Some cows cycle at exactly the wrong time before mating starts. A cow that cycles during the week immediately before planned start of mating will not naturally cycle again until approximately the third week of mating. Even though she is cycling normally, she misses the opportunity to be inseminated during the crucial first two weeks. The Why Wait programme uses a single, strategically timed prostaglandin injection to bring these cows back on heat approximately one week earlie

Salmonella has been rampant in our area over the past 18 months, causing severe diarrhoea, production losses, abortions and deaths in affected herds. If you want to protect your herd, now, before mating, is the time to vaccinate. Previously unvaccinated cattle require two doses of Salvexin®+B at least four weeks apart. Previously vaccinated cattle require an annual booster. Please contact FVM soon to discuss vaccination and ensure your herd is protected.

Besides calving date, body condition score is one of the biggest influences on reproductive performance in a seasonally calving dairy herd. In a profitable farming system, nothing hits the bottom line harder than an empty cow. Right now, the value difference is stark: In-calf dairy cow: around $3,000 Empty cull cow: around $1,500 That’s a $1,500 difference per animal. For a herd of 400 cows, every 2% difference in empty rate can add up to $12,000 lost or gained. Early-calvin

We’ve all experienced the feeling that arises after eating an extra spicy curry, that week old bit of roast chicken, or treating yourself to an ice cream on a hot summer’s day despite your severe lactose intolerance. Unfortunately for calves, they are one of nature’s most susceptible targets when it comes to scours. It can be disheartening and exhausting to see your animals scouring, especially towards the end of a busy calving season. Never fear! FVM is here to help with th

The team here at FVM would like to wish Trevor Chubb all the very best for his retirement. Trev has been an integral part of the Farm Veterinary and MVS teams for more than 20 years. The knowledge and skills he has brought to his role, and generously shared with those around him, have been invaluable and will be greatly missed. Our clients have always been an important part of Trev’s work. He has spent much of his career out on farm, delivering stock, drying off cows, vaccina

The days are getting longer, the frosts are getting thicker, which means a lot of us have mating on the brain. Here at FVM, we’ve spent the last few weeks catching up with a lot of you in our Plan to Mate consults. For those who haven’t made it to the clinic yet, it is not too late to ring and book your complimentary consult today. Click below to read more about what we have on offer to help you make the most of the mating period, and how to enter the draw for a brand new Nav

Recently we’ve had two farms lose cows to nitrate poisoning. On one farm, we were able to intervene and provide help to cows showing clinical signs. Both farms were grazing annual pastures. Keep reading for some helpful information on how to prevent nitrate poisoning on your farm and what to do if you suspect it. What is it? Nitrate poisoning occurs when cows eat pasture or crops with high nitrate levels. This reduces the blood’s ability to carry oxygen and can cause sudden d

As we make our way through the dry period, now is a great time to prepare for when calves hit the ground. When it comes to calf illnesses, prevention is always better than fire fighting at the other end. Luckily, we have a tried and tested calf scour vaccine available called BioBos RCC proven to prevent scours and reduce viral shedding. What does BioBos RCC cover? Bovine Rotavirus Bovine Coronavirus E.coli (ETEC) These are t

The time is right to start thinking about copper supplementation – especially in young stock. Copper is critical in supporting robust growth – it is typically at its lowest in winter and at the start of spring, so getting ahead of the curve is essential. Why do my cattle need copper? Symptoms of a copper deficient diet in youngstock can include: Reduced growth rates Scours Loss of coat colour Reduced reproductive performance How do I know if my cattle need copper? Liver

Dry off can be a stressful time for your cows. Here are a few steps you can take to make the process as smooth as possible. 1 month pre dry off Trimmed tails improves the cleanliness of a job and is always much appreciated by the teat seal team. If possible, get heifers used to the cow shed by running them through a few times. Teaching them to row up is a bonus. 1-2 weeks pre dry off Our focus here is to reduce milk production to less than 1kg MS per cow per day. The lower i

On the back of another ten-dollar payout and a stellar spring, it is time to look back on how you went in terms of getting cows pregnant. Results show that the average six week in calf rate for our clients was 69.3% (target 78%, last season 67%). The average “not in calf rate” was 17%, which is up from last years 14.9%. This may be due to lower conception rates and heifer growth, which can explain why we are seeing these results. Additionally most farms had another succesful

New professional standards from the Veterinary Council of New Zealand will change how antibiotic dry cow therapy is authorised. At this stage it is looking likely that this will shift from ‘you should’ to ‘you must’ justify each individual cow that receives dry cow antibiotics. This will likely be enforced from the 1 st of January 2027 . What justifies individual dry cow? - Individual herd test data showing SCC >150,000 - History of clinical mastitis throug

Pre-dryoff Body Condition Scoring (BCS) is one of the most powerful tools for protecting next season’s performance while still maximising milk this season. Looking at herd BCS averages, and more importantly the % of cows above and below target, helps identify which cows need priority feeding and which can safely milk on longer. When individual BCS is combined with aged pregnancy data, dryoff decisions can be tailored cow-by-cow to optimise days in milk without compromising ca

This is the first week of spore count testing for the season, with samples taken from four of the five monitoring areas (Matamata, Tirau, Walton and Waharoa). Te Poi was not tested this week. Spore counts across all monitored areas were minimal and based on current results there is no cause for concern at this stage . We will continue to monitor spore counts on a weekly basis. With the current combination of warm temperatures and recent rainfall, spore counts may increase ove

Quick reminder to book in your pregnancy testing if you haven’t already. To age all your pregnancies, you will generally have to do an early scan and a late recheck scan. The early scan should be done no later than 14 weeks after your start of mating , the final recheck scan can be done anytime following 6 weeks after the end of mating . Doing this early scan has the benefit of being able to identify your early calving cows, which will influence your dry off and springer tran

This year we’ve seen several outbreaks of Bovine Viral Diarrhoea (BVD) across our clients’ farms. BVD is a serious disease that can cause poor growth in youngstock, infertility, abortions, and even death. In 2025, we’ve had BVD cases ranging from just a single affected animal to outbreaks involving up to 40 calves. The most severe case was traced back to a persistently infected (PI) bull used during mating last season. This one animal led to reduced in-calf rates, increas

Are your non-return rates too good to be true? You could have phantom cows- cows that look like they’ve held but never actually got in-calf. Each one could cost you up to $1500 . The good news? There’s still time to act. Read our short article on phantom scanning and how prompt action can protect your herd and your bottom line this season. The difference in value between an in-calf cow ($3000) and an empty cow ($1500) can seriously affect your bottom line. Every cow we succe

Recently we have confirmed cases of botulism, a disease which causes paralysis, and generally leads to death. This is rare in NZ but much...

With your calves headed out into the big bad world this month, there are a few things you should consider before making the transition...

When it comes to running a profitable dairy farm, nothing hits the bottom line harder than an empty cow. Right now, the value difference...