After our very kind winter and continued grass growth through the spring, the tables have now turned and somewhat earlier than we are accustomed to. This is in some part due to the lack of rainfall throughout the preceding year. 2019 was the driest year for annual rainfall in the Waikato since 1977 and water levels are at an all-time low, increasing the “cooking” effect on the grassroots zone. And now we have coronavirus and a lack of Chinese exports to deal with too! 

What to do 

As with all problems, planning and sharing always makes for better solutions. Talk with your farm professionals and information providers.

There are numerous solutions, you need to know what food you have on hand (in paddock and supplement), what you can source (if any), what condition your cows are in, how many cows are pregnant, whether they are early or late calvers. Then you need to know milk yields and somatic cell counts to help with milking decisions and from there you can draw up a feed budget and make a plan. Economics and cash flows are important, as is feed availability.

If you would like support with any of these steps, we have veterinarians in the Anexa team who can help; either with individual processes such as ultrasound pregnancy scanning, a Milk Quality Consultation, herd Body Condition Scoring or at a farm level drawing up a working feed budget and animal health plan going forward.

We are happy to help, and remember a problem shared is definitely a problem halved.