Listen to The Country online: Federated Farmers releases rural banking report cards
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NZ Herald
2 days ago
- NZ Herald
Waikato sharemilker launches AI-driven cow breeding tool
Traditionally, Zonderop said, he would take a month, post-calving/pre-mating, to develop a spreadsheet of the best bulls for his 380-cow herd at Te Poi, near Matamata. This would initially involve thumbing through dairy herd improvement companies' bull catalogues. He said farmers would sometimes select multiple sires to cover their herds, or simply the 'bull of the day' from the listings. With PCBS, he can input data on bulls and cows covering a variety of preferred traits. 'Everything is the individual farmer's preference. 'What we are all looking for, though, is peak milk production.' Zonderop narrowed the field down to eight bulls this season for his home herd, with PCBS producing a report in less than a minute. Idea hatched Perfect Cow Breeding Solutions founder Matthew Zonderop. Correcting a mistake via AI while using several workbooks for a spreadsheet led to the business idea being hatched two years ago. Zonderop initially used the system for his own herd, but decided to create a business that would help other dairy farmers achieve greater herd efficiency and milk production. He pays a monthly subscription for the AI programme and on-charges farmers for inputting data and generating a report on the top bulls for their cows. Zonderop said that apart from a quick conversion of data, his system also uses simple language: 'farmer-speak'. 'It is designed to help dairy farmers make precise breeding decisions for their herd, both now and into the future. 'The mission is simple: to maximise herd performance, improve milk production, and drive sustainable profits for dairy farmers using cutting-edge science and technology.' Listen to Jamie Mackay interview Matthew Zonderop on The Country below: Zonderop said the RAS database contained a list of about 27,000 bulls available for use by New Zealand farmers. This is narrowed down by the preferred breed of bull that farmers wish to use. Using the RAS database – and farmers' individual preferences – a bull's desired traits to be passed on are identified. Zonderop said a clear breeding strategy was vital in building a stronger herd. Leading bulls were selected in PCBS on their 'genetic merit' through established breeding indexes. These include Breeding Worth (BW), which ranks cows and bulls on their ability to meet the National Breeding Objective: to breed dairy cattle that efficiently convert feed into profit. Desired traits Desired traits for bulls to pass on in cows include milk volume, liveweight, milk protein, milk fat, gestation length, somatic cell count, udder conformation, body condition score and fertility. Zonderop said data used in PCBS also included Production Worth, which ranks a cow based on its expected lifetime performance. Added to all evaluations is genomics, the breeding of dairy cows using genotypes (DNA) to predict an animal's potential for future profitability. He said this examines how genes interact to influence the animal's development and growth. Farmers had an idea of a cow's traits from its parents, but were dependent on its production information to determine how reliable this information was, he said. Zonderop said genomic information could better predict which production qualities an animal had inherited and provide a much more reliable Breeding Worth at a younger age. The farmer sends the final list of preferred bulls to a herd improvement company, which supplies the associated semen, which is administered on-farm by an artificial insemination technician. PCBS data for each farm is reviewed annually and changes are made as required. Zonderop said it would 'take generations' for results to come through, as calves graduated into the milking herd. He now also uses artificial intelligence for all his grazing plans and feed budgeting, while soil test results are put into the system for fertiliser application recommendations on his property. In another extension, PCBS processes data on cow health in his herd, which he receives from a sensor inside the stomach of each animal. Zonderop, the Waikato and Matamata Federated Farmers' Dairy Section chairman, was on-site in the Rural Advocacy Hub at Fieldays last month and said visitors had learnt about PCBS either through word-of-mouth or online. 'They seemed to be impressed and enthused, and keen to know more.'
NZ Herald
4 days ago
- NZ Herald
Listen to The Country online: Federated Farmers releases rural banking report cards
Today on The Country radio show, host Jamie Mackay catches up with Federated Farmers' new banking spokesman, Mark Hooper, to take a closer look at the Feds' latest survey, which reveals how the biggest rural lenders are performing in the eyes of farmers. On with the show:
Scoop
4 days ago
- Scoop
Federated Farmers Release Rural Banking Report Cards
A Federated Farmers survey has revealed how the country's biggest rural lenders are performing in the eyes of farmers - ranking the banks from best to worst. "A farmer's relationship with their bank is one of the most important relationships within their business, and for many farmers interest payments will be their single-biggest expense," says Federated Farmers banking spokesperson Mark Hooper. "Farmers, along with politicians and the general public, deserve full transparency of what each of the rural lenders is doing well - and just as importantly, what they're not doing so well. "That's why, for the first time, we've asked farmers to tell us how the banks are stacking up. "We're now releasing these report cards because we want to create more visibility of rural banking issues and competition." Federated Farmers' May banking survey of 681 farmers found Rabobank and ANZ were the top-performing rural banks, sharing first-place on the podium. Rabobank received the highest scores for overall satisfaction, communication quality and overdraft rate. ANZ scored the best farmer ratings for mortgage rates, the level of undue pressure felt by farmers, and mental health scores. Westpac came in at the middle of the pack, scoring well with their mortgage rates and communication. BNZ and ASB were nearly tied in last place, showing they've got some work to do with farmers. Hooper says the banks' CEOs should keep an eye out for a report card coming their way. "The purpose of these report cards isn't to tear down the banks - it's to really help them see what they need to focus on to deliver a better service to Kiwi farmers. "Over the coming weeks we'll be providing each of the banks with a copy of their report card, and some constructive feedback on how they could improve. "We hope this is a helpful process and results in a benefit to both farmers and their lenders." ANZ Mortgage Rate: A+ Overdraft Rate: A Undue Pressure: A+ Comm. Quality: B Mental Health: A+ Overall Satisfaction: A Final Grade: A- Rabobank Mortgage Rate: B Overdraft Rate: A+ Undue Pressure: A Comm. Quality: A+ Mental Health: A Overall Satisfaction: A+ Final Grade: A- Westpac Mortgage Rate: A Overdraft Rate: C Undue Pressure: D Comm. Quality: A Mental Health: B Overall Satisfaction: B Final Grade: C+ BNZ Mortgage Rate: D Overdraft Rate: D Undue Pressure: B Comm. Quality: D Mental Health: D Overall Satisfaction: C Final Grade: C- ASB Mortgage Rate: C Overdraft Rate: B Undue Pressure: C Comm. Quality: C Mental Health: C Overall Satisfaction: D Final Grade: D
