scope:

FOREWORD

The Dairy Industry (Herd Testing and New Zealand Dairy Core Database) Regulations 2001 (the Herd Testing Regulations) require all herd testers to be certified and to submit the minimum data set required to characterise the performance of the national bovine dairy herd.

In 2007, the standard and the Herd Testing Regulations were amended to support the new 'test day' AE model. This enabled a more flexible herd testing regime with less frequent sampling, and relaxed the requirement for 'all' cows to be tested. The aim of increasing flexibility was to help to reverse the downward trend in herd testing, without compromising the comprehensiveness of the New Zealand Dairy Core Database. In particular, the change to allow part herd testing, achieved by clarifying the definitions of 'herd' and 'contemporary group', and allowing the testing of 'contemporary groups' was intended to encourage some large herd owners, who would not otherwise herd test, to do so.

At the time of the 2007 revision, the committee recommended that when NZS 8100 was next reviewed, definitions of 'herd' and 'contemporary group' be revisited to ascertain the effect of the change and assess whether any detrimental impacts had been encountered. As a result of experience since 2007, it has been agreed in this revision of the standard to simplify the provisions for farming businesses with multiple herds and farm dairies in similar environments, to allow the herds to be tested on the same day or on different days, as long as all cows are tested within an 8-day 'herd test phase'.

NZS 8100:2015 has been reorganised to include generic requirements for herd testing, requirements under the current data collection processes, and requirements for automated milk recording devices. This will enable further data collection methods to be easily included as the standard is amended in future.

The revision has also enabled clarifications of the requirement for ear tags to be linked to unique animal identifiers recorded on the core database, and allowed for compatibility with the new National Animal Identification and Tracing (NAIT) provisions.

The accuracy requirements for equipment used in herd testing are a combination of limits retained from those set out in the 2007 standard, limits aligned with the ICAR International agreement of recording practices, 2012 and new accuracy limits.

NZS 8100:2015 defines those standards required to meet the objectives of the Herd Testing Regulations. This standard supersedes NZS 8100:2007 Dairy herd testing.