Reading Time: 2 minutes New Zealand dairy farmers’ herds had another strong reproductive performance for the 2025-2026 season, with a six-week in-calf rate that lifted to a new record of 70.4%. This is up from 70.2% in the previous season, while the not-in-calf rate (NICR) remained relatively stable at 14.7%. The results are based on data from 4776 herds and more than 2.6 million cows across the country. LIC chief executive David Chin said it was a fantastic result and the third year in a
row when there had been a consistent improvement in mating performance. There is no single factor that can be highlighted for the result. Instead, it was a mix of ongoing good attention by farmers, he said. The industry’s top-performing 25% of herds achieved a six-week in-calf rate of 78.2% and a NICR of 11.1%. Those farmers are “knocking it out of the park” and should be what the rest of the industry aspires to, he said. “Those top-performing herds are getting more cows submitted, achieving
higher conception rates and ending the season with fewer empty cows. “The difference isn’t one thing done exceptionally well – it’s consistently getting the basics right, from nutrition and cow recovery through to heat detection and mating management,” Chin said. Cows also dried off in good condition going into last winter and then encountered good spring conditions, he said. Regionally, the south of the country stood out with gains in Otago, South Canterbury and Canterbury, where six-week in-calf rates lifted by between 1.4% and 2.5%.
Otago saw the biggest gain, increasing from 68.9% to 71.4%, while South Canterbury lifted from 70.6% to 72.6%, and Canterbury increased from 70.5% to 71.9%. However, there were softer results in the North Island. Waikato shifted from 71.2% to 69.6% and Northland from 71.0% to 69.2%. Waikato Federated Farmers dairy chair Matthew Zonderop said farmers across the region had higher than average empty rates – up from 12% to 16%, and lower than average six-week in-calf rates. There was no definitive reason for this and
it took everyone by surprise, given how good on-farm conditions were at the time. “They are pointing to a warmer than normal November, which saw cows stop cycling. “Because there was so much grass and feed available, they were putting it into milk and didn’t feel the need to reproduce and keep their progeny moving.” While the data is by no means a disaster, it was unexpected, he said. “There were a lot of disappointed farmers around.” CRV sales and operations manager for New Zealand
Mitchell Koot said anecdotal data showed that North Island empty rates were up 3-5% while the South Island’s rates were similar to last year, ranging from 7% to 17%. Southland rates were also on a par at below 10%. One trend he had noticed was that farmers are extending their AB because of the increasing popularity of using collar technology with around 30% of their customers having a mating longer than six weeks. “That continues to grow this year with our techs (AB technicians) getting
more requests for extended AB.” The increase in the cost of bulls, the availability of good dairy beef semen straws and the potential health and safety risks in having bulls on farm had also led to that increase in mating length. Chin said the technology had led to a 10-week AB programme for the same reasons. However there was no data showing an improvement in reproductive performance between herds with and without collars, he said.
New Zealand dairy, six-week in-calf rate, reproductive performance, 2025-2026 season, LIC, David Chin, Waikato Federated Farmers, Matthew Zonderop, NICR, AB, collar technology, heat detection, mating management