Wintering starts with picking the right paddocks. Your choice impacts crop yield, cost, and winter success.

Winter crop cultivation is crucial to your dairy farm's success. Have a detailed plan that includes aspects like paddock slope, critical source areas (CSAs), and buffer zones.

Early preparation of your winter grazing paddocks minimises sediment loss and movement. Use back fences and portable troughs to reduce soil damage by limiting unnecessary cow movement.

Winter preparation for cows is key to their health and productivity. Ensure they're in good condition, as fat acts as insulation. Group dry cows based on their condition and calving date, enabling tailored feeding and protection from dominant cows.

Wintering on crop isn’t just a Southland issue. New National Environment Standards for intensive winter grazing will come into effect in November 2022.

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?

Intensive winter grazing (IWG) means the grazing of livestock on an annual forage crop at any time in the period that begins 1 May and ends 30 September of the same year. Generally, winter crops (where fed in situ) come under the IWG regulations.

Managing high-quality pasture during feed surplus periods is a crucial skill in pasture management. This page explains that pasture surplus often develops in spring, which if unmanaged, can lead to low-quality pasture affecting milk production.

The Coalition Government is making changes to the Resource Management system. DairyNZ made an extensive submission to this process and will continue to engage with ministers and officials. This webpage outlines information on the process ahead.

Proactive visitor biosecurity management helps protect your herd and your business. Visitors can unknowingly bring in diseases, weeds or pests that threaten animal health and farm productivity.

Good effluent management on your dairy farm combines a well-designed system with proper processes to ensure the right amount of effluent gets applied to pasture at the right time.

Spring management focuses on the critical period from calving through to your balance date when feed supply meets demand.

Successful summer dairy farming demands regular monitoring. This page recommends farm walks, managing grazing residuals, monitoring body condition scores, staying informed on industry information, and future planning.

Effective performance management will help to maximise your team’s productivity. The process involves planning, monitoring, feedback, coaching, and performance reviews.