index? Farmers were recently asked what they want to see in the cow of the future. Here to explain the findings is Dr Peter Amer from AbacusBio, with valuable insights and questions from Canterbury dairy farmer and genetics-enthusiast Tania Riddington.

Have feedback or ideas for future episodes? Email us at [email protected]

Connect with DairyNZ

Stay up to date with advice, latest research, tools and resources. Read, browse, scroll, listen, or be there in person. Visit dairynz.co.nz/get-connected 

Is agriculture going to be brought into the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS)? And what role does the He Waka Eke Noa partnership have to play in reducing agricultural emissions? In this episode, Waikato dairy farmer Sophia Hunt joins the podcast to ask DairyNZ principal policy advisor Roger Lincoln some questions on this topic.

Have feedback or ideas for future episodes? Email us at [email protected]

Connect with DairyNZ

Stay up to date with advice, latest research, tools and resources. Read, browse, scroll, listen, or be there in person. Visit dairynz.co.nz/get-connected 

Looking for some fresh ideas to reduce your nitrogen fertiliser use? On this episode, we chat with Waikato sharemilker Chris Numan, who with wife Rachel has made a bunch of changes to reduce both their N fertiliser use and N losses. Find out what motivated them (not regulations), what strategies they’re using, and the results they’re seeing. Plus, on an interesting tangent, we hear about Rachel’s new-found fame as a published author.

Have feedback or ideas for future episodes? Email us at [email protected]

Connect with DairyNZ

Stay up to date with advice, latest research, tools and resources. Read, browse, scroll, listen, or be there in person. Visit dairynz.co.nz/get-connected 

Could reducing the number of milkings in a week help the dairy sector attract new staff and improve work-life balance? One farmer who’s gone to a flexible milking schedule is John Totty in Canterbury, currently starting his second full season milking 10 times in 7 days. What were his reasons for changing his milking schedule, and what kind of outcomes is he seeing?

Have feedback or ideas for future episodes? Email us at [email protected]

Connect with DairyNZ

Stay up to date with advice, latest research, tools and resources. Read, browse, scroll, listen, or be there in person. Visit dairynz.co.nz/get-connected 

How did we arrive at our current wintering practices? What’s next for wintering animals on crop? And what kind of changes can you make on farm now? Find out in this episode with DairyNZ senior scientist Dr Dawn Dalley and Southland dairy farmer Rob Dingle.

Have feedback or ideas for future episodes? Email us at [email protected]

Connect with DairyNZ

Stay up to date with advice, latest research, tools and resources. Read, browse, scroll, listen, or be there in person. Visit dairynz.co.nz/get-connected 

Stepping back from the day to day running of the farm is an exciting stage in life, but one that can be complex. What are the big things to consider? What are the common pitfalls and how can you avoid them? And for farmers looking to step back next season, what are the three key things you can do now to be in the best position? Find out in this episode with James Allen, agribusiness consultant and managing director of AgFirst Waikato.

Have feedback or ideas for future episodes? Email us at [email protected]

Connect with DairyNZ

Stay up to date with advice, latest research, tools and resources. Read, browse, scroll, listen, or be there in person. Visit dairynz.co.nz/get-connected 

Good weather forecasting helps farmers to make better decisions. But how exactly do meteorologists come up with their predictions? Will forecasting become more accurate? And what kind of weather can farmers expect for the weeks and months ahead? Let’s find out from Chris Brandolino, NIWA’s Principal Scientist of Forecasting and Media.

Have feedback or ideas for future episodes? Email us at [email protected]

Connect with DairyNZ

Stay up to date with advice, latest research, tools and resources. Read, browse, scroll, listen, or be there in person. Visit dairynz.co.nz/get-connected