The Better Herd Podcast: Recent Episodes
CRV
Join us as we get excited about all things herd improvement!
Listen and learn about the latest developments and practical tips for improving the health and efficiency of your herd.
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CRV's myDNA Product Manager Anna Morrow and Hawera dairy farmer Hayden Lawrence discuss the benefits of DNA testing dairy herds.
CRV's myDNA Product Manager Anna Morrow and Hawera dairy farmer Hayden Lawrence discuss the benefits of DNA testing dairy herds.
Our host Anne-Marie Case-Miller is joined by CRV product development manager Peter Van Elzakker and West Coast farmer Mark Van Beek to discuss how breeding can help you achieve your farming goals.
We talk about a healthy and efficient herd, and the importance of tailoring your breeding programme to help unlock the potential of your farm business.
Facial Eczema is a devastating disease that costs New Zealand dairy farmers hundreds of thousands of dollars in lost milk production each year.
Not only is it costly in dollar terms, but it can also have severe implications for animal health.
In this episode, CRV’s Mitchell Koot is joined by CRV head geneticist Phil Beatson and VetEnt vet and research head, Emma Cuttance.
Listen as they discuss why FE is such a concern for our dairy industry, and the short and longer term options available to manage it.
Dairy farmers and their staff spend about 50% of their time milking. Milking times have a big impact on the structure of the working day.
An increasing number of farmers are looking for more flexibility in their milking routine and considering alternative options to twice-a-day.
CRV’s Rosanna Dickson talks to DairyNZ Senior Scientist Dr Paul Edwards about how farmers can maintain productivity and profitability, while reducing the number of milkings per lactation. They also discuss how genetics can help farmers breed cows suited to a flexible milking regime.
Breeding for increased numbers of heifers has become popular for dairy farmers wanting more from their top cows.
An increasing number of farmers are considering sorted semen as a tool to get more from their herd improvement programme, getting replacement heifers from high genetic merit heifers and top producing cows.
There are also significant benefits for farmers in using sorted semen to reduce their number of bobby calves and potentially have easier calvings for heifers. Decisions based on animal welfare outcomes is becoming an increasingly important consideration.
Rosanna talks about the ins and outs of sexed semen with Marleen Broekhuijse from CRV HQ in The Netherlands and Canterbury dairy farmer Ian Hopping.
NZAEL manager Brian Wickham gives us an update on the new animal evaluation system and what dairy farmers can expect over the coming months.
We discuss the automatic transfer of data from your herd recording service provider to NZAEL.
We talk about NZAEL’s new model for fertility evaluation and other traits being reviewed.
Lastly, Brian talks about NZAEL’s efforts to ensure data quality, its work with breeding societies and the National Breeding Objective review.
CRV’s latest bull team offers more than just high index. The 2021 line-up responds to farmer demand for genetic solutions to tackle challenges around the environment, herd efficiency and animal welfare.
CRV has introduced a wide range of new sires to its portfolio for 2021, with 22 newly graduated sires and 15 new genomic InSires, in addition to 13 new sires in its global portfolio.
Rosana chats to our Product Development and Product Manager Peter van Elzakker to find out more.
It’s conference time for The Dairy Women’s Network (DWN).
CRV is proud to be an event sponsor and supporting dairying women across the country.
Together with Allflex, the DWN is this year bringing networking and professional development opportunities to the regions. They will be holding three one day events in Taupo, Queenstown and Ashburton.
With an impressive line-up of speakers and workshops, the conferences are shaping up to be fun, informative and entertaining.
Rosanna Dickson is joined by DWN Chair and Atiamuri dairy farmer Karen Forlong to chat about what conference delegates can expect and some of the challenges she believes we face as an industry.
To register for one of the upcoming “Step Up Together” conferences, click here.
Mastitis can be a costly animal health condition and treatment often requires the use of antibiotics. With the growing demand for a reduction of antibiotic use on farms, it is increasingly important to have healthier herds with a lower incidence of mastitis.
Join CRV’s Rosanna Dickson as she chats to DairyNZ Senior Scientist Jane Lacy-Hulbert and CRV Breeding Programme Manager, Aaron Parker.
DairyNZ and AgResearch have jointly released findings from a study that shows New Zealand dairy farmers have the world’s lowest on-farm carbon footprint.
In fact, their emissions are half of other international milk producers.
Commissioned by DairyNZ, the study was independently produced by AgResearch and peer-reviewed by an international specialist in Ireland.
CRV’s Rosanna Dickson is joined by André Mazzetto from AgResearch, who is one of the scientists behind the work. Andre talks about people’s reactions to the findings, how science could help the industry reach its targets and the role genetics could play.
NAIT is New Zealand’s animal identification and tracing system for cattle and deer.
It provides New Zealand livestock owners, processors and government with timely and quality information on the current location, movement history and other useful information associated with livestock.
New legislation around the use of NAIT tags is being introduced. OSPRI manages the NAIT programme on behalf of our primary industries and the Government.
In this episode, Rosanna Dickson is joined by OSPRI’s Kevin Forward to discuss the changes and what they mean for farmers. She also chats to Nicholas Crosse from FarmIQ about the process for registering tags with NAIT for farmers herd recording with myHERD.
Getting cows in calf is a critical part of dairy farming.
Pregnancy testing can provide you with valuable information to help you make good management decisions about what needs to happen and when.
Determining the pregnancy status of your herd via milk can be done as part of your CRV herd test.
Listen to DairyNZ animal and feed developer, Sam Tennent, and CRV herd testing manager Mark Redgate to find out more.
Forward thinking dairy farmers are breeding hornless animals to future proof their business.
Breeding hornless calves saves farmers time, money and improves animal welfare.
In this podcast, Okoroire farmer Floyd Smit joins CRV’s Jenna O’Sullivan and Rosanna Dickson to talk about breeding with Polled genetics.
70% of Floyd’s spring calves are bred using Polled genetics. Listen to find out why he is part of a growing trend.
University research has shown that the stronger the intensity of a cow’s estrous (heat), the better chance she has of holding her pregnancy.
These findings could help New Zealand dairy farmers improve the fertility of their herd by having a heat detection plan in place to ensure animals are put up for AI when their estrous intensity is at its strongest.
Join Rosanna Dickson as she chats with Dr Ky Pohler from Texas A&M University about his findings and how New Zealand farmers can ensure they are mating their cows at the right time.
CRV has seen real growth in interest in dairy beef over the last few seasons.
The company offers Dairy Beef sires that have been screened carefully for short gestation and good growth rates. These sires work well in both the dairy and dairy beef industries.
For this podcast, we have brought together breeders of four different beef breeds – Hereford, Angus, Stabilizer and Belgian Blue. We’re going to learn more about their operations and things to consider when choosing the right breed for your farming operation.
Join CRV’s Rosanna Dickson as she chats to the company’s product management specialist Mitchell Koot; Yvonne Lee from Bluestone Hereford; Duncan Elliott from Focus Genetics; and Simon Noppen from the Belgian Blue Group in Belgium.
CRV’s new herd recording and farm management programme, myHERD is now available for CRV InSight customers.
myHERD means dairy farmers can now manage all their herd records and data from multiple farming operations using just one tool.
myHERD is the result of CRV’s partnership with leading farm software provider, FarmIQ.
Listen to CRV Information and IT Manager Andrew Singers and FarmIQ GM Customer Success Jock Richardson as they chat about myHERD and the collaborative data integration this partnership offers.
CRV’s Progeny Test (PT) farmers are the first to enjoy the genetic gains of superior sires.
CRV Ambreed runs an industry-leading PT programme, which develops the next generation of elite dairy sires. PT compares the performance of sires through their offspring.
In this episode, Sheryl Haitana chats with our PT programme manager, Janine Broekhuizen and breeding programme manager Aaron Parker.
Listen to find out what’s involved with being a PT farmer and if our programme is right for you.
In this episode, we talk about global genetics, their suitability for NZ farming systems and the benefits for NZ farmers of using CRV’s global sires offering.
Joining the discussion is farmer Abe De Wolde from Woldwide Farm Limited in Southland, who uses CRV’s global sires.
CRV Ambreed’s product manager Oceania Peter van Elzakker dials in from his home office.
And from the other side of the world, we welcome Jaap Veldhuisen who heads up CRV’s breeding team in the Netherlands.
Dairy cow fertility underpins the viability and productivity of every dairy business. So how do you determine the key management areas to focus on in order to maximise your herd's reproductive performance?
Sheryl Haitana chats with senior research scientist Jane Kay from DairyNZ about how body condition at a herd level influences reproductive performance.
Find out why hitting body condition score targets is important, what strategies farmers can use to get every cow close to her ideal BCS at calving, and the tools available to help.
For more information from DairyNZ about body condition score strategies, click here.
To learn more about body condition and nutrition for reproduction, click here.
CRV Ambreed managing director Angus Haslett has officially taken over the reins as CEO of CRV’s global artificial breeding business. He is the company’s first ever international CEO.
Angus has succeeded Roald van Noort, who successfully led the company for over 12 years.
Angus will continue to be based in New Zealand until travel restrictions allow him to relocate to Holland.
CRV is a cooperative. About 25,000 dairy and beef farmers in the Netherlands and Flanders are members and have influence on CRV’s policy through the co-operative’s advisory bodies and member committees.
In this episode, Angus joins Sheryl Haitana from his home office to talk about his tenure with CRV Ambreed, the benefits of the Dutch-Kiwi relationship for NZ farmers, and his views on where the industry is heading in the next 10 years.
CRV Ambreed will be launching its new herd recording and management tool myHERD in June this year.
Sheryl Haitana talks with CRV IT manager Andrew Singers and the company’s herd testing manager Mark Redgate about the new tool and how herd testing data will be incorporated.
She is also joined by Waikato dairy farmer Marty Vickers who has been part of the farmer group testing myHERD. Marty will also be using CRV’s pregnancy testing through milk sampling next season.
Sheryl Haitana talks to CRV’s Jon Lee and Peter van Elzakker about CRV’s latest bull portfolio, the standout sires for the coming season, and industry trends that have influenced CRV’s breeding offer to farmers.
For more information, check out the catalogue online or read our latest news
Part 2: Sheryl Haitana talks to CRV’s Jon Lee and Peter van Elzakker about CRV’s latest bull portfolio, the standout sires for the coming season, and industry trends that have influenced CRV’s breeding offer to farmers.
For more information, check out the catalogue online or read our latest news
Join our host Sheryl Haitana (NZ Dairy Exporter) as she chats with Brian Wickham (NZAEL) and Jon Lee (CRV Ambreed) about the new genetic evaluation system for dairy cattle. Listen to find out what these changes will mean for farmers.