Shed shares - insights from LIC experts

Join LIC Principal Vet Tracey Reynolds and Animal Health Manager Shona Pryor to find out everything you need to know about BVD testing including:

- What BVD is

- LIC’s BVD testing options at a herd and individual level

- New Tissue BVD PCR test for calves under 35 days old

- New BVD Status pack

- Difference between wet and dry tissue sampling units (TSUs)

Anna Boyd – Genetics Operations Specialist Beef - Beef & Lamb

Genetics Operations Specialist – Beef, Anna Boyd from Beef & Lamb NZ introduces the Beef + Lamb Dairy Beef Progeny Test and its purpose.

Anna then delves into the traits measured and the results so far.

Charlotte Gray – Genetics Product Specialist Beef - LIC

Charlotte Gray, Genetics Product Specialist – Beef at LIC outlines the opportunities for dairy farmers.

Charlotte explains how the choice of beef sires we use over our dairy cows is key.

Darren Drury – Category Director Beef - Alliance Group

Beef Category director at Alliance Group, Darren Drury takes us through a Beef market overview along with a current and future state of the market.

Darren also touches on Alliances premium beef programme that zeros in on the attributes that deliver value.

LIC Animal Performance Manager Steve Forsman shares his observations from seven years of monitoring heifer live-weight data, including:

Explaining how the MINDA-Weights tool aligns with industry heifer live-weight targets.

Are the targets achievable? Let’s look at what we know from the weights recorded in MINDA – it is a good news story.

Are estimated LWT targets accurate? Looking at the analysis of mature cow live-weights to sense check the mature weight estimate.

What are the consequences of falling short? How the LWT milestones impact on herd life and early life production.

LIC’s Research and Development team discuss the SFF Futures Resilient Dairy Programme, followed by a focus on the cow’s microbiome led by Research Leader Christine Couldrey.

Milking is one of the most important activities on a dairy farm and the number of milkings per day can have a big impact on a farm’s daily routine and structure.

In this Shed Share, FarmWise Consultant Brent Boyce will discuss milking frequency and its history, and how farmers can maintain productivity and profitability whilst reducing the number of milkings per lactation.

Get up to date with the latest and greatest in LIC’s genetics space, as we touch on LIC’s new genomic tool, sexed semen as well as what's in store for this year’s Premier Sires teams.

Environmental challenges are going to shape the future of agriculture in New Zealand and globally. Greenhouse gas emissions are leading to increasing regulations and reduction targets, particularly regarding methane burps from ruminant animals. Water quality is also a key concern for many New Zealanders with national regulations filtering down through to catchment specific outcomes across the country.

Tony will cover key points of what farmers will be required to achieve and look at what LIC is doing to help prepare to assist farmers on their journey. Find out more about the role HoofPrint® may play.

Is there genetic variation in methane production?

AgResearch’s success at finding genetic variation in methane production in sheep has lead to a joint project between LIC and CRV to answer this question. Come and hear about how to measure methane in cattle and what we have found so far.

Shed Share Episode 3 – Facial Eczema

Herd improvement is on the dawn of a new era. With a future of reducing cow numbers, now more than ever, a focus on herd improvement is essential for the continued success of the New Zealand dairy industry.

Join Rachel Bloxham, Herd Improvement Technical Manager, as she gives an overview of how the industry has tracked over the past couple of decades, an understanding of the key principles of herd improvement and the levers that help drive herd improvement and genetic gain on farm.

Pt 1 of 5 Johnes Disease an Overview

Pt 2 of 5 Johne’s Diagnosis and on-farm impact

Pt 3 of 5 Managing Johne’s

Pt 4 of 5 Johne’s management and results

Pt 5 of 5 Diagnostics