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Dairy

OUR APPROACH

The key to great dairy farm health is your KeyVet Team.

We don’t want to know just your animals, we want to know you, your farm, your ambitions and your vision for the future.  We don’t just care for your animals we care for you and for the success of your farm. This all starts with the KeyVet Team, including your dedicated KeyVet, who works closely with you to maximise the return from your production animals.  


We've been here for a long time, amongst it all, working alongside you and getting our hands dirty.  You’ll find VetSouth Veterinarians out amongst it in all weather, day and night.  And let’s just come straight out with it - dairy is a real passion.  Some of our vets are dairy farmers themselves and we get involved at all levels of the industry.


We’re lucky to have assembled a top team who have different specialities and are leaders in their specific fields. What does this all mean? It means we’re equipped with knowledge, experience and resources to help you get the most out of your animals and maximise your returns. 


Further, we take a lead in dairy issues, such as Mycoplasma Bovis. We stay active in the local communities and advocate for dairy farmers at a national level with Government. Why? Because we believe in dairy farming and we believe in dairy farmers.  We believe in successful and sustainable farm practices and adding enduring value to farming and food. We know we can help. 

OUR SERVICES

Speak to your KeyVet about one of our specialist programmes for Dairy Farmers

KEYVET

We don't want to know just your animals. We want to know you, your farm, your ambitions and your vision for the future. We don't care for just your animals. We care for you and for the success of your farm. This all starts with the KeyVet Team, including your dedicated key vet, who works closely with you to maximise the return from your production animals.

PRODUCTION PROFILE PLUS

Production Profile Plus is an annual monitoring of trace elements to identify problems before they affect cow condition and performance. Expert advice is given from your veterinarian based on lab results. You will also receive a written report with an explanation of lab results and a guide to supplementation with recommended dose rates of various products. This scheme can also be customised to meet your needs, so talk to us today!

CowSmart is a service VetSouth has partnered with that combines wearable tech data, production results, and farm records to provide practical insights that support herd health, efficiency, and productivity. Talk to your KeyVet to find out how CowSmart could support your dairy farming business.

THE BENEFITS

Why VetSouth is a great choice

We're locals

We’ve been in the lower South Island for decades. It’s where we’re from and where we raise our families.

Wide network

We’re plugged into the Veterinary world and our team can call on expertise from all over the world, then deliver it locally.

Handy clinics

We’re close to you for consults, supplements, supplies...whatever you need. Pop on in or organise a delivery.

Our Weigh It Up programme offers regular or one-off weighing services for youngstock. Weighing helps you understand how your calves are growing, plus it enables you to be more accurate with weaning and drenching. Our portable scales mean we can weigh animals in calf sheds, dairy shed yards, or yards at grazing blocks.

FURTHER READING

Latest news

Trace elements ahead of calving

While most dairy farmers have a trace element supplementation routine, as we reset for another season it’s worth asking: are you supplementing the right trace elements at the right time? Trace elemRead more

From data to decisions: Using wearables to guide transition management

During the 2025-26 season, one of VetSouth’s Southland dairy farms used data derived from their wearables and the CowSmart service to monitor transition performance, cow recovery, and reproductiveRead more

Give your calves a great start

Good care in the first few months sets calves up for strong growth, disease resistance, and long term performance. Give them the best start at birth by ensuring each calf gets a minimum of 10% ofRead more

Repro results round-up

The highlight of these events was sharing the strong reproductive results achieved by our farms this season. The average 3-week in-calf rate across all VetSouth farms was 50%, against an industry tarRead more

The case of a locked leg

I was recently on-farm for a routine visit, when the farmer mentioned that he had an odd lame cow that hadn’t yet responded to any treatment. When we looked at her, she was dramatically lame, withRead more

Salmonella in dairy cattle on the rise

There are around 2600 strains of Salmonella identified worldwide. The most common strains seen in cattle in New Zealand are S. Typhimurium, S. Give, S. Bovismorbificans (primarily affects the gut)Read more

Bull sales: Key considerations before you buy

Here are a few things to consider to help you select the right bulls for your herd and ensure they’re in top health:   The bull sale catalogues will be in mailboxes and online now. Take yourRead more

Improving milk quality

You’ll be hoping that the Dry Cow and/or teat seal you put in is going to do its job over the dry period and they’ll come back all cleaned up of any infections. However, as much as we’d like toRead more

Analysing phantom cow results

Across all the regions we service, we’re seeing a big increase in dairy farmers wanting to do phantom scanning. In our East and South Otago hubs (which includes our Gore, Tapanui, and BalcluthaRead more

New Crypto vaccine for the toolbox

Calf scours are one of the most frustrating problems on-farm to manage. Not only do they result in reduced growth rates and more calf deaths, they also increase the workload of calf rearers and canRead more

Baleage wrap: A cautionary tale of two cows

Please note, this article contains medical photographs taken during post-mortem examination. A short while ago, I was asked to carry out a post-mortem exam on a cow that had bloated and died earlierRead more

The team behind the team

Part of this wider team is Farm Services, whose role is to make life easier for both farmers and vets by doing the groundwork that allows the vets to focus on practical animal health work as much asRead more
 

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