Moving day preparation

With moving day approaching on 1 June, it’s important to plan ahead to manage biosecurity risks effectively when moving stock, people, and machinery.

• Create or check your biosecurity plan for moving stock to a new farm or bringing stock onto the property.
• Update NAIT records to ensure accurate tracking of stock movements.
• Check pre-movement testing requirements, such as TB, BVD, or Johne's testing, to avoid delays and minimise risk.
• Plan ahead for stock purchase, using our pre-purchase checklist to assess biosecurity risks.

Visit our moving day page for checklists and planners

Driving business performance

Evaluating business performance and budgets at the end of the season will help you set future-focused goals that enhance profitability and resilience.

Key metrics to focus on that drive profitability are operating profit/ha, return on assets and operating expenses/kgMS. Use the final 24/25 payout figures from your dairy company and the estimates for the coming season to update your budget.

Get started with our budget templates, including the annual cash budget, and monthly cashflow budget.

Feed budgeting

A feed budget helps maximise productivity and profitability by accurately allocating feed.

Use our Simple Feed Budget to assess your current situation and guide decisions over the coming days, weeks and months. It helps you estimate expected demand and supply to identify any feed deficits so you can determine how much to reduce feed demand, through removing stock or drying off cows, and/or increase supply by bringing in feed.

To calculate feed supply and demand over 12 months, use our feed budget templates

Supporting a high-performing team

A well supported, high performing team drives farm profitability and resilience, through enhanced productivity, increased staff retention and improved team culture and wellbeing.

Investing in your team’s development and wellbeing now will ensure they are ready for the 25/26 season. Support your team to use any existing leave prior to calving so they’re recharged for the busy period ahead. Clear communication through regular staff meetings helps everyone understand their role and expectations.

When onboarding new staff, involve your team in their training plan, prioritising essential winter skills. Look for industry training opportunities on our events page and through vets.

View the key steps to building a great team

Impacts of once-a-day milking in early lactation

Choosing the right milking strategy depends on your farm goals and system. Understanding different options can help you make the right decision for your herd and business.

If you’re looking to ease the workload through calving or improve cow health heading into mating, now is the time to assess whether OAD milking in early lactation could work for you.

What's the trade-off?

• 1-2% less kgMS for the season if OAD is used for 3 weeks from planned start of calving.
• 3-5% less kgMS if used for 6 weeks from planned start of calving.

Make an informed decision about your farm this season; visit our OAD milking in early lactation webpage.

Feed management for a successful calving

A well-prepared herd sets the foundation for a smooth and productive calving season. Ensure cows are fed appropriately to meet body condition score (BCS) targets – 5.5 for first and second calvers, and 5 for mixed-age cows. Supplement with magnesium 2-4 weeks before calving, and provide calcium (limeflour) to colostrum and milking cows for up to four months post-calving to support metabolic balance and milk production.