Introduction

The backbone of New Zealand dairy farming has always been our ability to produce low-cost milk from pasture.  This means production is dependent on the pasture growth curve – which in turn makes the typical New Zealand system very seasonal.
Now that calving is over in most parts of the country (or nearly over!), it means that mating is just around the corner.  
Mating management is not something that happens at just one time of the year – there are many factors that feed into getting high in-calf rates and tight calving patterns.  With recent publicity around inductions, now is a good time to focus on getting the basics right.
Most farmers are already working hard to reduce the number of inductions needed – and know that it is not as easy to get them done as the media seem to make out.  Regardless of the attempts to manufacture shock amongst townies, good farming practice is to avoid such interventions as much as possible as outside of the animal welfare issues, it will help with efficiency of production and lowering costs.
As your AB company, we work hard to make the mating season as efficient and effective for you as possible, helping you firstly get your cows in calf, and secondly build the genetic resources of your cows so that your productivity will continue to grow in coming years.
Our AI Service has a long tradition of providing highly-trained technicians that get the job done right – we have also trained thousands of farmers over the years for DIY insemination, allowing many farmers to make considerable savings and build their skills and understanding of cow fertility.
Our tradition of innovation in helping farmers with their mating management extends into information products – with CRV AmBreed being the first in NZ to launch a mating advice program for farmers.  Genescreen, the leading product in this area, has now been replaced by SireMatch, the next generation in Mating Advice programs, which allows you to screen for mating issues and managed your genetic resources for maximum genetic and productivity gain.
Mating sets your herd up for next year, so for help in this area, don’t hesitate to contacts us at CRV AmBreed to see how your mating company can make a difference.