Farm Source guide - Optimise milk quality

Farm Source guide - Optimise milk quality

This guide from NZ Farm Source's On-Farm Efficiency Hub covers how to prevent and manage mastitis, from an animal wellbeing plan and milking hygiene to monitoring somatic cell counts.

It links to a Milk Quality Manager farm visit and DairyNZ resources, and explains how fewer clinical cases and lower somatic cell counts protect milk production and reduce treatment costs.

Photo: “Westland Milk Products dairy processing plant” by Evan Centanni / www.polgeonow.com, licensed for reuse under CC BY-SA 4.0

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Dairy

  • Owl Farm case study - Mastitis control

    Enterprise
    Dairy
    Livestock
    Wellbeing

    Discover how Owl Farm keeps mastitis cases and cell counts down in its herd.

  • Farm Source guide - Maximise herd health

    Enterprise
    Dairy
    Livestock
    Wellbeing

    Check out ways to manage herd health, breeding and biosecurity to lift farm performance.

  • Owl Farm case study - Milk quality

    Enterprise
    Compliance
    Dairy
    Productivity

    See what keeps Owl Farm's alert, grade and demerit counts falling.

Livestock

  • Farm Source guide - Unlock nutrition efficiency

    Enterprise
    Dairy
    Livestock
    Productivity

    Read how balancing feed supply, demand and body condition helps cows use their feed better.

  • Farm Source guide - Optimise reproduction

    Enterprise
    Dairy
    Livestock
    On-farm actions

    Find out how to lift your six-week in-calf rate through cow, heifer and mating management.

  • Managing greenhouse gas emissions

    Climate
    Dairy
    Emissions reduction
    Greenhouse gas
    Livestock
    Sustainability

    Learn how to manage greenhouse gas emissions on your farm.

On-farm actions

  • Lucerne - Summary papers for establishing and managing Lucerne

    Enterprise
    On-farm actions
    Pests and diseases
    Planning
    Productivity
    Sheep and beef

    Research about managing lucerne for better lamb and ewe production and health.

  • On-farm actions (potential) - Once-a-day milking

    Climate
    Dairy
    Emissions reduction
    Greenhouse gas
    On-farm actions
    Profitability
    Sustainability

    Explore how once-a-day milking can cut your emissions and increase your profits.

An alternative perspective

  • Farm Source guide - Managing environmental stress

    Climate
    Adaptation
    Livestock
    Resilience

    Understand how to protect cows from heat, cold and adverse weather to limit stress and losses.

  • Farm Source guide - Optimise nitrogen fertiliser

    Climate
    Fertiliser
    On-farm actions
    Sustainability

    Learn how to plan, time and target nitrogen fertiliser so more of it ends up as pasture growth.

Explore related content

Farm Source guide - Optimise pasture and crop

Enterprise
On-farm actions
Productivity
Profitability

Discover ways to grow, manage and use pasture and crop for healthier, more efficient cows.

Farm Source guide - Focus your planting

Whenua
Biodiversity
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Erosion

Uncover options for riparian planting, native trees and shelter that boost farm biodiversity.

Farm Source guide - Imported feed

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Emissions reduction
On-farm actions
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Weigh up how imported feed choices affect your costs, cows and farm emissions footprint.

Farm Source guide - Manage effluent

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Water

Compare ways to manage effluent ponds and spreading that protect waterways and cut methane.

On-Farm Efficiency Hub

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Farm planning
Productivity
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Explore ten practical ways to lift productivity, profitability and sustainability on your farm.

Owl Farm case study - Lameness management

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Livestock
On-farm actions
Wellbeing

Learn how Owl Farm halved its lameness rate by changing yard flow and race care.

Owl Farm case study - Animal well-being plan

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Farm planning
Livestock
Wellbeing

See how Owl Farm builds a seasonal well-being plan for its dairy herd with local vets.

Using sustainable practices to reduce emissions and protect waterways

Climate
Agribusiness
Dairy
Emissions reduction
Livestock
On-farm actions
Sustainability
Water

A Taitokerau farm is using on sustainable practices to improve production efficiency, reduce emissions, and protect the Mangakahia catchment.

National rules for farm effluent

Whenua
Compliance
Dairy
On-farm actions
Water

Learn the national rules for storing and spreading farm effluent.

Owl Farm case study - Milk production

Enterprise
Dairy
Productivity
Profitability

Compare season milksolids results against Owl Farm's production targets.