Looking ahead

FACIAL ECZEMA

• Spore counting has started for the 2025 facial eczema season. Check out our weekly report on the Facebook page and/or subscribe to our weekly email by contacting gaye.stein@tvg.co.nz

DAIRY

• Drying off decisions – feed levels are extremely variable across the district. Now is a good time to start thinking about your drying off plan.

• Maintaining/gaining BCS between now and drying off is important, ideally you don’t want to be trying to increase body condition after dry off but rather hold a suitable BCS through the dry period. If cows are at a low BCS now then consider drying off earlier or alternative milking strategies i.e. OAD or 10 in 7 to reduce pressure.

• As you may be looking to dry some cows off earlier this season, now is also a good time to be thinking of doing your milk quality review to discuss options around Dry Cow Therapy/internal teat sealants.

• Repro review – with scanning now behind us for most, it is a good time to have a good review of the repro results for the season. What worked well? What areas are there to improve on? How can we impact these?

SHEEP and BEEF

• Parasite management – If you haven’t done so already make sure you are doing a 10-day drench check. If you are in an area affected by Barber’s pole keep an eye out for high FEC or weak lambs as an indication you may need to treat. Larval cultures can also be beneficial.

• Salmonella – Keep an eye out for unexpected deaths in MA ewes, especially after management changes e.g. shearing or boxing up for mating. Especially in the Tararua area where there has been recent rain and a feed flush

• Hogget mating – If you are mating hoggets, check they are on target and make sure you feed budget for this to ensure they can continue to grow during winter and early Spring.

• Beef pregnancy testing – The earlier this is done the easier it is to age and identify twins. Ideally 6 weeks after the bull is out.

• Ensure finishing cattle are vaccinated to avoid deaths from clostridial diseases, these often occur when animals are growing well on lush pasture and can be hard to distinguish from bloat.

• Trace Element testing – Beef scanning is a great time to assess the effectiveness of your trace element programme.

DEER

• Mating – monitor stag health and condition through mating. Monitor general health, body condition and any signs of lameness, and act quickly at any sign of a problem.

• Vaccinations – if fawns are yet to have their first shot for Leptospirosis, along with Yersiniavax® for Yersiniosis, plan for this now.

EQUINE

• Weaning is a potentially stressful period for youngsters so ensure excellent nutrition for young stock, with slow feed transitions. Plan ahead for branding, identification/registration and further vaccination(s).

• As we head into Autumn it is a good time to check Se levels. For those with older ponies, Autumn is the optimal time to test for Cushing, both for horses already medicated and those who are older and maybe developing it.