AgriBusiness News September 2017

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12 WAIKATO AGRIBUSINESS NEWS September 2017 Herd repro data ‘good news’ for mating New herd reproduction data released by LIC shows good news for the industry and some areas of opportunity for the upcoming mating period. The data, from the 2016- 17 season, is from almost 4000 herds with a Detailed Fertility Focus report in MINDA, representing approximately 30 percent of the country’s herds. The statistics illustrate herd achievement compared to industry targets, which are the benchmarks set by the industry to help farmers measure their animal’s reproductive performance and identify areas for improvement. Malcolm Ellis, LIC general manager NZ Markets, said the highlight of the national statistics was a marked improvement in calving pattern, with more farmers achieving the target of having 60 percent of the herd calved within three weeks. Last season, 67 percent of herds hit that target, up from 52 percent in 2014. This is now the third consecutive year that calving patterns have improved. “This is a great achievement, which can deliver big benefits to a farm’s bottom line. It should also provide a solid base to make further improvements across the board this coming mating season,” Mr Ellis said. “A tighter front end calving pattern allows more cows to recover from calving and start cycling before mating starts, giving them a higher chance of conceiving early in the mating period. This means more cows are in-calf earlier and then more days in milk before Christmas.” Mr Ellis said the calving pattern also helps drive the most important measure, the six week in-calf rate, with the target to get 78 percent of the herd in-calf in the first six weeks of mating. The latest stats show a modest drop in the six week in-calf rate, with the national average now at 66 percent, down 0.9 percent on the previous year. The chief contributor to the drop in six week in-calf rate was a decline in submission rate – the percentage of cows that received at least one AB insemination or natural mating during the first three weeks of mating. The national average herd submission rate declined by 2.1 percent and the heifer (first calvers) were slightly harder hit with a 2.3 percent decline compared to last year. This is understandable given the season, Mr Ellis said. “The low dairy pay-out and a challenging spring in many areas of the country would have played a part in some of these key performance indicators dropping slightly but farmers can flip this into an opportunity this coming mating period.” Mr Ellis cautioned farmers about solely shortening mating length to tighten calving pattern, as that can lead to more empties. “In the lead up to this year’s mating season the most important thing farmers can do is make sure their cows have a good body condition score and they are nailing their heat detection.” Mr Ellis emphasised a concentrated calving pattern next season starts with a good mating management programme this season. "Many will identify the 'start of the season' as June 1, others the start of calving as 'when it all gets underway' but I have no doubt that the fortunes and success of next season start with mating. Planning, attention to detail and heat detection are key.” DNA find aids battle against farm pests AgResearch scientists tackling costly farm pests have shown their skills as amateur detectives, tracking down and using DNA from decades-old museum collections to prove their case. Research associate Nicky Richards and her colleagues were recently confronted with a Porina (Wiseana) caterpillar found in Southland – and in line with broader efforts to better understand this major pasture-munching pest, needed to establish which species of Porina they were looking at. Some species of Porina pose a much greater threat to pasture on New Zealand farms than others. Although seven Porina species are recognised, and the species can be identified by sight at the adult moth stage, it is impossible to do the same with the caterpillars as they look identical. “We suspected the caterpillar found in Southland was from an elusive Porina species known as Wiseana (W.) fuliginea, but to confirm it we needed to analyse an adult moth of that same species,” Mrs Richards says. “Unfortunately, no adult W. fuliginea had been found by us in our previous 20 years of field collections. So we had to find another way. Our connections led us to museum specimens held in the New Zealand Arthropod Collection hosted by Landcare Research. There we found dried adult W. fuliginea specimens that had been identified and preserved after their deaths 33 years ago.” “We took legs from these long-dead moths to generate genetic sequences – which takes more work when the DNA has broken down over time. It’s basically like putting together pieces of overlapping Lego to build what you need.” “What we generated from these 33-year-old specimens proved identical to the sequence from the caterpillar found in Southland. In other words, we had a DNA match. “This work has helped us develop a new DNA-based method to identify Porina caterpillars. By building our understanding of this pest, we can learn how best to help farmers prevent the hundreds of millions of dollars of damage it can do to pasture on New Zealand’s farms each year. “We can now explore environmentally friendly treatments for Porina outbreaks and target the species that are the key pasture annihilators – and giving all Porina species a bad name.” Attention Farmers Problems with Iron and Manganese? 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KEY TO A SUCCESSFUL PARTNERSHIP WAIKATO AGRIBUSINESS NEWS September 2017 13 Masters of quality Craftsmanship, commitment and care: these are the hallmarks of every project undertaken by Holcroft Prestige Ltd. We specialise in high end work and strive to deliver building excellence. Unit 15/6 Ken Browne Drive, Te Rapa Hamilton 3200 M 027 498 8549 | E nick@holcroftprestige.co.nz www.holcroftprestige.co.nz
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