Herd Test Standard
Herd testing is available to all dairy farmers, providing the Herd Test Standard (Standard) can be met. The following are the key points which are covered by the Standard released in July 2015:
- Equipment used for herd testing must be approved by ICAR - International Committee for Animal Recording or historically approved via the Dairy Industry (Herd Testing and New Zealand Dairy Core Database) Regulations
- Only data from a Certified Herd Tester enters DIGAD for use for research or animal evaluation purposes.
- Milk volume and milk component testing e.g. fat and protein percentages and somatic cell counts must be undertaken by an approved Certified Herd Tester. Note: There are currently two Certified Herd Testers in NZ - LIC and CRV Ambreed.
- The protocols for herd testing and agreed formats for submitting data are specified in the Standard and all Certified Herd Testers must follow these when herd testing and submitting data to DIGAD.
- A Certified Herd Tester can herd test using both traditional milk meters and permanently installed measurement equipment that meet accuracy requirements specified in the Standard
- Milk component testing can be integrated with volume data collected by permanently installed measurement equipment.
- A range of herd testing options are available to suit different farming systems include once a day milking, 16 hourly milking, AM only, PM only, AM/PM and distributed milking systems.
To find out how herd testing can be carried out in your herd, please contact your preferred Certified Herd Tester.
| Name | Contact Details | Certified by | Date certified |
| CRV AmBreed New Zealand Ltd | www.crv4all.co.nz Ph: 0800 262 733 |
Telarc SAI Ltd | 11 March 2011 |
| Livestock Improvement Corporation | www.lic.co.nz Ph: 0800 264 632 |
Telarc SAI Ltd | 28 November 2013 |
To become a Certified Herd Tester, contact the certification body listed below:
| Name | Contact Details | Date approved | Date of expiry |
| Telarc SAI Ltd | www.telarc.co.nz Email: info@telarc.co.nz Ph: 0800 004 004 |
12 December 2013 | 12 December 2016 |
Additional information
A full version of the Herd Test Standard may be purchased on-line from the Standards New Zealand website: (Keyword: NZS 8100:2015)
The following supplementary information is available free of charge:
- Supplement A: Dairy herd testing equipment approval procedures and production data standards
- Supplement C: Herd testing procedures for milking herds
- Supplement E: Examples of herd test period, herd test, herd, herd test sample, and herd test sample milking.
Contemporary Groups for the Animal Evaluation System
A contemporary group is a group of animals within a herd who are the same age, and who calved in the same season (i.e. Spring calving).
All lactating cows in a contemporary group must be tested on the same day, with the exception of cows that are not fit for testing (sick/injured). Read more
