October 17, 2024

DairyNZ

Newstead

INTERN

Summer Internship: Managing heat stress in dairy cows

Fixed Term 10-week Summer Internship.
Dairy NZ's story
Progressing a positive future for New Zealand dairy farming

Te whanake anamata angitu mō ngā pāmu kau o Aotearoa
We are full of people who have a passion for doing good and creating positive change. We leverage our collective strength by bringing the dairy sector together, helping farmers build more sustainable, profitable and resilient farm businesses, because a strong dairy sector means a strong New Zealand.
Your opportunity
Have you ever wondered about the impacts of climate change on dairy cow welfare and productivity?
Dairy NZ is offering a 10-week summer internship for an enthusiastic undergraduate student to support our Enhanced Animal Care Programme, with a particular focus on dairy cow heat stress. This is a unique opportunity to contribute to research that directly impacts animal welfare and farm productivity.
Through the internship, you’ll gain hands-on experience and new skills by working alongside our research team. Your responsibilities will include gathering data and collaborating with scientists on data entry and analysis to understand how heat stress impacts dairy cows.
In addition to office-based analysis, this internship will likely involve fieldwork, where you will work with farmers to collect data using wearable devices on cows. The insights gained will help identify cow-level factors that influence heat stress susceptibility, providing farmers with practical tools to reduce negative impacts on animals’ welfare and milk production.
About you
This internship is an excellent opportunity to develop your skills in research, fieldwork, and data analysis, all while contributing to a project with a real-world significance. Join us in making a difference for the future of dairy farming!
Key requirements:

A team player who’s highly motivated and willing to learn
Able to follow instructions and processes
Strong attention to detail
Good communications skills
Current undergraduate student studying science, agricultural, environmental science, or similar discipline
Basic foundation in statistics, data analysis and report writing
Have an interest in working outdoors with dairy cows

If you’re enthusiastic about the dairy industry and animal welfare, and you meet the above criteria, we encourage you to apply for this valuable internship opportunity with Dairy NZ.
Please upload in the application: Cover letter, CV and academic transcript.

Applications close 1st November 2024 at 11:55pm.