Best of 2025: Building a high BW herd - one decision at a time

More farmers listened to this episode in 2025 than any other. Tune in to find out why it was so popular... What does it take to build a top herd? South Taranaki farmers Donovan Croot and Sophie Cookson started strong with a high Breeding Worth (BW) herd. But reaching the top 1% for BW in the country? That took smart decisions and a clear plan to drive genetic gain. In this episode, Donovan and Sophie share how they've achieved their results and the highlights from the joint DairyNZ and Fonterra event they hosted with DairyNZ area manager Talissa Squire. Did you know? More Progressing Dairy events on improving genetic gain are coming in 2026. Find one near you . Get the DairyNZ tools and resources mentioned in this episode: Breeding Worth - DairyNZ | DairyNZ Tools - Animal Herd Averages | DairyNZ Bull Search - DairyNZ | DairyNZ Bull Team - DairyNZ | DairyNZ Ranking of Active Sires (RAS) | DairyNZ InCalf reproduction gap calculator - DairyNZ | DairyNZ Have feedback or ideas for future episodes? Email us at talkingdairy@dairynz.co.nz Connect with DairyNZ Stay up to date with advice, latest research, tools and resources. Read, browse, scroll, listen, or be there in person. Visit dairynz.co.nz/get-connected

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Best of 2025: Building a high BW herd - one decision at a time is an episode from Talking Dairy by DairyNZ.

This episode is 36:19 long.

This episode was published on Dec 18, 2025.

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