Resources for Farm Consultants
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As a farm consultant in the dairy industry, your insights bring clarity and confidence to the table and support farmers in building resilient, productive farming businesses. These resources back your conversations and help deliver confident, well‑informed farm system decisions. Whether you're working through a system change, refining feed demand and supply, or navigating environmental requirements, these tools will continue to help you bring clarity and confidence to the table.
Your go-to tools and resources are here
If you are short on time, start with these quick links to the most used resources.
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Feed wedges
The feed wedge helps interpret pasture growth, supporting timely, informed conversations with farmers about grazing strategy and system performance.
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Econ Tracker
Stay up to date with economic trends and forecasts that impact dairy farming.
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Dairy Statistics
A trusted snapshot of New Zealand’s dairy sector to support data‑led conversations, benchmarking, and business planning with farmers.
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Breakeven milk price calculator
Estimate the minimum milk price needed to cover costs and guide conversations around profitability and risk.
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Spring rotation planner
Create a tailored plan that supports optimal pasture utilisation and sets the farm up for a strong season ahead.
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Pasture Road Map
Work backwards from the balance date, when pasture supply meets demand, to autumn to help farmers build a clear, season-wide management plan.
What's new
Updated calf-rearing resources
New evidence-based calf rearing guidance you can confidently share with farmers, supporting healthier calves and improved lifetime performance.
Dairy Beef Opportunities
New Zealand’s dairy and beef industries are coming together to work more closely through the Dairy Beef Opportunities programme to address a key area of both challenge and opportunity — the management of non-replacement calves that are not required to replenish the dairy herd.
Resilient Pastures Programme
The Resilient Pastures Programme is a seven-year initiative led by DairyNZ with MPI through the Primary Sector Growth Fund and industry partners Beef + Lamb New Zealand. It focuses on enhancing pasture performance and persistence on dairy, sheep and beef farms across the upper North Island.
What's timely
Achieving BCS targets at calving
Autumn is a make‑or‑break period for body condition score (BCS) at calving. BCS conversations provide a clear way to link cow condition with reproductive outcomes and production in the vat.
Cows that calve at target BCS typically deliver better milk production and better reproductive outcomes. Taking action now gives cows the best chance of reaching target BCS before the window to influence condition gain closes.
Read more on strategies to improve body condition score on farm.
Turn wintering best practice into a practical on-farm plan
A successful winter is much easier when everyone has a clear, shared plan. Looking to achieve the following outcomes with farmers?
- Planning for how cows will cope in wet conditions.
- Improving cow lying time, grazing movement, and access to shelter and water, to prevent issues before they arise.
- Identifying risks such as critical source areas and areas prone to pugging early.
- Supporting paddock layouts and grazing approaches that protect soils and waterways while maintaining cow comfort.
- Gradually transitioning cows onto crop and using practical grazing strategies to reduce both animal and environmental stress as conditions tighten.
The winter grazing plan helps turn the following conversations into a practical plan that everyone can work from.
Ground your nitrogen advice in a clear next step
Use the catch crops webpage and resources to add a clear, practical option to your conversations about managing nitrogen loss after grazing. It gives you something tangible to bring to the table when you’re talking through high-risk paddocks and where catch crops could make the biggest difference.
Read more on Catch Crops here, or compare gross margins and costs using the catch crop gross margin calculator.
Explore more tools to strengthen your advice and support farmers
Building a successful farming business
Support farmers with practical resources that help them make confident business decisions, including choosing the right business structure, managing finances, and planning for growth. Access practical tools below to help farmers manage risk and build resilience:
Off-paddock infrastructure options
The must-have guides for assessing infrastructure upgrades, from feed pads to stand-off areas - with financial and environmental considerations in mind. Support farmers with the resources below; designed to aid confident decision-making:
Guide effluent decisions for peace of mind
Effluent system upgrades are a key opportunity to support farmers in making practical, future-focused decisions. Whether it’s lined ponds or tanks, choosing the right system depends on farm goals, site conditions, and regulations. These resources help guide conversations around storage options, compliance, and environmental outcomes.
Help farmers make informed irrigation decisions with practical, season-specific tools.
Whether you're discussing summer water demand or winter soil conditions, these resources offer clear guidance on timing, efficiency, and risk management. From foundational irrigation principles to seasonal considerations and a soil moisture trace test calculator, this toolkit supports better planning and more resilient farm systems.
Weigh up milking times for people, cows, and profit
Flexible milking offers farmers a practical way to improve work-life balance, reduce labour pressure, and maintain production. Provide clear, evidence-based guidance to help support farmers in choosing milking intervals that align with their farm goals, herd needs, and team capacity. Whether transitioning to 10-in-7 or exploring other flexible options, these tools help ensure decisions are well-informed:
Stay current with a snapshot of the dairy sector
New Zealand Dairy Statistics 2024-25 (PDF)
Resources
NZ Dairy Statistics
New Zealand Dairy Statistics 2024-25 is a report that shows historical information up to and including the 2024-25 season.
DairyNZ Economic Survey 2023-24
Resources
Economic Survey
The 2023-24 DairyNZ Economic Survey is the nineteenth annual survey of New Zealand dairy farmers using dairy farm business data from DairyBase.
Get access to industry benchmarks
DairyBase
Backed by 20 years of experience and data from 20% of New Zealand dairy farms, DairyBase provides trusted benchmarks across the industry. Farmers can grant you permission to view their reports so you can identify key opportunities for improvements on-farm. Farmers can join DairyBase for free to access key insights they need. You can help them to make confident and effective farm management decisions.
Find out more on DairyBaseUnlock insights shaping decisions with these podcasts
A curated selection you'll find both relevant and thought-provoking for your role.
Looking for something else?
Explore the links below to return to the Rural Professional Hub, contact your local area manager, explore current research, or sign up for updates on upcoming events, resources, and insights to support your work with farmers.
