Cloverlea’s challenge: As demand for IVF embryo services grew in the NZ dairy sector, Emma and Chris Poole needed a trusted technology and laboratory partner to support a full-service recipient programme – one capable of delivering consistently high-quality outcomes for clients investing significantly in elite genetics.
How Vytelle helped: Vytelle’s IVF technology and laboratory services, located just 30 minutes from the farm, enabled Cloverlea to scale their recipient programme to approximately 170 embryo calvings per season, offering dairy farmers across the region a complete, professionally managed pathway from embryo to live calf.
About Cloverlea Farms
Cloverlea Farms is a family dairy operation run by Emma and Chris Poole in Pirongia, Waikato – one of New Zealand’s most productive dairying regions. Across three dairy farms, the operation milks approximately 1,400 cows and rears around 1,000 calves per season. In addition to the core dairy business, Emma and Chris have built a specialist embryo transfer service, managing recipient females and donor cows on behalf of clients from implantation through to a live calf at 100 kilograms.
The challenge: Turning opportunity into a scalable service
Cloverlea’s embryo transfer business didn’t begin with a grand plan. When the Pooles purchased a herd from a previous owner with a history of IVF work, they began asking questions – and the opportunity started to take shape. “We started doing a bit for ourselves, and then a friend asked if we could do some for him at the same time,” Emma explains. “It’s just grown from there over the last five years.”
What became clear quickly was that running a recipient programme well is far more demanding than most people appreciate. For one, recipient cows are surrogates – they don’t carry the same biological connection to the pregnancy that a natural dam would, which means they don’t always express the typical signs of approaching labour. Calves from IVF programmes can also run slightly higher than natural calvings. Both factors demand a level of vigilance that most commercial dairy operations simply aren’t set up to provide.
“The recipient is probably the biggest part of the picture,” Emma says. “If you don’t get that management right, you don’t have the result at the other end.”
The solution: Proximity, infrastructure and expertise
For Cloverlea, the ability to partner with Vytelle’s nearby laboratory in Hamilton was a practical foundation for the whole programme. With the Vytelle lab approximately 30 minutes away, fresh embryo transfers could be managed efficiently without compromising timing or quality.
On farm, Emma and Chris built the infrastructure and protocols to match. Recipients are calved in 17 small paddocks directly surrounding the family home, allowing around-the-clock monitoring.. “98% of them calve at midnight,” Emma notes. “If they’re calving during the day, it’s probably because you missed them starting at midnight.”
Recipient selection is rigorous. Cows must be between two and seven years old, free from any history of calving difficulty or illness, and assessed for pin width – the distance between the two pin bones at the rear – to ensure the pelvis can accommodate calving ease. Embryo-to-recipient matching is also considered carefully. “If it’s a big Friesian animal with some Holstein genetics, we might put that in a really large-framed animal to give it the best chance at the other end,” Emma explains.
Donor management is equally considered. Nutrition is kept consistent in the weeks before collecting, handling is kept calm and quiet, and any changes to diet or environment are minimised. “Stress causes the animal to release cortisol, and cortisol has a negative effect on embryo quality,” Emma says. “You’ve just got to watch all those things.”
The results: A reputation built on outcomes
In 2026, Cloverlea implanted approximately 370 embryos for clients, resulting in 169 confirmed pregnancies. Every embryo calf is individually identified at birth, weighed, DNA verified and entered into the farm’s records – ensuring clients receive accurate, traceable data on every animal they’ve invested in, from embryo to live calf.
“In the 2025 season we trialled our first batch of 30 fresh embryos with really promising results. The aim in the 2026 season will be to increase this number significantly. The close proximity to the lab makes this a great option,” Emma explains.
The programme now attracts dairy farmers from across the Waikato who want to accelerate genetic gain without taking on the risk and infrastructure demands of managing recipients themselves.
For Emma, the value Vytelle brings sits at the intersection of technology, proximity and reliability. “When we’re running programmes, it’s not too far to go to pick up those fresh embryos and put them straight in the recips,” she says. “That matters.”