The pedigree holstein sale last week at Carnaross Mart, Co. Meath, known as the ‘Promise of Protein Sale’, had consignments from Leagh, Lynbrook, Boroside, Clonpaddin and Ardfield Holsteins with Taaffe Auctions.

The Promise of Protein sale has a firmly established reputation for selling top quality heifers from great cow families over many years.

This sale has reputation for introducing new genetics and a great track record of introducing new cow families to the auction.

There was a 100% clearance of females lots, averaging 3,550gns with eight calves commanding prices of over 4,500gns.

The top price on the day was 8600gns, with a total of 34 lots sold at the sale.

The Promise of Protein Sale

Top price was from Tim Fitzmaurice’s herd, Lot 5 Leagh Toxic Queen at 8600gns who was sold to a breeder in Monaghan.

The heifer was born on January 24 and is red and white by Altitude from the famous Strans D Jen Tequila Red EX96. 

Her Dam Strans-Jen-D Tequila Red ET EX96 3E was Champion Red & White World Dairy Expo (USA) in 2015.

Full sisters to Leagh Toxic Queen Red ET include Riverdane Altitude Tequila Red ET sold for 21,000gns at the Riverdane sale 2023 in the UK, and a first-choice heifer offered in the Promise of Protein sale last year sold for 8,000gns.

Leagh Holsteins also had the next top price at 8000gns was a choice of three female pregnancies due on December by Farnear Delta -Lamba from Fraeland Solomon Bonnie EX93.

Bonnie produced in her third lactation 1318kg 5.30% fat 3.50% protein. 

After this at 6800gns, Leagh Holsteins sold a first choice heifer calf sired by Siemers Hulu RC from a daughter of Hilrose Advent Anna EX95 and is due in November.

This was the first time this family sold at auction in Europe and went to a breeder in Northern Ireland.

Lot 6 Boroside Lambda Hope sold by Melvin Masterson made 6600gns. She was a march born Lambda granddaughter of S-S-I Doc Have Not 8784 EX96 who sold for 1.925 million dollars in 2022. 

Followed by this Lot 24, Leagh Chief Katrysha sold for 5500gns to Northern Ireland. She has six VG two-year-old sisters, some of which were sold in previous Promise of Protein Sales. 

Lot 10, Boroside Haniko Jazzy who from the elite Jasmine cow family sold for 5400gns. Two more daughters from the same line were sold averaging 4366gns. 

Lot 11, Ardfield Irene RC owned by Frank White and Michael O Donovan sold for 4700gns. She is the only daughter to sell at auction in Ireland from Suard Red Jordan Irene EX97, who was the first Red and White cows to score EX97 in Europe. 

Overall, the Promise of Protein Sale, once again proved to be a very successful day at Carnaross Mart for all breeders involved.

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The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) has issued advice on preventing bluetongue from entering Ireland.

This comes as the DAFM announced Ireland is currently entering a “higher risk period” for the transmission of the bluetongue virus (BTV).

Bluetongue virus is spread by infected biting midges (Culicoides species) which are generally most active between April and November.

The virus update detailed that “it is critical that all livestock farmers maintain vigilance for any suspicions of this disease”.

It added that it is “especially” important at this time of year as “temperatures continue to rise during spring and summer.

DAFM guidelines

Instead of purchasing bluetongue-susceptible animals from mainland Europe, consider if there is another way you can achieve the breed/genetic changes you seek (e.g., via artificial insemination) to reduce risk.

If you must purchase live animals from outside Ireland, only do so during times when midges are less active (December to March).

Only purchase animals, germinal or biological products from reputable sources. Animals from certain countries require vaccination against bluetongue prior to import; proof of vaccination status for the BTV strains recently circulating in those countries/regions should be obtained.

Ensure the animals are bluetongue virus-free before they leave their country of origin by requesting a pre-movement PCR test for the virus.

Although this can give a certain level of assurance, it is important to remember that animals may be harbouring the virus which is not yet detectable by laboratory testing, or they may become infected if bitten by an infected midge en route.

All susceptible ruminants need to be tested after their arrival to Ireland even if they have had a negative pre-movement test.

Isolate imported animals indoors as soon as they arrive onto your holding and monitor them closely for any signs of illness.

Ensure all animals arriving from mainland Europe are visited by an RVO (Regional Veterinary Office) vet within five days of arrival into Ireland.

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Agriland attended the ‘Farming for the Future’ open farm walk and panel discussion, which highlighted the measures that can be taken on farm level to maintain the derogation and improve water quality.

The event took place at Donal Kavanagh’s farm in Baltinglass, Co. Wicklow, where farmers had the opportunity to ask challenging questions and concerns around the future of the derogation and water quality.

Tirlán’s ‘Farming for Water: River Slaney’ project that is working to improve water quality in an effort to retain the Nitrates Derogation.

Speakers at the event included representatives from Tirlán, Teagasc, the Department of Agriculture, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA), the ICMSA and the Local Authority Waters Programme (LawPro).

The turnout at the event was a testament to how concerning the derogation and water quality is to farmers, and there seems to be an understanding among farmers that there needs to be changes made to fix water quality on the ground.

The understanding is that agriculture is undergoing a significant period of change and during the farm walk.

According to a representative from Tirlán, the stand out policy issue is the protection of water quality and the future of the nitrates derogation.

The stand out question was whether it is possible to farm at the current 220kg of organic nitrogen (N)/ha and deliver good water quality.

Securing nitrates derogation

Director of Teagasc, Dr. Frank O’Meara, talked us through how farmers can improve their nutrient management and nitrogen use efficiency through their ‘Better Farming For Water; 8 Actions for Change’ campaign.

The eight actions include:

• Reduce purchased nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) surplus/ha;
• Ensure soil fertility is optimal for lime, P and potassium (K);
• Ensure application of fertiliser and organic manure at appropriate times and conditions;
• Have sufficient slurry and soiled water storage capacity;
• Manage and minimise nutrient loss from farmyards and roadways;
• Fence off watercourses to prevent bovine access;
• Promote targeted use of mitigation actions such as riparian margins, buffer strips and sediment traps to mitigate nutrient and sediment loss to water;
• Maintain over-winter green cover to reduce nutrient leaching from tillage soils.

These can be categorised into three ailments: nutrient management, farmyard management, and land management.

When asked about whether it is possible to farm at 220 N/ha, Dr. O’Meara said:

“We absolutely can farm at 220 and be compliant with water quality. We have brought in lots of measures to reduce nitrogen such as lower stocking rates , banding, and chemical N limits.”

Director of Policy and Chief Economist at the IFA, Tadhg Buckley, talked about the importance of the nitrates derogation to the dairy industry.

 “Losing the nitrates derogation would be like a hard Brexit for the dairy sector,” Buckley stated.

Buckley added that all famers need to get involved and not just those in derogation, as he feels that it is going to take a combined effort to take on actions and make a difference.

Buckley emphasised that securing the derogation is not just an agricultural issue, but it is an issue for the whole Irish economy, as one in 10ha in the country is in derogation; with one in 4ha in derogation in Cork and Kilkenny.

Vice chair of the farm and rural affairs committee of the ICSMA, Gerald O’Reilly, voiced his concern about the lack of clarity for the next 12 to 18 months.

“Farmers on the ground are anxious as they can’t plan for the future and don’t know whether they can invest into their business or not,” O’Reilly said.

Programme manager of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Water Programme, Marie Gurrie, said the objective has to be protecting good water quality areas and improving the catchments that are not meeting good status.

Gurrie said that farmers need to understand what they can do and they need to do, to achieve compliance, improve efficiency and mitigate the impact farming has on water quality.

Farm level

The host farmer, Donal Kavanagh took those in attendance through the steps he has taken on his farm to improve water quality.

Through soil testing, Kavanagh was able to gather the knowledge on his soil nutrient requirements, which made his slurry spreading a lot easier while applying the correct rates of lime, phosphorus (P) and potassium (K).

The slurry was also tested and from these results he was able to now know his N, P and K for each 1000gal of slurry.

“By knowing the N, P, and K of our slurry we can cut back on the amount of chemical fertiliser required,” he said.

Through new slurry storage facilities on the farm, Kavanagh is not obliged to get slurry out in the early spring, giving him the option to apply slurry in more favourable conditions which will limit nutrient run-off.

Some of the measures taken by Kavanagh to improve his farm sustainability and production, as follows:

The use of a fertiliser plan has been hugely beneficial for Kavanagh, as he knows what each paddock is lacking, nutrient wise, and the plan helps targets those paddocks.

Through all of these measures, Kavanagh has reduced his chemical N use by 33% since 2021, while still growing 13.5t of grass last year.

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As we enter into the latter stages of the breeding season for spring calving herds, it is vitally important to pick up any repeats in order to minimise the number of empty cows in your herd.

It has not been an easy breeding season for dairy farmers as many have found it difficult to maintain energy requirements over the last number of weeks with poor quality grass and poor growth rates.

Traditionally, the industry standard in spring calving systems is a breeding season length of 12 weeks, however in recent years, there has been a push to shorten this even more to achieve a compact calving.

It has been observed that farmers with excellent submission rates and good fertility to achieve high conception rates have been able to shorten their mating season to nine to 11 weeks.

The target of a compact six week calving rate is crucial for a spring calving system, as it allows cows to get get out to grass as soon as possibly and ultimately match their energy demand to the grass growth curve.

The target should be to have 90% of the herd calved in the first six weeks of the calving season to really take advantage of the early spring grass.

Breeding season

Extending the breeding season beyond the 12 weeks will increase the number of cows in-calf at the end of breeding, but, it will lengthen the calving season in 2025.

Your late calving cows will consequently have shorter lactations if they are dried off before Christmas with the rest of the herd.

In order to achieve a longer lactation, and to make return on investment for putting the cow in calf in the first place, the late calving cow will have to be milked for much of the winter.

To avoid this from happening, there needs to be a serious effort made in the last few weeks of the 12 week breeding window to get any of the cows that are not yet submitted back in calf.

This is not going to happen without a bit of work, as good heat detection is going to be required in order to pick up on any cow in heat.

Wrapping up the season

Getting your breeding season wrapped up as soon as possible while getting as many cows back in calf is crucial for your farm profitability.

The removal of late calvers, cows calving down early and ensuring a shorter calving interval will have a positive impact on farm profitability.

The knock-on affect of this is that your calf value will be increased as late calves will be valued lower and are associated with having more health problems.

Additionally, late calving cows will not have a lot of time (approximately four weeks) to recover before breeding next year, which will hinder their chances of going back in-calf.

If a herd has a high proportion of late-calving cows, there are two options:

1. Do not breed these cows and replace with an early-calved heifer in 2024;
2. Shorten the breeding season incrementally over a number of years (one week per year).

Even though heifers will have lower output in their first lactation, early calving will see them produce as much as a late-calving cow dried early, according to Teagasc dairy specialist, Stuart Childs.

This option is worth considering given the likely availability of high-quality, early-calving heifers next year that will have less health and lameness issues which will decrease costs on the farm.

The post Breeding season: Wrapping up as early as possible appeared first on Agriland.ie.

Pat and Claire Cleary welcomed everyone to their farm for the pure friesian open day, 2024, in Co. Kilkenny, where their Carrickshock Herd was judged on the day.

Pat is a third generation farmer and upgraded the farm to pedigree status in 2002, with the majority bred from artificial insemination (AI) bulls and carefully selected stock bulls.

The herd consists of 206 pedigree pure friesian milking cows, with all of them being registered annually. Pat keeps approximately 40 pedigree bull calves every year to sell as breeding bulls the following year.

The overall focus on the farm is to breed high quality pure friesian, as the breed has a lot to offer, with sustainability, fertility, dairying traits while balancing productivity with versatility.

On the day, there was a chance for everyone to get involved with the stock judging, a presentation of prizes for overall herd winners in the Carlow/Kilkenny club followed by a sale of maiden heifers.

The Carrickshock Herd

The Clearys strive for a dual purpose, balanced animal that is valuable to both dairy and beef farmers to maintain a profitable family business. Pat explained:

“We look for all traits of dairyness combined with a square type animal, and then we look to genomic and EBI figures.”

The herd has had great success in the show ring and has seen pedigree bulls and heifers being a great hit with customers.

Pat and Claire Cleary have had a nmber of of bulls purchased by AI companies in Ireland and the UK, with the most notable bull being Carrickshock GTW who took the top spot on the Uk PLI daughter-proven rankings.

Recently, Dunmasc Genetics purchased Carrickshock Quint 3 who will be on their bull list next spring, with the daughter Carrick Dolly 3152 being sold at the celebration sale on the day.

Agriland spoke to the CEO of the IHFA, Laurence Feeney, about the pure friesian cow, saying that its “all about intensely selecting pure friesian genetics, that can produce high solids for a long time as longevity in the breed is crucial”.

“With the friesian herd, where they catch up on the holstein, is in their fourth, fifth, or sixth lactation, where they produce a heap of milk, so that is why there is focus on keeping a lot of mature cows in the herd.”

Feeney went on to talk about the advantage of the pure friesian is that they produce a really, top quality calf with repeat customers always coming to purchase the beef or friesian bull calves.

The pure friesian club then organise events, farm walks and discussion groups to share the information and learn off each other’s success and failure.

Feeney talked about how they organise trips abroad every now and then to visit farms across the world, to further enhance their knowledge on pure friesian breeding and genetics.

“Everything leads up to the pure friesian open day, today, and they pick a herd that’s a good representative of their breed, and Pat Cleary and his family today are great representatives as you can see good quality cows” added Feeney

The herds competition is a big part of the club and is where a judge goes around and analyses the herds with the winning herd getting presented at the open day.

Feeney talked about what pure friesian breeders look for when choosing replacements with production and longevity at the helm followed by type.

Friesian breeders put a focus on different bloodlines also as certain bloodlines get very popular over a period of time with the Carrickshock bloodline growing in popularity thanks to its success in the UK.

Stock judging

Agriland spoke with the national sales manager for Eurogene AI services, who was the master judge of the stock judging competition on the day.

Coleman talked about what kind of cow he looks for when he walks into the field, emphasising that he like to see “a clean bone, dairy type of a cow with loads of dairy character”.

Coleman went on to say that a good udder is crucial, with good quality teat and teat placement, with good udder attachment.

“Another bug bear of mine. I don’t like high pins, so I’m looking for a nice slight slope to the rump and I’m looking for a bit of weight,” he added.

Coleman became the master judge on the day as he has been the chair of Kilkenny/Carlow for years and has always had good eye for stock.

Coleman went on to talk about how exceptional the Carrickshock Herd is, as he claims “it has been one of the best in the country, has been for years”.

For a lot of friesians in the country, high volumes of milk can be an issue, but according to Coleman, it is not an issue for Pat, as he has good cow and grassland management.

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Due to the poor grass growing conditions throughout the month of June, grass has failed to reach decent levels to sustain milk production.

As a result of this, extra feed and supplementation has been added to diets across the country in order to maintain milk production and dry matter intake.

June has been a difficult time for farmers as the slow grass growth rates and hindered peak milk supply has added to the cash flow problems on farms.

Grass growth

Stagnant grass growth has seen average rates of 52kg DM/ha/day growing on dairy farms around the country with a demand of 49kg DM/ha/day.

According to PastureBase Ireland, the typical diet around the country consists of 14kg DM of grass, with 4kg of meal and an added 1kg of silage being fed in an effort to hold the rotation at 21 days.

The average farm cover (AFC) across the country was 629kg DM/ha with covers per livestock unit at 185kg DM/ha. The typical pre-grazing yield was 1,380kh DM/ha.

However, 26% of this week’s grass covers recorded a cover/LU of under 150kg DM/LU, which is a concern as cows may not have sufficient grass ahead of them in the rotation.

The goal for this time of the year should be making sure that your cows’ daily intake requirements are being met, ensuring an intake of 18-18.5kg DM/cow.

Only in the last few days, grass growth has improved slightly and it is predicted that in the coming days to increase to 55-65kg DM/ha for the majority of the country which will be warmly welcomed.

When growth eventually improves over the next seven days, it might provide an opportunity to correct the grass quality issues on many farms.

The mid-season targets remain the same, and are as follows:

• An average farm cover of over 600kg DM/ha which equates to 150kg DM/LU;
• A rotation length of 21-25 days;
• A pre-grazing yield of over 1,200kg DM/ha.

Increasing AFC

The recommendation is to bring your grass demand down with the farm grass growth, and keeping a close eye on how regrowths are progressing.

A 25-day grazing rotation should be allocated to the cows, giving them 1/25 of the grazing platform per day as this will allow covers to build back up.

In an ideal world, extending the grazing area for the cows is the best option at this time of the year, but, that is not possible for every farmer, so extra supplementation is the next option.

The introduction of high quality silage of about 3-4kg cow/day in combination with concentrates is recommended, as increasing your concentrates supplementation alone will not be sufficient to increase the rotation length.

Considering the lower-than-average growth rates, a grass walk should be conducted every five days, at least, to be able to identify deficits on time in order to make decisions promptly.

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Industry sources have indicated that some farmers are buying fertiliser from Northern Ireland in order to avoid having their fertiliser purchases registered on the National Fertiliser Database.

Agriland spoke with chief inspector at the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM), Bill Callanan, to get his thoughts on it.

It can be said that the NFD has caused a bit of frustration among farmers as they feel they are being closely monitored on every step they make and that they are constantly being limited and penalised for spreading fertiliser.

The Veterinary Medicinal Products, Medicated Feed and Fertilisers Regulation Act 2023 became law on the July 11, 2023. This Act provides for the establishment of the NFD. 

The aim of the database is to better record the sale of fertiliser and lime in the country. Once you are registered on the database, purchases of fertiliser are automatically recorded.

According to Callanan, the database was introduced to better nutrient movement in a way to help farmers in terms of how they can report, how they can contribute to their own sustainability metrics.

Fertiliser database

There has always been a legitimate trade of fertiliser from Northern Ireland, and this trade will continue but there should be appropriate reporting under the NFD, according to Callanan.

The chief inspector went on to say that if there is proof of clear and deliberate avoidance of the requirements of the database, you will be deemed ineligible for derogation.

That will also include the second year, meaning for a few years you will not be able to get a derogation and there are legislative provisions in term of fines is somebody is somebody is deliberately circumventing.

“We don’t do a check of the fertiliser database for every farmer in the country – it was never designed that way,” Callanan added.

However, it used where there is inspections for 1% cross compliance, 1% of farmers and 10% of farmers who are in derogation but it is not used across all farmers and should not be an issue of concern.

The aims of the NFD are as follows:

• Provide accurate tracking of sales of fertiliser (incl. lime) throughout the supply chain;
• Achieve better compliance with water quality and environmental ambitions;
• Provide data for monitoring climate targets;
• Fulfils a commitment to the European Commission and key to securing any future nitrates derogation;
• In time, simplify and provide reliable data to farmers for private sustainability schemes and department schemes.

Securing nitrates derogation

Callanan went on to say that the government was committed to securing a derogation, at the highest possible stocking rate.

He emphasised that if was this to happen, water quality has to be good and maintained and where its less than good, we need to be seen to be working collectively towards improving that.

The government has put quite a number of supports forward, whether that is incentives in terms of storage and tanks, low emission equipment, but also a €60 million EIP which supports farmers in terms of practical actions on the farm, Callanan claimed.

There is also an asset programme, where the government is putting in the finance to support half of all the advisors and free advisory service.

The government set up the water quality working group with three ambitions as follows:

• Improve water quality;
• Improve compliance for farmers, to understand the rules;
• Connect farmers to water quality locally.

Callanan highlighted that overall the water quality group are working through those agendas to support industry, farmers and the government in working together towards an improved water quality.

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The ‘Farming for the Future’ open farm walk and talk event which took place on Donal Kavanagh’s farm in Baltinglass, Co. Wicklow, highlighted the measures that can be taken on farm level to maintain the derogation and improve water quality.

The understanding is that agriculture is undergoing a significant period of change and during the farm walk, Tirlán believe the stand out policy issue is the protection of water quality and the future of the nitrates derogation.

The CEO of Tirlán, Jim Bergin spoke after and admitted that in the last 18 months, he has never seen a topic to grip farmers as much as the Nitrates.

He talked about the challenge of the River Slaney project, which is the project they are undertaking to improve the areas and water quality surrounding the river.

It is one of the most challenged rivers in the country with the most diverse enterprises on it, but Jim Bergin believes that the scale of this project is so big and demanding that it is a great way to start.

“In terms of a match, if you know who the best players on the opposite team are, and you try and subdue them, you’re off to a good start.”

He finished up by further stressing the importance of proving we can farm at the level that we are at, to strengthen our hand when we go to Europe.

The chair of Tirlán, John Murphy emphasised that Tirlán is “absolutely committed to improving our waterways because its the right thing to do”.

“Through good work and improvements happening on farm, we will see its affects in a few years,” he added.

Policy around the nitrates derogation

Noeleen McDonald who is an assistant agricultural inspector for the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM), talked us through the policy landscape around water quality and and the nitrates derogation.

What can farmers do to secure the next derogation? Ensuring compliance is number one, especially around storage and spreading. McDonald also said to:

“Understand your soil type, the pressures in your area and where you are flowing into catchments.”

The Nitrates Action Programme (NAP) was discussed and is the basic measures to protect water quality from spreading dates to storage with these measures applying to all farmers and is then reviewed every four years.

In terms of the nitrates derogation, water quality needs to be stable and if less than good, it needs to improve as derogation is given on on condition of no deterioration of water quality.

McDonald highlighted that in terms of water quality, Ireland has not improved as over 45% of the surface water ecological status from 2016-2021 was of a moderate to bad status.

The 60 million government funded ‘Farming for water’ European Innovation Partenership Scheme (EIP) and the accelerated capital allowances and TAMS grants is all in place to protect our water.

Catchments and nitrogen use efficiency

Bridget Lynch who is a Teagasc researcher at Johnstown Castle talked us through the Agriculture Catchments Programme (ACP).

The programme involves six catchments with 300 plus farmers and 25 staff which evaluates NAP, nitrates derogation, an d the water framework directive (WFD).

The catchments are small (about 1000ha) which allows them “to closely monitor losses of nutrients, water quality, phosphorus and nitrate losses”, according to Bridget Lynch.

The programme asses the biophysical elements such as soil science as well as hydrochemistry hydrology and the socioeconomic aspect of it as well.

In 2023, there was reduction in nitrates in five of the catchments compared to 2022 which shows that there are improvements being achieved from the programme.

The programme takes into account the annual soil water balance to have an understanding of when nitrogen (N) is lost to water, so that slurry and fertiliser application is spread at an optimal time of the year.

This takes us onto nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) which is an indicator of the proportion of N which is recovered in the product that is being sold (e.g. milk, meat, crops).

Sandra Hayes, the coordinator of the Teagasc future farmers, spoke about the 11 farmers across the country including Donal who are apart of the programme. She said that:

“NUE is what I would call the new key performance indicator (KPI), as you’re very familiar with grass grown and utilised, milk per hectare, milk solids/cow but NUE is a new one that you are going to have to become familiar with.”

The target NUE for the programme is 35% and there is range of steps you can take to try and achieve this target.

The host farmer, Donal has a NUE of 26% and you can see the steps he has taken to achieve this below.

Water quality

Mathew Moylan of Tirlán spoke about the initiative and programmes that Tirlán have in place to improve water quality, increase biodiversity, improve sustainability and so on.

Some of the initiatives include the Sustainable Farming Academy, FarmGen, Operation Biodiversity, the Sustatinable Action Payment and the Twenty20 beef club.

Mairead Shore from the Local Authority Water Programme (LAWPRO), has recently joined the new farming for water EIP team which is being managed by LAWPRO in conjunction with Teagasc and Dairy Industry Ireland.

The 60m project’s goal in the five years is to engage with up to 15,000 farmers nationwide in target areas for water quality measures and where they’re needed most. Shore told us that:

“Unfortunately we can’t fund every farmer in the country and it’s probably not needed on every farm in the country, so, we do have a prioritisation approach to this meaning we’re starting with the worst affected areas.”

The funded measures a part of the programme include:

• A rainwater management plan;
• Solar powered pumps and troughs;
• Creation of bunded drains;
• Installation of earthen bunds;
• Tree and hedgerow planting in buffers.

The post What can farmers do to secure the next derogation? appeared first on Agriland.ie.

When visiting Joe and Kevin Doran’s farm in Donadea, Co.Kildare, Agriland learned that a vital part of their farm operation and efforts in reducing lameness on their farm was the utilisation of astro turf roadways.

Joe and Kevin Doran are milking 160 pedigree registered holstein friesians cows and are proud hosts of the IHFA National open day this year on the Wednesday, July 10.

The astro turf track is recycled from all weather pitches and has been used to improve the top surface on the road in order to increase cow flow and reduce lameness.

Maintaining farm roadways to allow for optimal cow flow is an essential element for cow production, health and welfare which will subsequently lead to easier cow management and a reduced work load.

Usually, recycled astro comes in 2m wide rolls and has different grades of astro with hockey pitch astro being a heavy, durable surface while football pitches tend to be quite lighter.

Using astro on your roadways, especially in high traffic areas can be a cost effective way to blind your roadway and maintain the top surface for longer.

Astro turf roadway

Agriland spoke with Kevin Doran who has found the astro turf laneway a game changer on his farm as it has reduced lameness issues and has made his life that bit easier.

Kevin and Joe had to resurface their roadways when the changes in derogation around farm roadways came into play, with the need to change their slopes away from ditches and water.

In order to refurbish the roadways, it would have taken a large investment in stone, so, they decided to explore their options.

They are now on their third season of having the astro turf roadway down and they opted for the heavier track which is still in perfect condition today, with tractors and machinery also driver driving on it.

“Ever since we put down the astro turf, it has reduced our lameness and improved cow flown dramatically”

Kevin Doran

However, in areas with heavy machinery traffic, they have left space for the machinery to pass without driving and potentially damaging the surface.

The farm has 70% of the roadways close to the yard surfaced with the astro, these are the areas of heavy cow flow on the farm. They intend on getting 100% of these roadways done in the next couple of years.

Even at this time of the year, with cows working hard to try and reach peak milk production while also bulling, Kevin says the number of lame cows has been limited.

“Our cows are very high producing, hard-working cows and even at this time of the year, we have only five cows ready for the hoof trimmer, and he hasn’t been here in six weeks, and three of them cows have recurring problems”

However, Kevin says that putting in the astro turf is not going to resolve all your lameness problems as they have also re-grooved a bad surface around their milking parlour and have a good focus on lameness management.

Considerations if using astro

A good base material and smooth surface is still critical if you are laying out astro as if it is spread on an uneven surface, it will cause discomfort for the cow and will reduce the lifespan of the astro.

A crossfall of 1:20 is required and for the road to be higher than the field in order for the water to flow sideways off the road.

As we mentioned previously, under the derogation rules, the fall of the roadway should be away from any drain and should go towards the field regardless of whether its astro or not.

Ideally, like what Kevin has done with his astro where he could, the astro is to one side of the roadway to allow for machinery to pass and is also placed on the high side to make sure it stays dry.

Astro should not be used on excessive slopes as the mat itself can slip, but can also become very greasy in certain weather conditions which can make it difficult for cows to walk down the slippy surface.

In general, cows can handle an incline of up to 12 degrees meaning that anything beyond this will mean that astro may not be suitable.

Using astro turf on your roadways can clearly provide a comfortable and smooth surface for cows which reduces lameness and improves cow flow but should not lead to a neglect of lameness management, trimming and foot bathing.

The post Dairy farmer reduces lameness using astro turf roadways appeared first on Agriland.ie.

Agriland spoke to a number of representatives from AI companies around the country to see what were the top bulls used this breeding season.

Speaking to a number of these companies helped us determine what the common trends were, the most popular bulls were and the traits farmers were looking for in 2024.

This breeding season saw artificial insemination play a vital role to not only breed high replacement heifers, but to also breed high-value, quality, more saleable beef calves.

The 2024 season saw a further increase in dairy-beef and sexed semen straws used on dairy farms, with overall dairy insemination down from recent years.

World Wide Sires (WWS)

Agriland spoke with Andrea Rafferty from World Wide Sires who said that they have seen a steady increase in sexed semen usage followed by beef on dairy bulls within the Irish herd. She said:

“As more farmers implement the use of technology such as heat detection, confidence has grown with more herds utilising sexed semen to reduce the number of bull calves born on farm.”

Quality beef bulls for use on the dairy herd was a common trend, with many farmers choosing to breed calves for buy-back schemes such as the Longhorn Programme.

Demand was strong for bulls with great fertility figures, daughter pregnancy rates and production – particularly soilds with the top selling dairy bulls as follows:

• Sandy-Valley McGraw (Conway x Legacy);
• Sandy-Valley Conway (Renegade x Granite);
• WET Legacy Mufasa (Legacy x Achiever);
• SSI Tua Grassfire ( Tua x Renegade).

The Angus lineup is in high demand due to their easy calving nature and quality of calf. Netherton Black Lightning is their highest DBI sire and has been particularly popular, while the ever-reliable Spring Grove Holmes has remained a favourite.

Another new addition to their Longhorn portfolio has been Blackbrook Freddie. The calves qualify for the Buitelaar Longhorn Scheme, which has proved really successful over the past couple of years.

Munster Bovine

Munster Bovine also saw an increase of sexed semen this breeding season with a further increase in dairy-beef sales with conventional semen reducing , according to Tom Baker.

From the most popular bulls, the common denominator is that all the bulls had a balanced EBI, with a good production and fertility sub-index, while being mindful of maintenance also.

The most popular dairy x dairy sales were as follows:

• (IG) Tankardsrock Teak (FR7929);
• (IG) Olcastletown Captain SRM (FR9034);
• (IG) Tuohy Historic (FR8658);
• (IG) Tinnakill Grandslam (FR9016);
• (IG) Olcastletown Mojo (FR8709).

The most popular dairy-beef bulls saw Angus top the polls again with HW Lord Horatio V538 (AA6682) and Intelagri Matteo E.T (AA4089) being the to most popular choices.

The third most popular dairy-beef bull proved to be a Hereford, Gouldingpoll 1 Nijinsky (HE9382).

Dovea Genetics

Dovea saw similar trends throughout the breeding season with an increase in sexed semen and dairy-beef bulls with conventional straw sales down.

Speaking to Niall Duffy of Dovea, he said that there has been an emphasis on milk production in particular this year with many farmers trying to strike a balance within the milk sub-index.

The goal this year has been trying to increase milk solids while holding the litres produced by aiming for a plus 0.32% kg/milk solids (ms).

The top dairy bulls sold from Dovea were as follows:

• Chlochrua Messi (FR9358);
• Ballintosig Star Trek (FR8862);
• Cherryhill trooper (FR9819);
• Clonlahy Boy (FR7755);
• Glenaboy Allstar SRM (FR8893).

The main sellers this breeding season for dairy-beef bulls remained to be Hereford and Angus bulls with there being a further emphasis to increase Aberdeen Angus usage due to the piqued interest in the Commercial Beef Value (CBV).

Overall analysis

Over the two articles, we have got some really interesting insights in to how the breeding season went for dairy farmers and AI companies across the country.

The most obvious trend this year and has continued on from last year was the increased usage of sexed semen straws, which has decreased the amount of conventional dairy straws sold.

Furthermore, the tendency for dairy farmers was to breed their replacements to sexed dairy semen in the first three weeks of the breeding season and if anything came repeating, they were put to dairy-beef.

Farmers were a lot more selective and ruthless in choosing what got sexed semen and once they reached the number of replacements needed for their farm, sexed semen was stopped.

This could potentially have an affect on the number of surplus heifers available over the next couple of years as dairy-beef has seen a surge in sales this year also.

It was the same throughout all the companies as overall dairy straw sales were down with an increase in dairy-beef usage and this can be put down to a number of factors.

Farmers now understand the importance of having a saleable, high quality calf that is easy to get off the farm. There is a further understanding of the commercial beef value (CBV) and the dairy beef index (DBI).

This understanding is that calves are not going to sell on looks alone, but rather by having an estimate of the calf’s true value.

To build on this, an interesting surge in sales was that of the Belgian Blue and Charolais bull straws which was thanks to a number of companies having a range of easy calving bulls from the respected breeds that suited the dairy sector.

This movement could be down to the fact that angus calves at times last spring were not making much money while the Charolais and Belgian Blue bulls were making great money.

One thing that was obvious from this breeding season was the need to produce high quality dairy-beef calves that would sell at any crossroad while breeding the number of top quality replacements needed for the farm system.

The post Breeding season: What were the trends? appeared first on Agriland.ie.

As the end of the breeding season closes in, with many farmers now turning the bull/bulls out with with their cows, we can take a look at the top bulls being used by dairy farmers.

This breeding season saw artificial insemination play a vital role to not only breed high replacement heifers, but to also breed high-value, quality, more saleable beef calves.

Dairy-beef straws and sexed semen straws sales were up in 2024 with overall dairy insemination down from recent years.

Agriland spoke to number of representatives from AI companies around the country to determine what was the most popular bulls being used and the traits farmers were looking for in 2024.

Progressive Genetics

Progressive Genetics saw an increase of 11% in sexed semen this breeding season with overall dairy insemination down by 13% in the last two years, according to Seamus Hughes.

The most popular bulls were the bulls with a balanced EBI, with a good production and fertility sub-index with decent maintenance figures considered.

Hughes said: “The bulls with extreme sub-indexes don’t sell as well.”

Some of the most popular bulls from Progressive Genetics this year included:

• (IG) Olcastletown Mojo (FR8709);
• (IG) Tankardsrock Teak (FR7929);
• (IG) Tinnakill Grandslam (FR9016);
• (IG) Olcastletown Captain SRM (FR9034);
• (IG) Tuohy Historic (FR8658).

Hughes further emphasised the increase in Aberdeen Angus usage due to the piqued interest in the Commercial Beef Value (CBV).

Interestingly enough, Progressive have seen an increase in Charolais and Belgian Blues being used with dairy cows.

LIC

Speaking to Aiden Cunningham from LIC, he said that there was a big demand for their daughter proven Holstein Friesians as farmers were focused on increasing both their percentages and kg/milk solids (ms) without increasing volume.

The top bull in demand were as follows:

• Bellamy’s DM Galant (FR9817);
• Arkan’s Backdrop (FR6730);
• Buelin Equator (FR7155)

Bellamy’s DM Galant offers reliability, fertility, percentages and solids and has nearly 4,000 daughters milking in New Zealand.

There was an increase in demand for for sexed KiwiCross bulls especially for Dowsons Whaktupu (JEX326), Gordons Flash-gordon (JEX233) and LIC Hustler (FRX257) who all offer a high level of efficiency and percentages.

In terms of short gestation bulls, Shrimptons hill Hereford bulls were the top selling beef bulls with also a high demand for the Kakahu Charolais which are producing really high quality calves with a nice bit of colour to them.

Eurogene

Agriland spoke with Eamonn Coleman from Eurogene who told us that the overall dairy sales were back with sexed semen making up over half the total dairy sales and dairy-beef well up again this year.

When it came to dairy selection, the common trend was farmers looking for high solids without increasing volume as none of the top four bulls were over 100kg of milk with the majority being over 32kg of milk solids.

The top selling dairy bulls for Eurogene were as follows:

• Oldabbey Torc (FR9094)
• Rochemount Lad (FR6981)
• Hanrahan Magnifico (FR6966)
• Lunar Red (FR9115)

An interesting trend across a couple of the AI companies was the increase in Belgian Blue and Charolais bulls on dairy cows as one Belgian Blue bull made the Eurogene top three dairy-beef sellers.

Speaking to Eamonn Coleman from Eurogene, he said there has been a notable increase in their usage and was probably down to the fact that Angus calves struggled to hold value this spring.

However, Angus and Hereford bulls still proved to be the most popular dairy-beef bulls this breeding season. The LIC bull Shrimpton’s Hill was the most popular seller with its -10 days gestation.

The top selling Eurogene dairy-beef bulls were as follows:

• Gabriel Mossy (AA4235);
• Deelish 1 Teddybear (HE6856);
• Knockagh Jubilant (BB8484).

Within the top eight selling dairy-beef bulls, there were two Charolais bulls and one Belgian Blue bull with the triple Angus mix, like LIC, proving to be a very popular choice among farmers.

Bullwise

At Bullwise, Agriland spoke to Terry Dillon who found that customers in the grazing market were looking for proven bulls with a capacity to take them to 9% solids, plus.

Their most popular bulls in the market were:

• Alias (Meander SB Alias-ET S2F);
• Anchor (Meandor Max Anchor-ET S2F);
• Checkbook (Symes SB Checkbook S2).

In the production market, Terry saw a drive for 600kg/ms with a big emphasis on capacity strength and a need to improve functional type traits.

Proven sire, Starmaker (Velder Starmaker) ticked all the boxes with new bulls in their portfolio Seducer P (Delta Seducer P-red) and Delta Smash also proving hugely popular.

In terms of their dairy-beef offering, their Angus range proved hugely popular as they are some of the best available on the Dairy-beef Index (DBI) and have a top carcass value.

The Triple Mix Angus, again, proved to be a great hit at the tail end of the season with its high conception rate and high carcass value.

Part two

Stay tuned for part two of this article as Agriland get in touch with Dovea Genetics, Munster Bovine, and Worldwide Sires, to see what their top sellers were and what the trends were this breeding season.

The post What were the top bulls used this breeding season? appeared first on Agriland.ie.

With the tightness of grass growth in recent weeks and the poor grazing conditions at the start of the spring leaving it difficult to achieve good residuals and avoid poaching, multi-species swards could be considered.

Multi-species swards have a better tolerance to drought (due to an increased rooting depth), less weeds (after establishment) than grass swards and the flowering plants are excellent for pollinators and biodiversity.

This begs the question, considering the frequency of droughts in recent years and the unpredictability in grass growth during the summer months, can multi-species swards aid in times of poor grass growth and droughts?

The drier summers and wetter winters may see the benefits of multispecies swards come into play as they have the potential to increase sward diversity that might have the potential to allow us to adapt to changing weather patterns.

Furthermore, with the recent introduction of the National Fertiliser Database, the amount of nitrogen (N) and potassium (K) you spread has been limited and can be monitored.

Multi-species will fixate N, meaning the amount of N application needed on these paddocks will be reduced giving a small bit of leeway to spread more on paddocks that may require it.

Multi-species swards

Multi-species swards are swards that have a variety of plants from different families that include grasses, clover, brassicas, and herbs.

Your typical multi-species sward should include perennial ryegrass primarily, with possibly a timothy grass, followed by white clover, red clover, plantain and chicory.

The idea of a multi-specie sward is that when they combine, the various species roots at varying depths will allow them them to access more nutrients and moisture in the soil.

Red and white clover have often been described as the engine of the multi-specie machine as they provide the N to produce high quantities of dry matter (DM) production.

A sward with a high clover content of about 20-50% can allow for fertiliser application in the summer months to be halved.

While plantain and chicory in the mix will prevent any losses of N on the farm through better use of N by the animals, and will reduce farm leaching.

Establishment

Multi-species are best suited for grazing and not silage. The soil fertility of the ground should be a pH of 6.2-6.5 with, ideally, an index of <3 for P and K.

If you are sowing the multi-specie sward as part of the Department of Agriculture, Food, and the Marine (DAFM) scheme, the seed mixture required is as follows:

Much like grassland reseeding, the best conditions are when the seedbed is warm and moist and sowing should be done between April and August.

The most cost-effective way of sowing the sward is by direct drilling into a stale seed bed/minimum cultivation and is the most environmentally friendly way of doing it as it retains more soil organic matter.

In order to achieve the best results, the procedure should be as follows:

• Graze/cut off existing sward as tight as possible;
• Spray-off with glyphosate as per normal reseed;
• Adhere to the interval between spraying and grazing/cutting;
• Lime should be applied, if necessary.  If using minimum cultivation apply 5 tonne of lime per hectare to the desiccated sward pre-cultivation.  If ploughing address any lime requirement post-ploughing;
• Apply normal seed bed fertiliser at sowing (P and K with N) based on soil test results;
• Sow at approx. 1 cm deep (choose drill carefully to avoid seed separation);
• Sow the multi-species seed mix at a rate of 12kg/ac (30kg/ha)
• Roll to ensure soil and seed contact;
• Allow six to eight weeks before the first grazing to let herbs establish strong taproots, only graze if new plants are strong enough to withstand grazing.

The plough/till/sow method can also be used with the same principles as the procedure described above.

Over-sowing into an existing sward is another option but can be less reliable than a full reseed, although, it is a cheaper option and when it is done correctly, it can be very successful.

Overall, incorporating a multi-specie sward on your farm could help throughout tough growth spells in the summer and wetter conditions at early spring.

The post Are multi-species swards an option on your farm? appeared first on Agriland.ie.

With the current slow grass growth rate, farmers have been put under pressure to try and and achieve some sort of peak milk supply, as the conditions this summer have been stagnating production.

Over the last two to three weeks, there has been an increase in extra supplementation being added to a lot of diets around the country.

Now, more than ever should be the time to get out and walk the farm on a regular basis, considering the lower than average growth rates.

Grass growth

Grass growth rates are back again this week, with a drop to 51kg dry matter DM/ha with a demand of 50kg DM/ha, leaving grass very tight on most farms.

According to PastureBase Ireland, the typical diet around the country consists of 14kg DM of grass, with 4kg of meal and an added 1kg of silage being fed in an effort to hold the rotation at 21 days.

Warmer weather has arrived and is forecasted to stick around for the next number of days, which will hopefully see grass growth rates improve.

The urgency of correcting grass quality paddocks might be a priority for many in order to get them into the next rotation with fresh grass, but it should be avoided.

However, avoid getting into a full rotation of correcting grass quality. Doing so may put your farm into an unnecessary grass deficit, as it will drop grass growth rates by 20-30kg DM/ha.

Targets for mid-season should be:

• An average farm cover of over 600kg DM/ha which equates to 150kg DM/LU;
• A rotation length of 21-24 days;
• A pre-grazing yield of over 1200kg DM/ha.

The goal for this time of the year should be making sure that your cows daily intake requirements are being met, ensuring an intake of 18-18.5kg DM/cow.

Increase average farm cover

The recommendations have been to bring your grass demand down with the farm grass growth, and keeping a close eye on how regrowths are progressing.

If there is an option to introduce more grazing area to your rotation, it should be considered in an effort to hold your rotation at 21 days, at least.

The introduction of high quality silage of about 3/4kg cow/day in a combination with concentrates, as increasing your concentrates supplementation alone will not be sufficient to increase the rotation length.

Fertilising should continue to give the grass the best chance of rapid growth, as paddocks with no clover should be getting 20-25kg N/ha of chemical or organic N.

For clover paddocks, the clover content should be 20% or higher, before considering a significant reduction in N input.

The post June continues to be a nightmare for grass growth appeared first on Agriland.ie.

The Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Charlie McConalogue announced on June 12 that under the National Liming Programme, there will be a further extension to the date in which lime can be spread.

What does this mean for farmers? With the deadline extended until October 31, 2024, farmers now have an extended opportunity to correct their soil fertility and pH.

Liming is an essential part of maintaining an optimum soil fertility status, which will drive grass growth and production on your farm.

Liming is even more important in recent times, as with the introduction of the National Fertiliser Database and the monitoring of what fertiliser you spread, it is crucial that you spread lime to reduce fertiliser usage.

Benefits of liming

Liming has many benefits as it can release up to 70kg of soil nitrogen (N)/ha/year, which will therefore reduce the need for chemical N in the ground.

Liming is best known for increasing the soil’s pH, which can lead to an extra 10-15% in grass growth.

According to Teagasc, spreading lime on dairy farm gives you a 700% return on investment, as every €1 worth of lime that is spread, you get a return of €7.

Liming also has its environmental benefits, as due to the amount of N it releases, it therefore reduces the amount of greenhouse (GHG) gasses produced.

Lime application

A farm liming plan should be done, as it will help determine which fields on the farm require lime and how much will be needed on each field.

By taking soil samples, you will be able to identify where lime is needed, and when and at what rate it should be applied.

The ideal soil pH for growing grass is 6.5-7, so, paddocks under this will require lime.

When applying lime , you should not put out more than 7.5t/ha in a single application and if there is a recommendation to spread more than 7.5t/h, spread 50% now and 50% in two years time.

The beauty of lime is that if the weather allows for it, it can be spread at any time of the year.

Lime should be spread with plenty time between application and closing for grass silage. If you are picking up silage with lime still coated on it, it can affect good preservation conditions.

Application of cattle slurry should be done seven to 10 days before lime spreading to reduce the amount of N lost as applying slurry after lime has been applied can result in a loss of up to 50% of the available slurry N.

The same applies when spreading urea. However, early trials suggest that protected urea can be applied to fields that have received lime recently.

If lime has already been spread, the recommendation is to allow for three months between spreading slurry and urea.

The post Liming extension: Opportunity to correct your soil fertility appeared first on Agriland.ie.

The latest Milk Price Tracker – brought to you by Agriland and the Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers’ Association (ICMSA) – details milk prices from the most significant Irish dairy co-ops for the month of April.

The co-ops within the Milk Price Tracker are ranked from highest to lowest price for base milk price only.

It is important to note that the cent-per-litre (c/L) milk prices shown in the table below are calculated using the widely accepted milk-pricing system.

The conversion factor used is 1.03, meaning 1L of milk corresponds to 1.03kg of milk.

It is Agriland and ICMSA policy not to include support payments, bonuses or additional payments in the calculation of the base milk price.

Milk Price Tracker

Boherbue leads the tracker for April with a base price of 41.41c/L, with Lakeland in second place with a base price of 41.40c/L.

Tipperary is bottom of the table with a base price of 38.74c/L. A significant movement seen this month saw Arrabawn move from bottom of the table in the March supplies to then rank ninth in the table for supplies in April.

The milk prices in the table are those quoted by co-ops for the month of April (2024).

April bonuses and penalties

Further details of bonuses and penalties for the Milk Price Tracker can be found by clicking here.

With regards to the Milk Price Tracker above, please see the following explanatory notes  (all bonus and penalty payments are based on manufacturing milk).

Unconditional bonuses

• Arrabawn is paying a 2.86c/L (excl. VAT) winter bonus payment of which applies to all milk volumes supplied during April that meet quality criteria;
• Aurivo is paying a 2c/L (excl. VAT) weather support on all milk supplied in April;
• Carbery co-ops are paying a 0.47c/L (excl. VAT) payment from the stability fund. This is included in the protein and butterfat prices;
• Dairygold is paying a 1c/L (excl. VAT) weather/fodder relief payment to all milk volumes supplied during April;
• Lakeland is paying a 0.92c/L (excl. VAT) input support payment on all milk supplied in April;
• Tipperary is paying a 0.92c/L (excl. VAT) input support payment on all milk supplied in April;
• Tirlán is paying a 1.41c/L (excl. VAT) weather support payment on milk volumes supplied during April.

Conditional bonuses

• Arrabawn pays a 0.2c/L (excl. VAT) bonus on all milk with a somatic cell count (SCC) less than 200,000 cells/ml;
• Arrabawn pays a 0.47c/L (excl. VAT) sustainability bonus;
• Aurivo is paying a 0.5c/L (excl. VAT) future milk sustainability bonus;
• Aurivo has a milk storage bonus which is available to suppliers with a minimum annual supply of 160,000L that have enough refrigerated storage capacity to cover seven milkings at peak production. The storage bonus of 0.44c/L was taken from the ‘C’ from September 2021. ‘C’ is 3.813;
• Aurivo has a 0.21c/L (excl. VAT) protein bonus available for every 0.05% protein achieved, above the co-op average protein %, in an individual month;
• Carbery Group pays a bonus of 0.5c/L (excl. VAT) from March to October and a 0.88c/L (excl. VAT) bonus from November to February to suppliers who achieve a SCC of less than 200,000 cells/ml;
• In September 2022, Carbery began to pay out a sustainability bonus of 0.5c/L to farmers who have committed to Carbery’s FutureProof programme. This is 1c/L for 2024 and is paid on all milk supplied by farmers who have signed a sustainability pledge and complete three actions. This is paid on January each year;
• Dairygold has a maximum bonus attainable by farmers who achieve the minimum requirements for six criteria (TBC, thermoduric, sediment, SCC, lactose and inhibitors); This cumulatively amounts to 0.4c/L (excl. VAT);
• Dairygold has a 0.75c/L grassroots sustainability bonus payment for water quality, protected urea, soil health, education, milk recording, herd health and SDAS;
• Kerry pays 0.4c/L (excl. VAT) bonus on all milk with an SCC less than 200,000 cells/ml and 0.1c/L (excl. VAT) for SDAS.
• Lakeland is paying a 0.47c/L (excl. VAT) milk sustainability bonus;
• North Cork pays 0.2c/L (excl. VAT) bonus on all milk with an SCC of less than 200,000 cells/ml;
• North Cork pays 0.135c/L (excl. VAT) bonus if four milk recordings are carried out in the year, it will be paid the following January;
• Strathroy pays 0.25c/L (excl. VAT) bonus on all milk with an SCC of less than 200,000 cells/ml. Strathroy also pays 0.25c/L (excl. VAT) bonus on all milk with an TBC of less than 10,000 cells/ml.
• Tipperary pays a bonus of 0.25c/L (excl. VAT) on all milk with an SCC less than 250,000 cells/ml.
• Tirlán is paying a sustainability action payment of 0.47c/L (excl. VAT) for April.

The post Milk Price Tracker: Marginal increases for some co-ops in April appeared first on Agriland.ie.

The upkeep of farm roadways to allow for sufficient cow flow is an essential element of grazing, grass utilisation and the overall grazing rotation on dairy farms.

An optimal cow flow on your farm roadways will give way to maintaining an efficient utilisation of grass, which is one of the key drivers of profit on dairy farms.

In Ireland, we pride ourselves with high quality pasture production over a long growing season which gives us a preferable look to consumers as pasture based diets offer environmental benefits and improved animal welfare.

A lot of dairy farms around the country have insufficient roadways in place which hinders cow flow, affecting the herd’s movement between paddocks and the milking parlour.

The improvement of farm roadway infrastructure is hugely vital for efficient farm management and animal welfare.

Researching cow flow

Teagasc carried out a study which included a total of 55 farms with herd sizes ranging from 30 to 760 cows – the farms were selected based on herd size and geographical location.

A roadway quality metric was developed to evaluate the condition of farm roadway, which was based on three variable assessed on each section, as follows:

• Roadway width;
• Surface condition score (ranging from one which was inadequate for animal movement, to five, which was optimal);
• The presence of a congestion point on a roadway.

All of this information was compiled to use as an estimate of mean cow flow on each farm, defined as cows moved per minute (CPM).

The information gathered can be used to emphasise the importance of farm roadway infrastructure for efficient farm management and animal welfare.

The on-farm survey results were as follows:

Results

There was 893 roadway sections on 55 farms that were assessed with many roadway width being suboptimal for the number of cows on the farm.

The standard should be 3.5m wide for a 50-cow herd, with another 0.5m allowed for every additional 50 cows thereafter.

The study assessed that, on average, the farm roadways were 70% of the recommended width relative to the herd with on 4% of the roadways being an optimal width for the herd size.

Roadway width and surface condition were found to significantly affect the number of cows moved per minute (CPM, and the common denominator was better cow flow when roadways width and surface were of a good standard.

Measured cow flow (CPM) with varying roadway width and surface, with a surface condition index (SCI) ranging from one to five, were as follows:

Public road crossings had a significant negative impact on CPM, as it was found to reduce CPM by 32.7% on average, whereas congestion points did not have a major impact on CPM.

The study found that only 14.2% of farm roadways were in an optimal surface condition to allow for sufficient cow movement, with 24.4% being completely inadequate.

A number of factors could have affected the surface condition including the roadway width, congestion points, and the presence of a grass verge.

Overall, the study found that roadway infrastructure has not adapted to meet increased herd demands on dairy farms across the country.

It is essential for a farmer to ensure that their roadways are of an adequate width, a good surface condition with fewer congestion points to allow for increased cow throughput.

Assessing the width and surface condition of your roadways should be done, as it has a serious impact on cow flow and will save time and hassle on yourself and the cows.

The post Are your farm roadways allowing for optimal cow flow? appeared first on Agriland.ie.

A recent study carried out by Teagasc saw two different cow-calf contact (CCC) systems compared to the more conventional calf rearing system in Ireland.

On the vast majority of Irish dairy farms, cows and calves are separated very soon after birth, with very limited cow-calf contact.

This allows for cows to be managed with the rest of the milking herd and calves to be artificially reared by the farmer, ensuring proper colostrum intake and reduced risk of disease exposure.

It has always been thought that early separation was better for the welfare of both the dam and calf, as it prevented the formation of the maternal bond between them.

However, in recent years, the dairy sector has experienced a lot of scrutiny around the topic of calf rearing by researchers, consumers and activists.

Cow-calf contact systems allow for the calf to remain with their mother post-calving and is regarded as a more favoured management approach by society.

Researching cow-calf contact

The research that was carried out by Alison Sinnott, Sarah McPherson, and Emer Kennedy explored how a CCC system would work in an Irish pasture-based dairy production system.

In their experiment, they compared three systems:

• Full-time contact calves stayed with their mother until weaned at eight weeks. The pair moved outdoors to grass after five days post-birth and were temporarily separated for milking twice-a-day;
• Part-time contact – calves stayed with their mother until weaned at eight weeks. These calves were housed indoors in a straw bedded house with an adjacent cubicle pen for cow housing with creep gates being used. Cows were milked once-a-day (8:00a.m) and grazed post-milking every day and returned indoors at 3:00p.m to remain with the calf until morning milking;
• Conventional (no-contact) – cows removed from mother instantly after birth and were artificially reared indoors with automatic feeders. They were weaned at eight weeks and the cow was milked twice-a-day and immediately went out to pasture.

Upon their evaluation of the CCC systems, cow and calf health, calf weight gain, and cow milk yield were all the measurements that were taken into account.

The result on the calves

Labour was increased with the full-time CCC and it was assessed that major investment would have to take place in order to facilitate the additional housing and the general infrastructure.

However, there was still a cost-saving element to it as there wouldn’t have to be an investment into automatic milk feeders and milk replacer with CCC systems.

Calf growth was an obvious advantage of the CCC system as both full-time and part-time calves pre and post-weaning weighed more than calves reared with the conventional system.

However, illness resulted in 26% of the full-time calves being removed from the experiment and no claves were removed from the other experiments.

The data obtained from this study indicates that full-time CCC poses a threat to cow and calf welfare as one quarter of calves in this system could be vulnerable to life-threatening health issues.

Part-time calves faced difficulties during weaning and post-weaning which was due to three stressors, as follows:

• Environmental from going indoors to outdoors;
• Social from separation from mother;
• Dietary changes from going from milk and concentrates to grass and concentrates.

These stressors had long-lasting effects and was visible through the stunted weight gain post-weaning.

Full-time calves experienced similar stressors but weren’t long-term affects and can be attributed to their exposure to grass pre-weaning.

The result on the cow

The experiment indicated that there was a clear reduction in milk production in both of the CCC systems during the the CCC period of eight weeks compared to the conventional system.

That result was expected as the cow was minding the calf in that period, however, milk yield did not recover after weaning separation for the CCC cows which lead to lower milk production and solids.

Part-time cows had a further reduction in milk during the CCC period compared to the full-time cows as they were only milked once-a-day.

A positive was that there was no affect on cow health for both the CCC systems and the udder remained in good order.

Is CCC a good option?

There are clear advantages and disadvantages of CCC systems, but is it something for Irish dairying to adopt?

Cow-calf contact increased pre-weaning calf growth and reduced the labour at calving.

The full-time CCC with the cow out at pasture for the duration of calf rearing saw it challenge calf health and daily labour on the farm.

The part-time system affected the calf’s behaviour and had a negative impact on the calf’s growth post-weaning.

A real positive coming from this study was that the cows in the cow-calf contact systems had contact with their calves, without an increase in SCC or mastitis incidences.

Although it had no affect on the hygienic quality of the milk, cows in the CCC systems had lower production during the CCC period which also led to lower cumulative 35-week lactation yields.

The post What are the advantages and disadvantages of cow-calf contact? appeared first on Agriland.ie.

Reviewing herd performance and identifying problem cows is now essential as farmers approach the mid-lactation stage.

There is now a bit more time available after the busy calving and breeding season and the rush to get in your first-cut silage is over.

Unfortunately, problem cows are present in every herd and even though you may be consistent in removing them, they can continue to appear.

The mid-lactation is a good time to assess these problem cows to give you a guidance in preparing for drying-off.

It will allow you to start looking at cows within your herd and determining whether or not they may need an antibiotic at drying-off.

Early identification will also give you the opportunity to remove cows from the herd that have consistent cell count or mastitis problems.

If there is a clear increase in somatic cell count (SCC) in your bulk tank during the summer months, it should not be ignored as it is likely the number of infected cows in your herd is increasing.

This can lead to more infected quarters and immediate action should be taken to set your herd up well for lactation to minimise mastitis infections and maximise production.

Problem cows

A problem cow can be described as a cow that has numerous clinical cases of mastitis during her lactation, or that has an average SCC of 200,000 cells/ml or higher in two consecutive lactations.

Despite antibiotic treatment during the dry period and constant remedial action to combat mastitis and SCC issues, a problem cow will consistently fall back down with infection.

Cure rates for mastitis can vary and one must remember that some of these problem cows can not be cured and it is not worth carrying their costs into the next lactation.

Milk recording will allow for early identification and early treatment within your herd and is an essential tool for establishing which cows are the most profitable.

Not only can problem cows be costing you money but they can can also be spreading infection to the profitable, healthy cows.

Milk recording will give you individual cow information which will allow you to choose which cows are most appropriate for a dry cow tube.

The identification of high SCC cows is crucial, as treatment may have to be given. Discussions should be ongoing with your vet and milk advisor to distinguish what level of SCC should be treated.

If the infection level of these cows is not reduced, removing these cows from the herd must be put into consideration, while cows with chronic cases of mastitis should not be staying in your herd.

Selective dry cow therapy

Now, more than ever, dairy famers need to be conscious of their SCC levels of each cow within their herd as the with the clamping down of blanket dry cow therapy (BDCT), farmers need to use selective dry cow therapy (SDCT).

A farmer needs to decide on a threshold for choosing which cows get SDCT, and if cows are above the threshold, they should be targeted for treatment or care.

If there are cows constantly above the threshold, there needs to be serious consideration as to whether or not those cows should stay in the herd.

The SCC in herds across the country are going to be improved by having the data available and then acting on the data.

In order to improve your cell count and limit the number of problem cows in your herd, regular milk recording needs to happen to allow for early treatment and removal from your herd.

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Over the course of the last couple of months, many farmers have encountered various problems as a result of poor weather conditions, which in turn has put a cash flow strain on farms.

Last winter was a tough time for the majority of farmers as cattle were housed for a lot longer than expected, which meant that silage ran tight on most farms in the country.

The expense and costs grew, as when cows eventually got out to grazing, the cold and wet spring slowed down grass growth rates, which meant cow energy intake was low, hindering peak milk supply.

This affected cash flow drastically as cows had to be supplemented with extra silage or meal throughout the spring to maintain production.

When grass growth improved, extra supplementation was still required, as the quality of grass was poor due to the substandard residuals, poaching, and paddocks that could not be accessed during the spring.

The last couple of months have been all about just doing your utmost best with the conditions in front of you, but it has no doubt, put a serious cost on production.

Calculating cash flow

The starting point involves calculating your cash in hand and see what is owed to you. Then add all the money that you owe, on overdraft, merchant credits, bank payments, etc.

The difficulty for some farmers, is establishing when they can pay back the money and when they will have surpluses of cash above their payments each month.

It can be stressful handling creditors, so farmers should calculate their cumulative net cash per month and divide by the number of cows.

This will give the farmer a guide on the cash position of the farm each month on a per cow basis.

The head of dairy knowledge transfer department, Dr. Joe Patton, has stated that in a normal year, it takes €300 to €400/cow working capital to manage the spring cash requirements.

This money can be carried by merchant credit, overdraft, or in some scenarios, farmers could have had some some cash in the system from the start of the year.

According to Teagasc, it will be the second half of the year before the farm will be in a positive net cash flow status and have provided a cumulative net cash/cow for the year chart depicting it.

The following chart is important for the timing of creditor repayment, as follows:

It is vital to identify your situation early as you may find yourself in a position whereby you have a lot of short-term creditors due to the bad weather and performances this spring.

Options are available to address this, for example, interest-only payments or retrospective finance of capital expenditure that was completed using cash over the last number of years.

By using these options, you will ease the cash pressure on the farm and allow the farm to ease back into cash position earlier.

It may be beneficial to sit down with your accountant or advisor to discuss you cash flow position and to see when it is appropriate to pay creditors.

The post How farmers can manage cash flow after a tough spring appeared first on Agriland.ie.

Protected urea is urea nitrogen (N) fertiliser made safe from ammonia loss through the addition of a urease inhibitor.

Despite the fact that protected urea can grow more grass than either calcium ammonium nitrate (CAN) or urea, it can also give the quickest reductions in greenhouse gas (GHG) and ammonia emissions within agriculture.

With the unpredictability in weather, the price of fertiliser, and the new constraints around how much fertiliser you can use, choosing the most effective fertiliser has never been more important.

With the introduction of the National Fertiliser Database (NFD), farmers had to complete a closing stock of fertiliser left on the farm on September 14, and had a month after that date to submit these records online.

Co-ops have to make regular returns to the database of the herd numbers that bought fertiliser, the date, type and amount of fertiliser purchased.

This monitoring and data collection has raised concerns amongst farmers who fear the possibility of exceeding their fertiliser limits.

With this in mind, it is important for farmers to understand the role of protected urea, understand their fertiliser limits and what to apply to allow for maximum growth.

Grass growth

In short-term Teagasc trials, the quantity of grass grown by using CAN, protected urea and urea was similar across all fertiliser types.

However, protected urea grew 13% more grass on average compared to standard urea in a long-term trial at Johnstown Castle, Co. Wexford. In the same trial, CAN yielded 9% more than standard urea.

From the trial illustrated above, protected urea and CAN had greater responses in growth rates in six out of the seven years of the trial, with 2018 being the exception due to drought when water was the limiting factor not nitrogen. 

The cost of protected urea

Protected urea is cheaper than CAN per kg of N, and it is more expensive than standard urea (on a per tonne basis).

However, it will give the same effective N for the plant as standard urea, at a 12% lower spreading rate as N losses from standard urea are significantly higher.

Protected urea is the cheapest option. The value of retaining N that had previously been lost as urea has increased substantially with increasing fertiliser costs.

Also with the new NFD and limits on N usage, it makes more sense to use less of a more effective product.

The relative cost of an application of N using different fertiliser types has been provided by Teagasc, as follows:

The reason for 57kg N/spread of standard urea is because it is the equivalent quantity of N needed to achieve the same plant available N, allowing for the extra losses with standard urea.

As a general rule of thumb, there is the same of amount of N in three tonnes of protected urea (46%) as there is in five tonnes of CAN (27%).

Based on February 2024 figures, three tonnes of protected urea will cost €1,650, while five tonnes of CAN will cost approximately €1,940 for the same amount of actual N.

Protected urea has been calculated to have 71% lower nitrous oxide emissions than CAN, proving that it has a key role to play nationally in terms of being an easy strategy of reducing GHG emissions.

By using protected urea, you will be contributing to the ammonia reduction targets for agriculture as it significantly reduces the calculated ammonia emissions by 78% compared to straight urea.

Application

Farmers can use protected urea from January to early September, which is a big advantage of the fertiliser.

The fertiliser is most effective in the spring time during damp conditions – during the summer months, it releases N slower and more effectively than CAN due to the inclusion of the urease inhibitor.

Due to the higher N content, the application rate will be lower than CAN and the fertiliser density is also lower for urea fertiliser versus CAN, which makes it more difficult to spread at wider bout widths.

However, larger and stronger granules indicate that fertiliser is of better quality. Protected urea has the potential to draw more moisture which can lead to issues with your spreader if it is not washed out properly after use.

It is important before you spread any form of fertiliser, that you set the spreader accordingly to match the fertiliser’s quality on the spreader manufacturer’s database which will assess size and strenght.

You can use the manufacturer’s app to determine the bout or width capabilty and the spreader settings from disc vane to hopper height and angle to ensure accurate spreading.

The post How effective is protected urea in grassland swards? appeared first on Agriland.ie.

Reducing enteric methane emissions has been an area of concern for the dairy sector over the last few years as different methods are constantly being researched and explored.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has stated that agriculture is responsible for 37% of Ireland’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions with methane accounting for 68% of all Irish agriculture GHGs.

Reducing and mitigating enteric fermentation, which is a by-product of feed digestion within the animals rumen, is recognised as the quickest way to slow down its impact on the atmosphere.

There has been a number of different methods tested and proven to reduce methane, and dietary supplementation has seen a substantial reduction in a lot of cases.

The addition of fats and oils, containing high proportions of polyunsaturated fatty acids (e.g., soya oil and linseed oil) to the diet has proven to reduce the production of methane in a number of studies.

The use of seaweed in an animal’s diet has been a long standing tradition in Ireland, with the tropical red seaweed, asparagospis taxiformis proving it could reduce methane emissions by 80% when small quantities were added to a diet.

However, the Irish climate is not suitable for the commercial production of this seaweed. Teagasc studies are ongoing for the testing of indigenous seaweeds to see if their benefits can be reaped.

There is certainly a sense of urgency to find solutions to reduce enteric methane, and the synthetic compound 3-nitrooxypropanol (3-NOP) has been researched on dairy and beef cattle.

The extensive research of the compound has shown that it has the capabilities of reducing methane by up to 30% when fed indoors to dairy cows within a mixed ration.

Reducing enteric methane via 3-NOP

A recent study at Teagasc Moorepark, carried out by Hazel Costigan, Laurence Shalloo and Ben Lahart, showed the impact of the 3-NOP when fed to spring-calving cows across different scenarios.

Feeding the compound to grazing lactating dairy cows after milking twice-a-day was showed to reduce enteric methane by 5%.

The methane output was reduced by 11% when a top dressing of 3-NOP was spread onto grass silage twice daily to non-lactating cows that were indoors.

The 3-NOP inhibitor showed that it can reduce methane emissions by up to 22% when fed to non-lactating cows through grass silage using a mixer wagon.

With this information from the study, it led to approximately 3,500 cows across 18 Teagasc dairy farms being successfully fed 3-NOP throughout the winter of 2023/2024 by mixing the inhibitor through grass silage.

Alternative strategies

There are a number of other strategies to help lower the output of enteric methane within your dairy herd, and could be implemented on your farm, such as:

• Animal breeding – a long term strategy is breeding for animals that emit less methane;
• Improved animal health – a healthy animal will be more productive during its lifetime;
• Pasture management – a reduction in sward digestibility leads to a notable increase in enteric methane emissions as it promotes an abundance of ruminal microbes.

Overall, in order to achieve a substantial reduction on your own farm, it will require a combination of strategies focused on suppressing methane output.

Dietary supplementation has proven to reduce methane emissions and can be used effectively, however, further research is required to achieve better reductions for lactating dairy cows out at grass.

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Frustration continues among farmers, as summer grass growth rates fail to reach peak levels week after week as the period of stagnation continues.

The cold spell of weather has caused grass growth rates to drop even further this week on dairy farms around the country.

There seems to be no consistency in weather to allow for growth rates to excel this summer, with a lot of farmers beginning to run tight.

Grass growth

The cold weather has dropped growth rates back on dairy farms to 58kg dry matter (DM)/ha, with an average demand across the country of 53kg DM/ha, according to Pasturebase Ireland.

The regrowth on paddocks that were grazed, cut or pre-mowed are a lot slower and will struggle to make up an acceptable cover for the next round.

The reality is that there is still a number of paddocks with poor grass quality, but correcting all paddocks in a rotation should be avoided.

The urgency of correcting the grass quality in these paddocks might be a priority for many, in order to get them into the next rotation with fresh, lush grass but it should be avoided.

By doing this, it might put your farm into an unnecessary grass deficit as it will drop grass growth rates by 20-30kg DM/ha.

The advice from Teagasc is that if you are below 150kg DM/LU and your pre-grazing yields start to drop under 1200kg DM/ha, the aim should be as follows:

• Hold your rotation at 21 days, if possible;
• Increase the grazing area for a period of time;
• Introduce extra meal in the parlour;
• Supplement with silage before or after milking.

Aim for a cover/LU of 170-200kg DM/LU on dairy farms, and continue to walk your farm every five days to allow for early identification and intervention where needs be.

You will only be able to identify a grass shortage and keep a close eye on average farm cover (AFC) , cover/LU and rotation length by walking the farm every five days during this cold period.

Frequent grass walks will allow for quick rectification and mitigate the chances of your cow production levels falling.

With the bad grass growth looming around the country, it might be a good idea to start making sure that your reseeds are of good quality when they are back in the next rotation.

Managing reseeds

With the bad weather in the spring, many farms got reseeding in late April and those reseeds are now approaching the point at which they should be treated with a post emergence spray.

A successful post emergence spray will help to ensure your fresh grass and this ensures that clover reseeds get the best possible chance of a low weed burden.

Controlling weeds is best done when the grass plant is at the three leaf stage and when the trifoliate leaf has appeared has appeared on the clover plant.

Clover safe spray should already be in the yard already in advance of when you need it so you can spray when the sward is ready.

During this colder spell, it is important to keep on top of your grassland management in order to intervene on time, to ultimately, keep your cows producing high levels of milk and to maintain energy intakes during the breeding season.

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At this time of the year, it can be difficult to stay on top of lameness issues and foot bathing in your herd because with breeding, grassland management and second-cut fertiliser application, there is a lot of work going on.

However, during the breeding season especially, it is crucial to limit any lameness problems as it could hinder a cow’s chances of going back in calf.

Lameness will affect a cow’s behaviour as she will show less signs of oestrus making it difficult to detect her heat.

This may disrupt your breeding plan – with lower submission rates, delayed ovarian cyclicity, reduced conception rates, increased calving interval and higher chance of ovarian cysts forming.

A single case of lameness could potentially cost €350 – from loss in production, to reduced fertility, to the cost of treating and culling.

Prevention through grazing infrastructure is the best practice, however, foot bathing is a key part of the prevention and control of infectious lameness-causing diseases.

Foot bathing

Foot bathing is particularly important to manage digital dermatitis, also known as mortellaro’s disease, which is a painful and infectious.

This disease can spread rapidly through a herd and and can disrupt a herd’s lameness status.

A Teagasc study took place place in 2023, which identified that 44% of farmers reported having digital dermatitis issues on their farm and yet only 31% had a regular foot bathing.

Foot bathing will allow for a disinfectant solution to be applied to each cow’s hooves at milking time, killing infectious agents and improving hoof hygiene.

Foot bathing could prove to be a waste of time if it is done incorrectly, or worse still, it may actually contribute to the spread of the disease, thus emphasising the importance of correctly doing it.

Ensuring results

It is essential to make sure that there is good cow flow through the foot bath and ideally, the foot bath should be close to the exit of the milking parlour.

The foot bath should be level with the ground with no steps up or down to further ensure that there is a good cow flow and that the cows are not damaging their feet going into the bath.

To allow for further ease, the bath should be wide enough – a minimum of 700-800mm wide and 3m in length will be adequate for a herd of up to 250 cows.

For herds of over 250 cows, a foot bath should be at least 2m wide to allow for two cows to pass through simultaneously, allowing for better cow flow.

The length of your foot bath is crucial as an adequate size (2.5-3m) will allow for each foot to be sufficiently immersed in the solution, as per guidance from Animal Health Ireland (AHI).

In order for this to be effective, your solution depth should be 100-125mm with the volume of solution equating to 1L/cow, meaning in a 120-cow herd, you will need 120L of solution to do the whole herd at once.

It is important to change your solution regularly. The 1L of solution should be used and changed after one cow goes through.

By multiplying the length by the width by the depth of the solution, measured in metres, will give you the volume of your foot bath in cubic metres and by knowing this information you can get the right concentrations.

You should consult your vet to get the most appropriate solution for your herd. Formalin, copper sulphate, or other commercial products containing peracetic or organic acids are all options.

The frequency with which cows need to be foot bathed depends on how common or severe the disease is within your herd.

Herd’s where digital dermatitis (DD) is a major problem should be foot bathed after every milking until the disease is under control.

It’s important to not substitute good management practices with foot bathing – a foot bathing programme will not solve a DD problem if your yard and facilities are not in good order.

The post Dairy advice: Regular foot bathing to limit lameness appeared first on Agriland.ie.

Last winter saw a lot of farmers in the country run tight or run out of silage reserves, and for those who fear of running short this winter, an alternative winter feed may be a solution.

The winter gone saw cattle being housed for a lot longer than expected which meant that silage ran tight on most farms in the country.

Moreover, as cows eventually got out to grazing, the cold and wet spring slowed down grass growth rates which meant a lot of cows were not intaking enough energy to enable peak milk supply.

Even when grass growth rates eventually took off, the quality of grass was below par due to the poor residuals, paddocks that couldn’t be grazed and poaching during the spring.

A fodder budget will have to be completed by farmers to determine what the fodder situation looks like before the winter months.

Another growing concern is the frequency of droughts during the summer months – last summer saw the dry weather stick around for too long which meant farmers ate into their surplus silage supplies to maintain production.

So, this begs the question, giving the reality of long winters, long housing periods, and eating into winter silage supply during droughts, is sowing a fodder crop an option to help combat winter reserve deficits?

Alternative winter feed – fodder crop

Depending on the farm situation, the sowing of a fodder crop could be an effective way of ensuring that fodder supplies are sufficient enough for the potentially long winter ahead.

Fodder crops can be a great way of incorporating a break crop into a reseeding programme, which would see these fields being grazed during the winter months and then providing an ideal seed bed for a spring reseed.

Alternatives such as kale, rape or hybrid brassicas can provide cost effective winter feed while increasing average daily gain (ADG) over the winter and help where winter housing is possibly an issue.

Before sowing a fodder crop, there a number of factors to consider, such as:

• The suitability of your land to grow and graze forage crops;
• When you plan on grazing the crop;
• Land availability for the cultivation and sowing of the crop;
• The number and type of stock that you plan on grazing the crop.

Soil pH should be between 6.0 and 6.5 for optimum growth, and the field should be flat, if possible.

The fodder crop will be the majority of the animals’ diet, however, they will still require a bit of roughage in the form of hay, straw or silage to make up about 30% of the diet.

In this scenario, bales should be placed in the field around the crop and access should be given to a fresh bale regularly.

Animals that are in good condition and have no underlying health issues should be the ones selected for grazing as the weather can be harsh and only the fittest animals should be outwintered.

If a fodder crop is something that you are considering for the coming winter, seeking advice to determine what crop is best suited for your land and which animals should be used to graze it should be a priority.

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It is vital for a farmer to prioritise controlling somatic cell count (SCC), as it is a key a element to supplying high-quality milk.

Although maintaining a good SCC isn’t always easy, it should always remain a priority and there are a number of factors to be considered when looking to control cell counts.

A good milking routine is the essence of disease and cell count control. The maintenance of your parlour, your hygiene standards, and the genetic make-up of the cows are all contributing factors to controlling SCC.

As we have entered into the mid-lactation period and are into the peak milk supply months, the focus has turned to getting cows to their peak milk production, but your cell count should not be neglected.

Somatic cell count

Somatic cells are a mixture of milk-producing cells shed from the udder tissue and cells from the immune system, known as white blood cells.

The reality is, that some cows are more likely to have issues with SCC than others as it is just part of their genetics – where there is a large amount of records, you can trace cow families that have similar issues.

The genetic make-up of certain cows can make them more susceptible to certain diseases, lameness, and cell count issues.

Milk SCC levels above 100,000 will mean that you are losing money and on average mastitis will cost a farmer €60/cow/year, according to Teagasc research.

The best way to reduce you SCC is through good practices, and allocating time and attention to the problem.

The best scenario would be to rectify issues with your milk quality advisor, your vet, and your milking technician, so that all angles are covered.

There is a number of factors to consider to reduce your cell count, such as:

• Testing and servicing your milking machine every nine to 12 months;
• Making sure the cows have a clean environment (roadways, milking parlour, cubicles);
• Contagious mastitis control through good milking preparation procedures;
• Post milking teat disinfection as it reduces new infection rates by 50%;
• Sufficient dry cow therapy as it cures subclinical infection and prevents new infection at drying-off.;
• Maintaining a hygienic environment during the dry period and at calving is crucial.

Milk recording

Milk recording is essential to get the data of each cow and identify which cows have chronic cell count issues, and to also pick up on cows that has increasing cell count.

In turn, this will reduce the risk of spreading contagious mastitis as you will know the high SCC cows in the herd.

Milk recording in the mid-lactation will also identify high achieving cows and those boosting herd performance to make breeding decisions easier.

Another simple way of identifying cows with SCC problems is through the use of a California Matitis Test (CMT) kit.

It is not unusual for cell counts to fluctuate throughout the year but if there is a constant upward trend in SCC, measures need to be taken as soon as possible.

Genotyping

With the new genotyping scheme for dairy cows, there is a potential for it to make significant changes to the dairy sector.

A focus of the scheme was to get a DNA profile of the national herd, which should provide us with more precise information on individual cows.

This will allow for the identification of source cows of high SCC in a single bulk milk sample.

The somatic cells would carry the DNA of the cows, meaning that the identification of your high SCC cows should be straight forward, which will then allow you to remove these cows from the herd.

Likewise, rapid treatment or remedial action can take place as you will be able to identify the cows that have caused a spike in SCC within the bulk tank.

If you can make use out of all these methods to limit SCC, producing high quality milk should come relatively easier which will maximise your profits and minimise your costs of treatment.

The post Dairy advice: Controlling cell count during mid-lactation appeared first on Agriland.ie.

As a result of the good weather in recent weeks, many farmers were able to get in their first-cut silage, which means that preparation for second-cut is now underway and slurry safety must be considered.

The majority of farmers and contractors have been under pressure to catch up on work due to unfavourable weather conditions, and during these busy periods, safety can be compromised.

The wet spring also meant that a lot of slurry was not applied to the land for first-cut silage, meaning there will be a lot of high quality slurry waiting to be applied for second-cut.

The danger of slurry

Once the slurry begins to become agitated, the bacterial decomposition of the slurry releases toxic gasses, such as phydrogen sulphide, ammonia, methane and carbon dioxide.

Hydrogen (H) sulphide is lethal. It is highly poisonous to both people and animals as it affects the nervous system – even small concentrations can cause death.

Gases are odourless, which means that if you can’t smell anything, it doesn’t mean that you are safe. At low levels, hydrogen sulphide has a ‘rotten egg’ smell, but at high levels, it will be odourless.

This is particularly important as when slurry is agitated, it will release high levels of hydrogen sulphide which means that smell is no indicator for its presence.

Slurry safety

Slurry should never be agitated in still air conditions and should be mixed on a windy day while keeping children away at all times during any slurry work. Your family and those around the house should be informed that agitation is taking place.

Even though this might not apply during the summer months, it is important to keep in mind that all animals should be kept out of the building before starting to mix slurry.

It is also easy to forget the affect the slurry fumes can have on other farm animals or pets, so, making sure any dogs are kept away during agitation is essential.

Make sure all doors and outlets in the shed are open, as they will provide a draught, and avoid vigorous agitation in confined spaces. Smoking or using a naked fame should be avoided as slurry gases are highly flammable.

Once agitating commences, stay out of the building for as long as possible and avoid standing over slats or near tank access points.

You should avoid going back near the tank for at least 30 minutes or longer depending on the size of the tank – if you need to return to adjust the agitator, leave the shed as soon as it is done.

There should never be a need to enter the slurry tank unless you are wearing suitable gear including a breathing apparatus and a harness attached to a lifeline and controlled by at least two adults up above the tank.

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With the unpredictability in weather, the price of fertiliser, and the new constraints around how much fertiliser you can use, completing a fertiliser plan is more essential than ever.

Completing a fertiliser plan will allow you to choose the most suitable fertiliser types and amounts for your farm.

Nutrient planning will allow farmers to maintain appropriate soil fertility by applying the right fertilisers in the right place on the farm, at the correct rate and at the optimum time of the year.

With the introduction of the National Fertiliser Database (NFD), there has been an increase in soil sampling, with farmers aiming to improve their fertility, which further increases the demand for a fertiliser plan.

95% of farmers have registered for the NFD, meaning that these farmers have completed a closing stock of fertiliser left on the farm on the September 14, and had a month after that date to submit these records online.

Co-ops have to make regular returns to the database of the herd numbers that bought fertiliser, the date, type and amount of fertiliser purchased.

This monitoring and data collection has raised concerns amongst farmers who fear the possibility of exceeding their fertiliser limits.

With this in mind, it is important for farmers to complete a fertiliser plan so they can understand their fertiliser limits and what to apply to allow for maximum growth.

Fertiliser plan requirements

A Basic Income Support Scheme (BISS) application will be needed to show what crops are being grown and their areas in 2024 as every crop has a different allowance for nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P).

When it comes to your grassland crops, the previous years grassland stocking rate (GSR) is used to work out the allowances for N and P.

This is calculated by getting the total N from grazing livestock and dividing it by the grassland area in 2023.

You will need to provide the total tonnage of concentrates fed to grazing livestock in 2023 and the total N from grazing livestock.

Having soil samples for your farm allows for easy allocation of fertiliser and slurry, and in order to get an accurate understanding of the soil fertility status, there should be samples from the last four years.

More information that has to be gathered is the amount of fertiliser and type that was carried into 2024 and what has been bought so far this year.

Finally, the amount of organic manures that have been imported into the farm in 2024 or planned to be imported must be noted.

Maximising efficiency

Although it might seem like another hindrance of a job to do, completing a fertiliser plan will give you guidance on where you stand, in terms of what fertiliser type and amount can be used in 2024.

It will allow you to plan ahead and be comfortable when spreading knowing your not exceeding limits, rather than finding out through an inspection that you have spread too much fertiliser.

Completing a fertiliser plan should be made a priority as you make decisions without the worry of exceeding limits, allow for maximum grass growth and apply suitable to your soil fertility status.

This means that you are maximising your output of fertiliser while minimising any wastage, as you are not spreading certain nutrients on paddocks that don’t lack or need them.

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For a lot of dairy farmers, first-cut silage is wrapped up and for the spring-calving herds, the fifth week of the breeding season is now coming to an end.

On a lot of farms, where they are breeding their own replacements, the cows should be served at this stage.

Calving down heifers late will mean the heifer will always be on the back foot and require a lot of time and cost to catch up with early calving heifers.

Where there is signs of heifers not coming into heat or any problem cows on the farm, scanning needs to take place to rectify what the issue is, so a decision can be made.

It is important to remember, when you are selecting beef AI or stock bulls, to use only easy calving and high dairy beef index (DBI) to see out your breeding season.

Cut-off point to the breeding season

Fertility performance in dairy herds over the last number of years has improved dramatically, thanks to the emphasis on EBI, improving dairy breeding as a whole.

Thanks to this, a compact calving at the start of the grass growing season is a frequent occurrence around the country.

In order to maintain this compact calving, and take full advantage of this improved breeding, a farmer needs to make the decision on when to finish the breeding season.

With a gestation length of 283 days, Teagasc has provided a guideline of expected calving dates based on the serve dates, and is provided in the table below:

Every farm is different, and the same scenario doesn’t suit all farms, however, most dairy farmers should aim on concluding their breeding season between 1 July and 15 July to have calving well wrapped up my mid-April.

The removal of late calvers, cows calving down early and ensuring a shorter calving interval will have a positive impact on farm profitability.

The knock-on affect of this is that your calf value will be increased as late calves will be valued lower and are associated with having more health problems.

Additionally, late calving cows won’t have a lot of time (~ four weeks) to recover before breeding next year, which will hinder their chances of going back in-calf.

Monitoring activity

Identifying cows in heat can be quite straight forward during the first round of breeding as a number of cows come into heat together meaning activity and mounting is frequent.

This activity takes a drastic drop-off as the second round of the breading season kick in, with an average of 40-50 mounts in the first round to 10-15 mounts during the second round.

As the cows are harder to identify and it might require too much time to be constantly monitoring the activity yourself, there are a few options to help with this as follows:

• Introduction of a teaser bull;
• Keeping tail paint topped up;
• Using bulls but continue to AI;
• Heat detection systems/collars.

If you plan on putting out the bull soon or have already done so, it is important not to forget how many cows a bull can serve to make sure every cow goes in calf.

Bull numbers

A mature stock bull should be able to cover about 30 cows within three weeks, which means the bull will be serving about 1.4 cows/day.

If there are a lot of repeats or more cows that are coming into heat in the next few weeks, the bull will more than likely be overworked. This can have a serious impact on your breeding season.

The number of bulls needed is going to vary throughout the breeding and Teagasc has provided a table showing the number of bulls needed in a 100 cow herd throughout breeding, as follows;

In the above scenario, artificial insemination (AI) is bring used in the first round with good results all round, meaning using three bulls will be enough.

Where there are days with loads of cow activity, you shouldn’t rely solely on the bulls and artificial insemination should be used in conjunction with the bulls.

Bulls should not be overworked and should get a day off every now and then, in order to keep them keen when running with the cows.

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Following the warm June bank holiday weekend, temperatures have dropped significantly, which has seen grass growth rates fall back on dairy farms around the country.

Met Éireann has predicted a cooler airflow to continue over the next seven days, which could see a stagnation in grass growth rates.

According to Pasturebase Ireland (PBI), grass growth has dropped in the last number of days, as the average dairy farm was growing 65kg of dry matter (DM)/ha last week with a demand of 57kg DM/ha.

PBI also identified that 40% of farms are now under 170kg DM/livestock unit (LU), which is not a crisis but something to be weary about.

Reacting to poor grass growth

In the scenario where pre-grazing yields start to drop below 1200kg DM/ha or if you are below 150kg Dm/ha, a few methods may be considered:

• Aim to hold your rotation at 21 days;
• Increase the grazing area, if possible;
• Feed extra meal in the parlour;
• Supplement with silage.

Some of these methods might not be possible for many farmers but at least one method should be a priority to rectify any grass shortage.

You will only be able to identify a grass shortage and keep a close eye on Average farm cover (AFC) , cover/LU and rotation length by walking the farm every five days during this cold period.

By walking the farm every five days, it will allow for quick rectification and mitigate the chances of your cow production levels falling.

The aim throughout this cold weather should be to try and maintain a cover/LU of 170-200kg DM/LU, as this will match demand in the coming days.

The advice from Teagasc is, that even though there may be a number of paddocks with poor grass quality, correcting all paddocks in a rotation should be avoided.

Even though this might correct grass quality in the next rotation, it might put your farm into an unnecessary grass deficit as it will drop grass growth rates by 20-30kg DM/ha.

Returning paddocks that were taken out for bales

It is important to get paddocks that were taken out for bales straight back into the next rotation to maintain a 21-day rotation at this time of the year.

When cows graze a paddock, they recycle a lot of the nutrients through their dung and urine, which means that only 40% of phosphorus (P) and 10% of potassium (K) is removed from the paddocks.

However, when a paddock is cut for silage, it will see the removal of 100% P and 100% K, meaning your nutrient application post-cutting will have to be more vigorous.

To prevent a poor return of grass in paddocks that have been cut for bales, there should be 2,000gal/ac of dilute slurry applied or one bag/ac of 0-7-30 for every three to four bales/ac that was produced to replace the offtakes.

During this colder spell, it is important to keep on top of your grassland management in order to intervene on time, to ultimately, keep your cows producing high levels of milk and to maintain energy intakes during the breeding season.

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As grass growth has taken off over the bank holiday weekend, a lot of farmers may be concerned about correcting grass quality in front of their cows.

Many farmers may find that their paddocks have a lot of stemmy grass and are wondering how to resolve this issue.

The important thing at this time of the year, is to maintain pre-grazing yields of 1,400kg DM/ha, however, this is not always possible.

The best practice when you begin to have too much grass ahead of the cows, is to take paddocks out of the rotation and cut them for baled silage, however, again, this is also not always possible.

If this is the case, you may need the contractor to come straight away in order to get the paddock into the next rotation, and during this time of year, contractors are not so readily available.

Pre-mowing is an option for the moment, as not every paddock can be mowed and baled.

Correcting grass quality – pre-mowing

Pre-mowing is where the grass in the paddock is mowed and then cows are allowed in to graze the mowed grass. This method is common practice in New Zealand.

This technique can be used on paddocks that have gone too strong or that have a large amount of stem present.

Pre-mowing is not all good, as it does have a number of drawbacks, including being an expensive method of managing grass and it also takes away the cows’ choice of what grass they eat.

Cows are selective grazers, meaning they will choose to eat the lush, high quality grass over the stemmy, low quality grass.

Taking away a cow’s freedom of choice, will more than likely hinder their milk production.

However, pre-mowing can also increase production, providing there is not an overload of stem in the paddock, as it will increase intakes as the grass is readily available to the cow.

This method works well if paddocks have gone too strong and you are looking to ensure that grass doesn’t run out.

However, if grass is plentiful on the farm and there is no fear of running out, mowing and baling the paddock is the ideal option.

Topping

Topping on the other hand, is where the paddock is cut down to 4cm, post-grazing, and will eliminate the amount of stem in the sward and ensure good quality grass for the next rotation.

It is a quick and effective way of correcting the grass quality, but, again, it is quite labour intensive and may have to be carried out more than once.

The fear is that it will affect the regrowth rate of the sward as if paddocks are not topped immediately after grazing, the pre-grazing cover of the next rotation may be affected.

Both options certainly result in improved grass quality for the next rotation, but both are associated with poor grass utilisation as grass is wasted in both cases.

It is no secret that the best way to correct grass quality on your farm is through mowing and baling strong paddocks, but unfortunately, this is not always an option and is dependent on the farm situation, so other options must be explored.

With this being said, good grassland management has to remain the focus, as achieving target residuals through grazing will save a lot of money and labour on your farm.

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Getting more farmers on board for milk recording and increasing the frequency of it is a key target for the dairy industry to help ensure milk quality and reduce herd somatic cell counts (SCCs).

A lot of milk processors have milk recording as an action that can be taken as part of their sustainability schemes, which has seen an increase in the number of herds recording their milk.

With selective dry cow therapy (SDCT) now a mandatory practice, having data and information on each cow is now more essential than ever.

The benefits of milk recording

Recording your milk can quite often be seen as a costly action (about €12/cow/year), and can disrupt the milking routine when time and labour may be short, but the benefits of it speak for them self.

The most obvious benefit of milk recording is being able to identify the best and worst performers.

This data can also be used to dictate which cows are being used to breed replacements from and to select which cows will be culled from the herd.

Regular recording will allow for constant tracking of SCC of each cow, will identify repeat offenders and could decrease your herds SCC and improve your milk price.

The farm summary after each recording highlights the areas of excellence in terms of mastitis control and the areas that can be improved.

It also adds up the daily loss occurring due to these high SCC cows, giving a clear indication of what can be gained financially from preventing infection.

By doing so, you can add value to surplus breeding stock being sold off farm and can increase its chances of being entered for artificial insemination (AI).

Cost effective pregnancy diagnosis is now possible through milk samples. This service can indicate whether or not a cow is in calf at a reasonable cost, without having to handle and scan cows.

Having the records also increases the compensation available for animals that have to be culled as a result of a positive bovine tuberculosis (TB) reaction.

It can also increase the herd’s productivity, thereby reducing the carbon footprint of every litre of milk.

A big advantage is the reduced antibiotic usage – you can pick the most appropriate cows for selective dry cow therapy (SDCT), without it affecting the cows performance.

Research

Research carried out by Tegasc and Animal Health Ireland (AHI), to understand the economic benefits of milk recording using yearly information from the Teagasc National Farm Survey showed the benefits of recording your milk.

Benefits outweighed costs – notably by helping farmers to breed healthier and more productive cows.

In comparison to farmers who did not milk record, farmers who did, achieved the following:

• Gross margin/cow was €39 larger;
• Milk yield/cow was 178L higher;
• Milk solids/cow were 29kg higher;
• Herd SCC/ml of milk was 13,000 cells lower.

If you are not already recording your milk, it is important to understand the benefits and the positive economic outcome that comes with it.

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With many farmers having cut their first-cut silage over the weekend or planning on cutting in the next number of days, the focus will turn to fertilising second cut silage as soon as possible.

A good second-cut silage crop is vital to build a good silage reserve for a potentially long winter ahead.

Teagasc research has shown that there is a high grass growth rate response to nitrogen (N), in second-cut silage.

N will push grass growth and yield, but, it is important to get N application right to drive the growth, while making sure you are only applying what is required.

To further maximise your crop, a balanced nutrient supply is vital, along with appropriate applications of phosphorus (P) and potassium (K).

Requirements for fertilising second cut

Your second-cut silage should be fertilised according to the crop yield potential.

The table below is a fertiliser requirement provided by Teagasc and is based on a grass dry matter (DM) yield of 2t of DM/ha to four t DM/ha, which is the equivalent to three bales/ac and 6.5 bales/ac.

N, P and K requirements for second cut:

Protected urea can also be used and can replace CAN as a N source and your cattle slurry should be spread in, ideally, damp and overcast conditions.

The value of this cattle slurry with a 7% DM, when using low emission slurry spreading (LESS), is six units of N, 5 units of P, and 32 units of K for every 1,000gal.

For second cut, it is also important to include sulphur (S) in your application, as it is linked to N uptake and N use efficiency (NUE) as the response to S increases with the rate of N applied.

Not applying S can have a negative impact on your silage quality as low protein silages is the result of a lack of S in the grass.

With all of this in mind, fertilising and slurry application should be done as soon as possible after first cut to try and have your second ready for mid to late July.

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Fly control around your cows during this time of the year is crucial in preventing cases of summer mastitis. Quite often, it affects the same farms every year, with certain fields being the source of the problem.

It is an acute disease of the non-lactating mammary gland and is mainly caused by the bacterium Trueperella pyogenes.

You will see frequent kicking as the number of flies increase and gather around the teat causing irritation to the animal.

Summer mastitis

The disease is a serious condition and can be fatal if it is not treated promptly. The first clinical signs can be stiffness when the animal is walking.

This form of mastitis is very severe and causes udder damage and high temperatures leading to abortion if in-calf. The udder will become swollen and painful.

When the infected quarter is stripped, it will be foul smelling. Further signs of illness include swelling of the hind legs, lethargy and separation from the herd.

The extract may appear to be clear with soft to cheese-like curds and as it becomes more severe, traces of blood may be found and the quarter may eventually burst.

Treatment

If the condition is not as advanced, the infected quarter should be treated with intramammary tubes and the cow should be placed on a course of antibiotics.

In more severe cases the cow should be placed on a course of anti-inflammatory drugs and in some cases, the vet will opt to amputate the teat to allow it to drain freely.

In all cases, the cows affected quarter should be frequently stripped out to reduce toxin build up and isolated from the group.

Prevention

As we know, prevention is always better than cure and there are a number of different methods that can be taken to prevent summer mastitis from occurring.

Using pour-on or other products to control flies near or around stock is important and these products should be used as instructed to ensure maximum effectiveness.

Fields that are well kept, with tight residuals and topping reduce habitat where flies can thrive in, therefore reducing the risk.

Also, it is important to avoid letting grazing cows and in-calf heifers in fields that have a history of summer mastitis, typically where there is marshy ground, near a river, or has large quantity of trees and hedges.

At drying-off, good hygiene is crucial as the last thing you want, is to introduce dirt or damage the teat canal. Using dry cow tubes for more susceptible heifers might be an option.

The use of teat sealers are essential to minimise the disease as the teat seal plugs the teat, preventing bacterial transfer from the environment and flies.

Using Stockholm tar around the teats and udder at least once a week will help prevent flies, but in order for it to be effective, it has to be applied regularly.

If their is heifers on the home block, there is an opportunity to start parlour training them and getting them used to the environment.

Prevention is crucial, especially around the drying-off period as most animals that are affected by summer mastitis end up losing a quarter, upsetting production.

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Research is still ongoing around the relatively new condition of summer scour syndrome, with many herds experiencing the condition in recent years.

The exact cause of summer scour is still unknown, however, there are a number of risk factors that are likely to cause the illness.

The disease is thought to be related to nutritional issues, such as the grass quality being offered to calves and an excessive intake of nitrogen (N), which leads to ammonia toxicity.

The rumen may be insufficiently developed to digest grass, as a calve’s grazing diet in the first year is a common denominator in all cases.

Summer scour syndrome

The condition sees calves experiencing dehydration, rapid weight loss, scour, lethargy, lack of rumination and weakness, which can ultimately, lead to death.

This can happen only a few weeks after turnout to grass, resulting in calves falling behind targets, which can be difficult to regain.

The disease often occurs when calves are grazing lush pastures with a high crude protein (CP) content (>20%) and a low fibre content (<40%).

If their rumen is not properly developed and they continue grazing the leafier parts of the grass which contain more nitrates and non-protein nitrogen (NPN), a large quantity of ammonia may build-up in the rumen.

Unstable pH is another knock-on effect of inadequate rumen development, which may lead to the calf getting summer scour.

Prevention

There needs to be a gradual weaning for calves, with an appropriate transition from milk to grass.

In order to allow for rapid rumen development, concentrates should be added to the diet within the first week of life.

At four-weeks-of-age, the gradual weaning should begin, and prior to milk being stripped from the diet completely, calves should be eating 1kg of concentrates/day.

Making any dietary changes should be avoided as it will only cause stress on the calf and take the animal longer to adjust.

As calves are unable to handle high quality grass, it may be better for them to have access to more fibre, as calves that are grazing on more fibrous grass rarely suffer from the disease.

A practical way of correcting the fibre deficit for your calves, is to introduce hay or straw into the diet while the calves are out at grass.

It is important to keep this hay or straw fresh and to keep it in their diet for the first number of months out at grass.

Strip grazing calves is another possible method to prevent the onset of summer scour as it will encourage them to graze both the leaf and the stem of the grass.

It is crucial in the first four to six weeks after turnout to grass, to closely monitor your calves for any evidence of scour and weight loss so you can detect the condition early and treat accordingly.

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A good milking routine is hugely important, particularly when it comes to milking efficiency and hygiene standards.

Cows are creatures of habit, so having every day similar to the previous and to the next is essential in order to have the cows at ease.

The benefits of a good milking routine are threefold:

• Maximum product quality;
• Safety for milker and cows;
• Efficient time spent milking.

Milking routine – preparation

It is important to make sure that the milking parlour is ready before the cows are gathered, as doing so will avoid causing any unnecessary stress on the cows waiting to be milked.

A clean milking apron should be used with disposable nitrile gloves to help stop the spread of mastitis during milking. Doing so will also protect against any zoonotic diseases, such as leptospirosis.

Preparing the cows before milking is crucial – clusters should be attached to clean, dry teats. Ideally, each quarter should should be stripped to check for mastitis and to stimulate milk let down.

Keep the pulse and milk tubes on the cow exit side when attaching the cluster, as doing so will allow for quick movement along the pit from one cluster to the other.

Post-milking routine

Manual cluster removal should happen when there is only a single stream of milk visible in the claw piece, in order to minimise the risk of over milking.

Avoid causing air blasts when removing – turn off the vacuum by kinking the milk tube or by using the button on the claw piece.

If you have automatic cluster removers (ACRs), ensure that they are in operating order.

Teat spraying or dipping should be done as soon as possible after cluster removal, ensuring at least 10-15ml of the spray is applied evenly, covering all the teats, from top to bottom.

Cow flow

Cow flow begins in the paddock or cubicle, to the collecting yard, through the parlour and back out to the paddock or cubicles.

Cow flow has a massive impact on milking efficiency and time spent in the parlour and is dictated by: cow roadways, facilities (collecting yard and parlour) and the milker.

Roadways need to be wide enough for the number of cows with a good surface. The table below outlines the width required for various her sizes:

As well as having the appropriate width, it is also important to make sure that there are no pinch points or restrictions along the roadway.

A farmer needs to ensure that the gathering yard can fit all of the herd (1.52m²/cow)

Where there is a backing gate in the gathering yard, ensure it is used solely to decrease the size of the gathering yard, rather than forcing cows into the parlour.

Washing down

Washing down should commence as soon as the last row of cows have left – having a standard operating procedure in place for both milking and washing down is essential in maintaining a clean, hygienic parlour.

It must not be forgotten that the milker is producing food and that the quality of this food is essential in sustaining and creating markets.

Milk quality and creating a safe environment for both milkers and cow is achieved through a good milking routine.

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Bull safety should always be a priority on farms, but particularly during this time of year – as we are now entering the fifth week of breeding season.

Many farmers will let the stock bull out in the coming days or weeks.

As bulls will be soon running with the cows it means that bull safety needs to be at the forefront of farmers’ minds as they can often be extremely dangerous animals.

Health and Safety Authority (HSA) figures show that bulls were involved in over 18% of livestock related deaths on Irish farms between 2010 and 2019.

Bulls must be treated with respect and caution even when they seem to have a good temper.

Bull safety

The risk of a bull attack occurring is at its highest during breeding season. There are a number of preventative measures that can be taken to prevent an attack from happening.

It is a legal requirements to put a ring in the bull’s nose when they are 10-months-old – when the bull is at pasture a chain is also recommended, so one can gain some sort of control if the bull was to attack.

It is important to carry a walking stick when walking through the fields with animals, keeping the bull in your sight at all times and never turning your back to him.

Using a vehicle when herding the cows is advisable as it will allow for a quick escape should the bull attack.

Unless in a vehicle, children should not be around the cows when there is a bull running with them as the bull can become territorial.

In most scenarios, as a bull matures, their temperament will change as they will move through stages of playful aggression as a yearling to defensive, territorial aggression as a two to three-year-old.

Although a bull should not be overfamiliar with people, keeping a safe distance at all times – a bull should be still familiar and associate with people through positive experiences like feeding.

Where the public have access to a field where a bull is present, a ‘beware of bull’ should be visible on the entrance gates.

Plan for emergencies

Bulls are protective of the herd and may decide that you are a threat, resulting in many bull attacks taking place in open fields during the main breeding season, according to the HSA.

In the unfortunate event of getting cornered by a bull, it is advised to spread your arms wide while facing the bull and trying to slowly move out of the bull’s proximity.

Turning around and trying to run away from the bull will only invite the bull to chase after you – are you faster than a bull?

When checking on the herd or in the field, a mobile phone should be kept on you so you can call if help is needed, someone should know where you are and a first aid should be kept on the farm.

It is important to remember that there is no such thing as a quiet bull and under no circumstances should second chances be given to any bull.

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Although we had a very wet spring, a number of farmers were still able to get their paddocks reseeded.

A spring reseed can produce as much, if not more grass in the year of reseeding as the old permanent pasture.

Reseeding paddocks will rejuvenate swards by increasing the dry matter (DM) production, allow for weed control and allow also for the introduction of clover into swards.

The concern of many farmers now, is getting paddocks back into the grazing rotation. Paddocks that were reseeded this spring must be closely monitored.

You cannot afford to get the management of these swards wrong, as it can have serious implications on the production capability of the reseed.

Grazing reseeded paddocks

The reseed should be grazed as soon as the new grass roots are strong enough to withstand grazing – this is tested through the ‘pull test’.

Grazing as soon as its fit will also allow for light to reach the base of the plant, which will encourage tillering and clover establishment.

The first grazing of your reseed can generally commence at a pre-grazing yield of 600 – 1,000kg dry matter (DM)/ha.

The first grazing should be done in dry conditions to avoid poaching the paddock. Cutting silage off this paddock should be avoided in the first year, as this will inhibit tillering of grass and clover.

Frequent grazing at low covers during the first year of establishment will allow for further tillering and will bulk up the sward.

Managing clover

The management of clover post-reseeding is essential, as allowing covers to get too high will shade out the clover seedlings.

The management of clover is similar to grass, except grazing should continue at low covers for the first five to six weeks post-sowing.

These paddocks should not be allowed to exceed covers of 1,000kg DM/ha for at least five to six grazings.

Spreading around 2,000 – 3,000 gal/ac of watery cattle slurry will aid in germination and seeding establishment post-sowing, as well as supplying nutrient for plant growth.

Applying chemical nitrogen (N) at the same rate for the first eight to 12 months after sowing is essential as the the clover will not uptake N until then.

Managing your reseeded paddocks is just as important as the timing and methods of reseeding and should not be overlooked.

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Good grazing infrastructure plays a vital role in grazing management on farms. As well as that, a well designed farm roadway and collecting yard can contribute to preventing lameness on your farm.

As the silage season is underway, the likelihood is that heavy machinery will be up and down these roadways, causing large stones to surface and the roadways to be neglected.

A single case of lameness could potentially cost €350 – from loss in production, to reduced fertility, to the cost of treating and culling.

At this time of the breeding season, it is crucial that roadways and collecting yards are kept in good condition, as lameness will affect fertility performance and milk production.

Lameness severely compromises cow welfare, and is quite often a common cause of culling animals from the herd.

Lameness affecting fertility

The pain associated with lameness has a direct impact on cows’ behaviour, as they will show less signs of oestrus – making it difficult to detect when a cow is in heat.

When a cow is lame, they will eat less, and have longer periods of negative energy balance, decreasing reproductive performance.

The knock-on affect of this is detrimental to your breeding plan – with lower submission rates, delayed ovarian cyclicity, reduced conception rates, increased calving interval and higher chance of ovarian cysts forming.

Lame cows will also be more prone to uterine infections after calving and have higher pregnancy losses.

Preventing lameness through roadways

The prevention and management of lameness in your herd starts off by maintaining the quality of the cow roadways.

In order for cows to be able to move at their own pace, stress-free and unpressurised, roadways need to be sufficiently wide enough for the number of cows in the herd – 120 cows require 5m width, with extra 0.5m for every 100 cows thereafter.

The road surface has to be kept in good order as it will help limit the cases of hoof trauma and white line damage.

A 3-5% fall for a camber or slope in the middle of the roadway to the edge is recommended to allow the water on the roadways to get away resulting in a comfortable surface for cows.

To reduce bottlenecks, the entrances into paddocks should be wider than the roadway. Avoid any distractions on roadways such as water troughs as they will upset cow flow.

Although it is sometimes impossible, the use of heavy machinery on roadways should be kept to a minimum. Where possible, the wire should be dropped at the top of the paddock for heavy machinery to access.

In the case of lame cows, if possible, keep them in a paddock close to the milking parlour, to minimise the walking distance and stress for the cows.

The collecting yard

Likewise, ensuring your collecting yard is well designed and properly maintained will play a key role in preventing lameness in your herd.

The entrance into your collecting yard should be as wide as the roadway leading into it, to avoid any cramming, damage or hoof trauma.

The collecting yard should be an appropriate size for your herd with the requirement being 1.5m_²/cow – sharp turns in the yard should also be avoided.

The surface of the yard needs to be non-abrasive but not slippery and should be constantly washed down, cleaning off any loose stones or slurry.

Cows should be calmly brought into the parlour, and if there is a backing gate in place, it should be used to gently push the cows into the parlour and not used to push them in.

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Peak water intake generally coincides with peak grazing periods. Cows should have easy access to water, particularly now that temperatures have increased over the past number of weeks.

During wet weather conditions, demand for water is not as high, as the dry matter (DM) content of the grass is lower. During drier spells, the DM of the grass is higher, meaning water intake will increase.

Peak water demands occur after evening milking, and to a lesser extent after morning milking – a trough space of 450mm/cow should be allowed.

In an ideal situation, the water trough should be located in the middle of the paddock in order for the cows to access water from all angles.

Milk is almost 90% water and cows drink 4-4.5L of water/kg of milk produced – daily drinking requirements vary but can be 60-140L/cow.

Making sure that cows have access to clean water is extremely important for the production, health and welfare of the cow, particularly during summer months.

Access to water

On an average day, a 150-cow herd could drink up to 10,000L (65L/cow) – the water system must be sufficient to ensure that this quantity of water is delivered to the paddock.

For your trough size, there should also be a reserve of water in your paddocks of about 9L/cow, which is the equivalent of 1,350L (300gal) for a 150-cow herd.

An appropriate size pipe will allow for a good flow rate. If a trough is empty after cows use it, it is likely that the flow of water is lower than the demand.

A wider pipe is often required to increase the amount of water that can flow through the system. For the main waterline, a 38-42mm internal diameter is required for a 150-cow herd.

In situations where the cows have a long walking distance, it may be useful to install a trough along a highly trafficked area.

However, you don’t want these troughs causing delays, so where possible, it is advisable to place these troughs in an area that can only be accessed after milking, or while cows are in the collecting yard.

Troughs should be regularly monitored to ensure they are in good working order and that they are not leaking- these checks should be done before and after grazing.

Troughs should be regularly cleaned out – remove any algae or foreign objects that are present in the water trough, as they can potentially reduce a cow’s water intake.

The key performance indicators should be:

• No queuing at water trough;
• Trough always filled after milking;
• No leakage;
• No cow tracks to water trough as it indicates a long walk to troughs;
• Water system drained over the winter.

The post Dairy advice: The importance of sufficient water intake appeared first on Agriland.ie.

With the June bank holiday weekend looking like it will deliver promising weather, it is crucial that you do not delay your first cut silage any further.

The focus for first cut silage should be ensuring it is of high quality. The earlier your cutting date, the more quality silage you will have.

When we talk about high quality silage, we always talk about the dry matter digestibility (DMD), as high DMD (>70%) will result in improved animal performance due to higher feeding values and increased intakes.

With seven month winters now becoming a reality in recent years, a lot of farmers fear that they won’t have enough silage for next winter.

However, if you have completed a fodder budget, you will know approximately how much silage is needed to get you through.

The aim should be to produce approximately eight tonne of silage per cow which equates to about 10 bales/cow, according to the head of dairy knowledge transfer, Dr. Joe Patton.

Dr. Patton warned that if you are concerned about meeting this demand, do not focus on bulking up your first cut silage, but try and solve your feed deficit problems by focusing on the second cut.

The impact of delaying your first cut silage

The cutting date has a huge impact on DMD and as your crop heads, DMD will be no higher than 70% and will continue dropping 1% every every two to three days until cut.

The following table is a guideline on grass silage DMD for different classes of dairy stock:

There is a clear indication that the DMD percentage decreases the later the harvest date, with the tonnage/DM/ha increasing as the harvest date is delayed.

With a lot of silage ground getting fertiliser later than usual and lower than normal growth rates in April and May, many may be tempted to delay cutting their silage even further to bulk up silage crops.

Having extra silage in the yard is better than running out, however, having low quality silage that the cows won’t eat, that has decreased the cow’s intakes could be part of the reason why there is silage left over, according to Dr. Joe Patton.

Concerns about nitrogen content

A real concern around silage cutting time is the nitrogen (N) content of the grass – grass uses approximately two units of N/day.

In practice, if you apply 100 units of N for first cut silage, the grass should use up the N in 50 days- depending on conditions, the N can be used up quicker.

However, Dr. Joe Patton has emphasised to not be waiting for N to go out of the grass, as he believes the two units rule is a fallacy that restricts farmers.

The head of dairy knowledge transfer said that the two unit rule should be “used as a guideline to put out the fertiliser, but it shouldn’t preclude you from cutting”.

Higher N will also lead to higher protein, so, if conditions allow, the grass should be cut straight away, left to wilt, and then picked up, according to Dr. Patton.

The post The importance of not delaying your first cut silage appeared first on Agriland.ie.

For many farmers, it has been a tiresome few weeks getting cows back into calf, which may result in an eagerness to let out the stock bull.

Many spring calving herds are now four weeks into the breeding season. Breeding has a vital role to play on dairy farms – not only for milk production, but also for improving the genetic merit of the herd.

To achieve genetic gain in the herd, the majority of dairy farmers are using artificial insemination (AI), but this does not mean that stock bulls do not have a role to play.

Stock bull

Getting the stock bull out at the right time is crucial. If let out too early, there is the possibility that there will be too many cows to be served.

A mature stock bull should be able to cover about 30 cows within three weeks, which means the bull will be serving about 1.4 cows/day.

If there are a lot of repeats or more cows that are coming into heat in the next few weeks, the bull will more than likely be overworked. This can have a serious impact on your breeding season.

It is a good idea to read back through your records to get an idea of the number of cows potentially in calf, although it may be difficult to get an exact number.

Breeding season

All dairy farmers should first calculate the number of replacement heifers they want, and then calculate the number of dairy AI straws needed to generate that number of replacements.

AI is going to play a key role in the breeding programme, with the use of sexed semen maximising the genetic merit in replacement heifers, while minimising low value dairy calves.

Once a farmer has done this, they can then use beef AI bulls and beef stock bulls to sire the remaining calves, in order to minimise the number of low value dairy calves.

Your stock bull should ideally be a beef breed, easy calving and short gestation, that is also genomically tested.

Many farmers will be letting out their stock bull in the coming weeks and whether it be a dairy ‘sweeper’ bull or a beef bred bull, the timing is essential to make sure you have bred your replacements.

The post When is it appropriate to let out the stock bull? appeared first on Agriland.ie.

The main concern for a lot of farmers around the country during the mid-season is grass quality, and whether or not they are feeding their cows correctly to optimise milk production.

This year’s unfavourable weather conditions has made grazing difficult, which has resulted in peak milk yield being affected on some farms.

Poor grass quality is the biggest risk to milk production in the mid-season, giving reason to make sure cows are grazing low covers throughout the summer months.

Focusing on grass quality

According to a Teagasc study, during the first 11 weeks post-calving, varying levels of nutrition affected both milk production of cows during the mid-season and throughout the entire lactation.

Head of Dairy Knowledge Transfer at Teagasc, Dr. Joe Patton said: “Just because you get a high peak, doesn’t guarantee you are set up for high milk production for the year.

“Conversely, if you got a lower peak that does not mean you can’t catch up in milk from this point forward and for the remainder of the year.”

Dr. Patton has warned farmers to not get worried about cows not reaching their peak, and to start focusing on grass quality over the next number of weeks in order to see a positive result in your milk yield.

“Don’t obsess about peak, obsess about grass quality,” he stressed.

Research

Teagasc research had highlighted why a cover of 1,400kg DM/ha was optimal for cow performance and health, regardless of the stocking rate.

The study showed that cows receiving no concentrates and grazing 1,400kg DM/ha covers produced 23.9kg of milk compared to cows grazing a cover of 2,000kg DM/ha and being supplemented 6kg/head/day producing 23.7kg of milk.

These covers were compared again, this time receiving 2kg/head/day of concentrate on each. The cows grazing 1,400kg DM/ha covers had an intake of 16.2kg of grass and produced 26.2kg of milk.

The cows grazing the cover of 2,000kg DM/ha had a grass intake of 14.5kg and the cows produced 19.7kg of milk.

This study has clearly shown the results in milk production when cows graze optimal covers, where there is a focus on quality over quantity.

During the Teagasc webinar, Dr. Patton explained why a cover of 1,400kg DM/ha and a couple of kilograms of concentrates is often referred to:

“It’s the best balance of cow performance, cow health and managing to maximise the grass utilised out of the paddock.”

With that being said, carrying a higher stocking rate does not mean you have to increase you pre-grazing yield above 1,400kg DM/ha.

Having a higher stocking rate means you should reduce the grass allowance per cow and supplement the difference, according to the head of Dairy Knowledge Transfer.

He stated that: “If you run out of grass, it’s not the pre-grazing cover; it’s a mismatch between grass growth rate and your stocking rate.”

The post Dr. Joe Patton on how grass quality will drive milk solids appeared first on Agriland.ie.

With breeding and silage season in full swing, it can be easy to forget about the maintenance of your milking parlour and to change your liners.

The milk liner is the only part of the milking machine that comes into direct contact with the cow, so the condition of the liner is vital for mastitis control and milking efficiency.

They are expected to last for 2,000 milkings or at least every six months, and should be changed whichever one comes first.

When changing liners, you should ensure that they are installed correctly – failure to do so will result in cows not being milked properly, as the liner might be pay pinch the teat and cause the cow discomfort.

This might also be a good time to fix any other problems that you may have in your parlour – milk line or pulsation tubes should be checked to ensure they are not frayed or damaged.

How to calculate

In order to work out how frequently your liners need to be changed, you will need to know the number of cows milking, the number of units the milking parlour is, and the number of milkings/day.

The following calculation can be used to work out the number of days between linear changes:

For instance, if you are milking 140 cows in a 16-unit milking parlour twice a day, liners should be changed every 115 days.

This means that the liners in this parlour need to be changed at least twice a year in a spring calving herd with a two-month dry period.

If this herd started calving at the start of February, liners will have to be changed in the coming few weeks.

Why change your liners?

Over time, worn liners reduce milking performance, slow down the milking process – which can increase teat end damage and the spread of mastitis-causing bacteria.

As liners wear down, they lose their elasticity and become collapsed, and take longer to open, but will close early as they will collapse under vacuum.

Bacteria can build inside the liner where small cracks form. This roughness can tear the skin of the teat and can be difficult to clean and disinfect.

Changing liners will also reduce the risk of high levels of thermoduric bacteria in your milk as thermoduric will survive in perished rubber.

The post Milking parlour: Is it time to change your liners? appeared first on Agriland.ie.

The majority of cows will have received their first service, meaning the focus should now be on maintaining pregnancy rates.

At this stage of breeding, there will likely be a number of repeats in cows, however, the number of repeats should be kept to a minimum and should become less frequent as the weeks go on.

The next concern, is embryo loss. In order to prevent this, good management practices post-breeding need to be implemented.

Breeding

Over the last number of years, the breeding plan has changed on a lot of dairy farms, with a lot more beef sires being used than dairy sires.

The cows and heifers with the best genetics are being selected to produce replacement heifers, meaning fewer cows are carrying replacement stock.

With fewer replacements being bred, embryo loss prevention should be prioritised.

It can be next to impossible to completely eliminate embryo losses, however, it is possible to reduce the number of potential losses.

Maintaining pregnancy rates

The number one prevention to embryo loss in cows and heifers can be attributed to a high level of good nutrition in early pregnancy.

Research from Teagasc confirmed that keeping the diet at the same rate, or even increasing the level of nutrition, resulted in high embryo survival.

The research also showed that when the level of energy intake decreased slightly after breeding, it severely reduced embryo survival rates.

Therefore, to improve pregnancy rates, maintaining dry matter (DM) intakes at the early stages of the pregnancy period is crucial.

Avoid placing any stress or any unnecessary disturbance on cows and heifers during the early stages of pregnancy, as it will also negatively impact embryo survival.

The first few weeks may have been stressful with very little grass growth, and this may have put stress on the cows.

However, grass growth and grazing conditions have improved over the last couple of weeks meaning the concern over intake should be over.

Sudden grass shortages should be avoided and if you do run short, extra meal or silage will have to be supplemented to make sure that their diet and energy intake is constant.

The post Maintaining pregnancy rates this breeding season appeared first on Agriland.ie.

Since the weather has improved, any farmer that did not have calves out already, has been able to get them out over the last week or two, and now, heifer calf targets must be considered.

Post-weaning, a lot of the hard work is done, however, it is still important to closely monitor their growth performance and manage their grazing.

Rotational grazing in a leader/follower system is optimal, with calves grazing ahead of yearlings.

However, this is not always possible. Calves are selective grazers, so, ideally, fresh grass should be available to them.

As well as that, calves should not be left in the same paddock for long periods of time.

Rotate calves on a regular basis to ensure fresh grass ahead of them. Early spring calves should be off milk and on a diet that consists of grass and concentrates.

Achieving heifer calf targets

Calves should be grouped on size, and in the case where a calf falls behind, the calf should be moved to a more suitable group.

Calves should be weighed on a regular basis in order to ensure that their growth targets are being achieved.

Having individual weights for each calf is important. Avoid focusing on the average weight of the group, as it may hide a number of calves that have fallen behind.

The main targets for heifers are:

• 30% of their mature body weight by six-months-of-age;
• 60% of their mature body weight at bulling (15 months);
• 90% of their mature bodyweight when they first calf at 24 months.

The mature weight of a calf can be determined by its maintenance figure within the economic breeding index (EBI).

Monitoring health

Poor fertility in replacement heifers often occurs when heifers are underweight at mating start date, but this can be easily avoided if weight and weight gain of the heifers is regularly monitored.

By regularly monitoring weight performance, you will be able to pick up on any calves that are sick or behind.

Identifying calves that need treatment on time will allow them be on target and keep up with the rest of the group.

This will also allow you to be able to monitor any health issues and pick up on cases of summer scour or coccidiosis, before they turn into a major problem.

A good worming programme should also be considered during the summer months.

The post The importance of meeting heifer calf targets appeared first on Agriland.ie.

Although the autumn calving season is still a number of months away, assessing body condition score (BCS) and identifying which cows are suitable for selective dry cow therapy (SDCT) allows for future planning and easy management.

Typically, the majority of autumn calving cows are likely to calf in October in order to meet their liquid milk requirements.

The first of the autumn calving cows start calving late August and early September.

With this in mind, it is important to start assessing BCS now, as doing so will give you an opportunity to identify cows in poor condition that need extra care.

Assessing BCS

Having the correct BCS before drying-off is crucial for a cow to have an easy calving and a successful lactation.

Assessing BCS can lead to trouble-free calving, good conception rates, reduced culling and better milk solids production.

Running cows through a crush now will allow for the identification of cows that are not at an adequate BCS before drying off.

The target BCS for cows at calving is 3.25, with an acceptable range of 0.25 units above or below.

The general rule of thumb is that every condition score (~50kg) below target at calving, results in the cow milking 450L less during the next lactation and leads to reduced fertility.

There is also the fear that cows have too much condition at calving (>3.5) – this can lead to metabolic diseases such as ketosis or milk fever.

Given that farmers are still a number of months away from drying off, if a cow has a BCS that is too low or too high, it gives farmers plenty time to correct the condition score of your cows.

Selecting for SDCT

Farmers should start to choose which cows could potentially be selected for SDCT.

Starting to select for SDCT now, will allow you to monitor the cow’s performance in the last few months of lactation, assisting you in choosing which cows are suitable and which cows are not.

SDCT is now compulsory, so in order to avoid any issues, you should consult with your vet and milk quality advisor to determine what the threshold should be for your herd.

If cows are not properly selected for SDCT, there is a high risk of the cows getting mastitis.

If cows are properly selected for SDCT, it will reduce your costs, promote responsible antimicrobial use, and potentially reduce stress over withdrawals post calving.

The post Autumn calving: Assessing BCS and selecting for SDCT appeared first on Agriland.ie.

Keeping high quality grass in front of cows is essential in order to maintain quality milk production.

During the spring of this year (2024), it had been very difficult to achieve good residuals, with many paddocks being poached or left with an excessive amount of grass.

This resulted in the quality of the following rotation being negatively affected.

During the summer months of the year, grass quality can easily decrease if managed poorly.

If not managed accordingly, you could potentially be left with a large proportion of stem that will not be grazed out properly.

Grass growth has surpassed demand, with there being an average growth rate around the country of 76kg dry matter (DM)/ha/day, and a demand of 58kg DM/ha/day.

Controlling

As growth rates continue to improve, it is important to closely monitor your grass and make changes in your grazing rotation when required.

Grass walks should take place frequently during peak months. Walking the fields twice a week at this time of year will allow for rapid intervention and management.

Without regular monitoring of grass, covers can quickly get out of hand. Walking your grass twice a week will allow for the best decisions to be made with the most up-to-date information.

Grass quality

As grass gets ahead of cows, it is time to start shortening your rotation length to make sure cows are going into appropriate covers.

Entering paddocks with high covers will only result in poor residuals, which is a waste of grass and time.

Identifying paddocks that are too strong is crucial – these paddocks need to be mowed and baled.

Trying to graze heavier cover paddocks will only result in poor residuals and they will need to be topped afterwards.

It is essential that you act quickly on these surplus covers in order to have the paddock available for the next rotation.

Paddocks where quality has dropped can also be identified, for instance, when you have a large amount of dung pads and stem.

In cases where residuals are poor, and where a lot of stem and old grass is left in a paddock, topping post-grazing will ensure better quality grass for the next rotation.

You should ensure your topper is set to cut down to 4cm.

Topping is not as ideal as taking out paddocks for bales, as you still waste grass.

The post Maintaining high quality grass as growth rates continue appeared first on Agriland.ie.

Now that we are three weeks into the breeding season, it is important to assess whether you have reached your targets.

The three-week submission rate target is 90% for cows and 100% for heifers, which is crucial in order to achieve a six-week calving rate of 90%.

Achieving a high three-week submission rate is a critical driver of fertility performance in spring-calving systems.

Breeding

If 90% of your herd has been submitted for mating at this point, the reality is, that a number of cows will not hold to first service.

Only 55-60% first-service conception rates are likely to be obtained from the 90% that were submitted for mating, meaning in a 100-cow herd where 90 cows have been submitted, 50-55 of these cows should be in calf.

Although a 90% three-week submission rate is optimal, it still means that 45-50 cows have to go in calf.

In order to get every cow in calf in a short space of time, a farmer must start to identify non-cycling cows, and reduce the number of repeats as much as possible.

If you are using tail paint, switch to a new colour paint after cows have been inseminated to allow for easy identification, and to get an understanding of how your submission rates are progressing.

Non-cycling cows

On every farm, there will be a proportion of cows that are not displaying any behavioural heat at the start of the breeding season.

The return to normal cyclic behaviour usually occurs by 30-35 days after giving birth. The first heat is often silent and the first cycle after that is a short eight to 12 days.

Normally, cows would show behavioural heat 38-47 days after calving.

If it goes beyond 60 days, the cow may have inactive ovaries – also known as true anoestrus.

Suboestrus is when a cow may be cycling normally, but displays weak or silent heats. Identifying these cows over the next number of days is crucial to determine which cows will remain in the herd.

It is also important to monitor any cows that are repeating, so you can make sure they are picked up and served again.

If cows come back into heat, their first service did not hold, and if they did not come back into heat after first service, they are possibly in calf.

The post Breeding season: Meeting targets three weeks in appeared first on Agriland.ie.

As silage season kicks off, farmers and contractors are being urged to be aware of the dangers and to take the necessary safety precautions that surround this busy period.

The delayed farm tasks due to the challenging weather is now putting pressure on many farmers and contractors as silage season commences, according to the latest Teagasc advice.

Teagasc health and safety specialists, Francis Bligh and John McNamara have stated that it is “important” to have conservations with your contractor about the work that has to be done.

Long working hours entailed due to silage season can cause driver fatigue which can impact a person’s ability to safely manage their machine.

Family members that are not directly involved in the task should be kept away from the harvest, especially children. The farmyard should be a ‘no go’ area for children during this time.

The Teagasc advisors stated that machines must be properly maintained and be appropriate to the task. Brake lines, hydraulic hoses and hitching equipment must be checked regularly.

Fire is a “real and present” danger during silage season and it is vital to make sure fire extinguishers are present, checked and refilled regularly.

The Road Safety Authority (RSA) has the following tips for drivers of agricultural vehicles at harvest time:

• To wash down wheels regularly to avoid carrying mud and stones onto the public road;
• To be particularly careful when transporting materials so that it does not spill on the road and pose a road safety risk;
• Not to load overload trailers so as to cause them to be unstable on the road;
• To look out for low bridges, overhanging trees, overhead cables and uneven road surfaces which could cause the load to shift and possibly overturn;
• The driving mirror must provide an adequate view of the road to the rear and all agricultural vehicles must have proper working brakes on both tractor and trailer units. They also must be fitted with lights, reflectors and indicators;
• That large farming vehicles should consider using an escort vehicle to warn other road users;
• To ensure that tractors are driven at an appropriate speed for the road conditions.

Once silage harvesting is complete, the silage is stored in a pit or as round bales. According to Teagasc advisors, it is best to store bales one high on their flat ends.

If the bales must be stacked, the “safest” stacking method is on their curved sides in a pyramid stack. The maximum height of the stack should be three bales high.

The height of a silage pit “should not exceed” 6m and the sides must be finished at an angle no greater than 45°C.

The Teagasc health and safety specialists added that the height of the silage being rolled should never be more than double the height of the retaining walls and that sighting rails should be maintained along silage walls.

A person “must never go underneath” the polythene, as the fermentation of silage takes place “rapidly” and oxygen depletion occurs which could cause asphyxiation.

The post Farm safety should be a priority this silage season appeared first on Agriland.ie.

As first-cut silage is being harvested and stored on many farms across the country, it is time to ask yourself whether the way you stack your silage bales is the correct method.

This week Teagasc is advising farmers to bear in mind conditionality rules under the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) when stacking silage bales.

The rules relating to stacking silage bales are contained within Statutory Management Requirement 2 (SMR 2) Protection of Waters Against Pollution caused by Nitrates and came into force in 2023.

Conditionality relates to the climate and the environment, public health, animal health and plant health, and animal welfare.

Stacking silage bales

The rules dictate that silage bales cannot be stacked more than two bales high or stored within 20m of a surface water or water abstraction point unless there are storage facilities in place to collect any potential effluent.

Teagasc is advising that this rule also applies to the storage of haylage bales, while farmers making low dry matter (DM) bales of silage, without appropriate storage facilities, should assess whether stacking two high is appropriate.

The regulations also include information in relation to the handling of silage effluent. Such facilities will be required where bales are stacked more than two high or when silage is stored in a pit, according to Teagasc.

The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) has stated that effluent produced from ensiled forage must be collected and stored, and all organic fertiliser storage facilities must be fit for purpose and free from structural defects.

Farmers are also required to collect and manage all organic fertilisers (including silage effluent) in a way that will prevent run-off or seepage, directly or indirectly, into groundwaters or surface waters.

This has to be carried out prior to spreading it on land.

Inspections

If a farm is selected for an inspection, as part of either conditionality or the nitrates derogation, inspectors will complete measures and checks to ensure storage facilities are ‘fit for purpose’.

Teagasc said the inspectors will also check to see how silage bales are stored. If they find any non-compliance with the rules, farmers may face a penalty on their direct payments.

All nitrates records must be provided should an inspector request them such as an estimate of how much fertiliser is needed for the year, records of livestock manure and organic fertiliser moved onto or off the holding or the facilities a farmers has for storing livestock manure and effluent from manure or silage pits.

The post Advice: Do you know the rules for stacking silage bales? appeared first on Agriland.ie.

The latest Milk Price Tracker – brought to you by Agriland and the Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers’ Association (ICMSA) – details milk prices from the most significant Irish dairy co-ops for the month of March.

The co-ops within the Milk Price Tracker are ranked from highest to lowest price for base milk price only.

It is important to note that the cent-per-litre (c/L) milk prices shown in the table below – are calculated using the widely accepted milk-pricing system.

The conversion factor used is 1.03, meaning 1L of milk corresponds to 1.03kg of milk.

It is Agriland and ICMSA policy not to include support payments, bonuses or additional payments in the calculation of the base milk price.

Milk Price Tracker

Lakeland Dairies leads the tracker for March with a base price of 41.40c/L, with Strathroy in second place with a base price of 41.26c/L.

Arrabawn is bottom of the table with a base price of 38.73c/L. The most significant movement seen this month saw Dairygold drop from the top half of the table to third from bottom for March.

The milk prices in the table are those quoted by co-ops for the month of March (2024).

March bonuses and penalties

Further details of bonuses and penalties for March’s Milk Price Tracker can be found by clicking here.

With regards to the Milk Price Tracker above, please see the following explanatory notes  (all bonus and penalty payments are based on manufacturing milk).

Unconditional bonuses

• Arrabawn is paying a 2.86c/L (excl. VAT) winter bonus payment of which applies to all milk volumes supplied during March that meet quality criteria;
• Aurivo is paying a 2c/l (excl. VAT) weather support on all milk supplied in March;
• Centenary is paying a 2.8c/L (excl. VAT) weather support payment to all milk volumes supplied during March;
• Boherbue is paying a 1.909c/L (excl. VAT) on all milk supplied in March;
• Carbery is paying a 4.75c/L (excl. VAT) weather/hardship payment on all milk in March;
• Carbery co-ops are paying a 0.952c/L (excl. VAT) payment from the stability fund. This is included in the protein and butterfat prices;
• Dairygold is paying a 1c/L (incl. VAT) early calving bonus for March;
• Dairygold has a 1.9c/L (excl. VAT) weather/fodder relief payment to all milk volumes supplied during March;
• Kerry is paying 1.909c/L (excl. VAT) milk contract payment on March milk. This is included in the protein and butterfat prices;
• Lakeland is paying a 0.9c/L (excl. VAT) input support payment on all milk supplied in March;
• Tipperary is paying a 2c/L (excl. VAT) input support payment on all milk supplied in March;
• Tirlán is paying a 2.8c/L (excl. VAT) weather support payment on milk volumes supplied during March.

Conditional bonuses

• Arrabawn paid a 0.2c/L (excl. VAT) bonus on all milk with a somatic cell count (SCC) fewer than 200,000 cells/ml;
• Aurivo is paying a 0.5c/L (excl. VAT) future milk sustainability bonus;
• Aurivo has a 0.21c/L (excl. VAT) protein bonus available for every 0.05% protein achieved, above the co-op average protein percentage in an individual month;
• Carbery Group paid a bonus of 0.5c/L (excl. VAT) from March to October and a 0.88c/L (excl. VAT) bonus from November to February to suppliers who achieved an SCC of less than 200,000 cells/ml;
• In September 2022, Carbery began to pay out a sustainability bonus of 0.5c/L to farmers who have committed to Carbery’s FutureProof programme. The is 1c/L for 2024 and is paid on all milk supplied by farmers who have signed a sustainability pledge and complete three actions;
• Dairygold has a maximum bonus attainable by farmers who achieve the minimum requirements for six criteria (TBC, thermoduric, sediment, SCC, lactose and inhibitors). This cumulatively amounts to 0.4c/L (excl. VAT);
• Dairygold has a 0.75c/L Grassroots Sustainability Bonus payment for water quality, protected urea, soil health, education, milk recording, herd health and Sustainable Dairy Assurance Scheme (SDAS);
• Kerry pays 0.4c/L (excl. VAT) bonus on all milk with an SCC less than 200,000 and 0.1c/L (excl. VAT) for SDAS;
• Lakeland is paying a 0.47c/L (excl. VAT) milk sustainability bonus;
• North Cork pays a 0.2c/L (excl. VAT) bonus on all milk with an SCC of less than 200,000;
• North Cork pays 0.135c/L (excl. VAT) bonus if four milk recordings are carried out in the year, it will be paid the following January;
• Strathroy paid a 0.25c/L (excl. VAT) bonus on all milk with an SCC of less than 200,000cells/ml;
• Strathroy also pays 0.25c/L (excl. VAT) bonus on all milk with an TBC of less than 10,000cells/ml;
• Tipperary pays a bonus of 0.25c/L (excl. VAT) on all milk with an SCC less than 250,000cells/ml;
• Tirlán is paying a sustainability action payment of 0.47c/L (excl. VAT) for March.

The post Milk Price Tracker: How did the rankings change in March? appeared first on Agriland.ie.

Farmers harvesting first-cut silage are being warned of “possible fermentation issues” and urged to take preventative action to reduce further losses following one of the “wettest winters on record”. 

Grass harvested in wet conditions risks lowering the silage pH and increasing the acidosis risk in cows, according to EnviroSystems’ managing director, Liz Russell.

Where early cuts are taken, there is also the danger of some slurry residues remaining on the grass, leading to undesired butyric acid fermentation, which could impair the silage quality.

Russell said that farmers should analyse their grass pre-cutting to get an idea of when to cut and what quality they could be looking at.

If the grass is wet, it may buffer the acid produced, which means it can take longer for the pH to lower to stop microbial breakdown, affecting the quality of the silage.

The managing director added:

“With the weather so changeable and forage in short supply, it may be a case for some farmers trying to harvest first cut in less than ideal conditions, which could further impact fermentation in the clamp.”

She said that there is “clear advantages” to getting the grass off early, in terms of the ability to get an earlier second cut, however, there is a risk that this silage could have a lower dry matter (DM).

Russell suggested that silage additives can help speed up the fermentation process and help to reduce nutrient and dry matter loss, but it is “important” to choose the right one.

Dairy farmer from Cumbria, Martin Wannop, said when it comes to silage, his “biggest worry” has always been rain and water, as he would often pull back the sheet to discover mould.

Safety during silage season

The Health and Safety Executive for Northern Ireland (HSENI) is reminding farmers and contractors to take extra care during the silage season.

It can be a dangerous time, as tractors are drawing large amounts of silage from the fields back to the farmyard, which can result in small country roads being unexpectedly busy.

The HSENI reminded farmers of the following:

• Contractors must not allow children to ride in tractor cabs or the cabs of self-propelled harvesters;
• Young children should not be allowed to play around the farmyard or fields when silage is being made;
• Only competent drivers should be allowed to operate machinery during the silage season and the carrying of passengers should be avoided;
• Employers must also make sure they have undertaken a specific risk assessment for any young persons under the age of 18 who are working for them, which takes into consideration their experience, maturity and awareness of risks;
• All tractors and any other equipment being used at silage time needs to be properly maintained and kept in good condition.

The HSENI stated that all guards must be in place on all equipment and in particular Power Take Off (PTO) shafts must be properly guarded.

Other factors include fatigue, poor weather, inexperienced operators and difficult ground conditions, which can increase the chance of an incident occurring.

The post Actions to take to reduce silage loss after ‘wettest winter’ appeared first on Agriland.ie.

Dairy farmer across the country have seen much of their fodder stock depleted as a result of consistent rain since last summer, which has resulted in animals being housed for longer.

According to Teagasc, completing a fodder budget is an effective tool in quantifying the fodder requirements of your farm.

Stephen O’Callaghan, Walsh Scholar, Teagasc said that the challenge is to make enough silage for stock for winter 2024 while also trying to build up a reserve again.

Fodder requirement

Teagasc has advised that a simple approach is to estimate the length of the period for which silage will be required.

O’Callaghan explained that depending on your location in the county, planning for a five-month winter is advisable.

The table below is an example of the amount of silage required.

Farmers should also aim to have an extra months’ worth of feed in reserve for periods of challenging weather.

What is the quality of the silage?

The quality of silage made on farm will have a big impact on animal performance. According to Teagasc, the target dry matter digestibility (DMD) for dry cows is 68-70%, which is suitable for moderate body condition gain over the dry period.

“Silage fed to milking or growing stock must be good quality 73-78% DMD to support production and growth,” O’Callaghan stated.

Some farmers may think that they will delay their first-cut to bulk up and fill the pits. However, Teagasc explained that delaying first-cut will lead to a reduction in overall silage yield, as it will lead to a substantial reduction in second-cut yields.

Delaying cutting date will also have an effect on silage quality, as a one-week delay in cutting can cause a drop of 3-5% in DMD of silage.

Silage pit

Silage pits should be measured (length x width x average settled height) in meters to calculate the volume of silage. This number can then be divided by 1.35 to get the amount in tonnes.

To convert bales to the equivalent of tonnes of silage, multiply the number of bales by 0.9.

The estimated feed in the pit will vary due to dry matter; drier silage will have less weight per m³ but will have a higher feeding value due to reduced water content, according to the Walsh Scholar.

Fodder deficit

If after compiling a fodder budget, you realise you are or will be in deficit, purchasing additional forage is an option to make up the difference.

It is important to be wary of variable silage quality when purchasing.

Hay or straw availability may be an issue this year and you are advised not to rely on securing maize in the backend as a lot of these crops are contract grown.

Teagasc has advised that purchasing standing crops of silage may be an option this summer.

Another option is reducing winter requirements by selling surplus stock, poor-performing cows and animals.

Culling poor-performing cows now will reduce mid-season demand and will allow you to conserve more forage on-farm.

Farmers are reminded that is important to plan ahead and remember that “decisions made in the next few weeks will have a big impact on silage quantity and quality next winter”.

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Dairy suckler farmers and practising vets should not rule out the possibility of Johne’s disease impacting on weanling cattle that are scouring and losing weight over a consistent period of time.

This follows the confirmation by Agri-Food and Biosciences’ Institute (AFBI) veterinarians of Johne’s in a seven-month-old Friesian heifer, who was recently submitted for post-mortem analysis.

According to the history provided, there were also several other calves on the farm with similar clinical signs.

The disease is caused by a bacterium, which is similar to that responsible for bovine tuberculosis. Johne’s is normally associated with older cattle, but not always.

AFBI’s head of Disease Surveillance and Investigation branch, Dr. Barry McInerney, said:

“In the case of the young animal submitted to us, the disease was confirmed on the back of the pathology work that was undertaken. This included a histological examination of tissues taken from the animal.

“It’s a process that takes a number of days to complete. The calf might have contacted the disease through its mother’s milk or by ingesting contaminated dung.”

“Johne’s is a very complex health condition, both to confirm and to manage. It is one of five main endemic diseases that are in Northern Ireland, having a severe economic and welfare-related impact on the local cattle industry.

“The others are: Bovine viral diarrhoea (BVD), leptospirosis, infectious bovine rhinotracheitis (IBR) and neosporosis.”

Johne’s disease

According to the AFBI veterinarian, Johne’s can be confirmed by way of a blood test. Alternative options are dung and bulk milk tank testing.

The latter option simply helps to identify the presence of the disease at farm level.

Minimising the spread of the disease centres on the prevention of stock from coming into contact with contaminated milk and dung.

Johne’s infection develops slowly and the signs of disease vary depending upon the stage of infection, but begins with reduced productivity, followed by weight loss, scour and ultimately, emaciation and death.

Signs of Johne’s are typically seen in animals that are between three and five-years-old. But, they can occasionally be seen in animals that are younger than two-years-of-age.

As the animal gets older, the signs become more obvious. An infected animal may also have increased susceptibility to other disease before the obvious signs occur.

There is no effective treatment or vaccination for Johne’s disease.

Infection can contribute to reduced milk yield and increased susceptibility to other conditions, such as infertility, even before the more obvious signs of disease appear.

Infected cattle may be culled due to poor productivity before a diagnosis of Johne’s disease. Therefore, Johne’s disease can be an unrecognised cause of excessively high cull rates.

Barry McInerney pointed out that AFBI’s Cattle Health Scheme provides a pathway to manage and control Johne’s at farm level.

In Northern Ireland, there is a voluntary, industry led control programme managed by Animal Health and Welfare NI.

Due to the young age of the weanling submitted to AFBI, Johne’s was not high on the initial list of differential diagnoses. It was only through submission for post-mortem examination that the disease was confirmed.

This demonstrates that Johne’s must be kept in mind as a differential weanling calves of this age, especially if there is a known history of the disease on the farm.

McInerney concluded: “This case demonstrates the value of submitting animals to AFBI for post-mortem.

“The diagnosis of disease and surveillance for other potential diseases, not only has value at farm level but also added value for the wider livestock sector.”

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With milk supply down on many farms, dairy farmers must focus on maintaining good cow performance over the next couple of months, according to dairy specialist for Teagasc, Martina Gormley.

Recently released data from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) have showed a decline in both the volume of milk and its contained protein delivered to processors and co-ops over the month of March.

The decline in milk volumes and its protein component may be a result of “challenging grazing conditions” on farms, over the month of March.

Heavy rain and water logged soils resulted in many dairy cows being retained indoors for longer on silage and concentrate diets, reducing the opportunities to graze spring grass.

The dairy specialist has suggested two options to help maintain good cow performance.

Option one:

• 40ha milking block/120 cows = three livestock units (lu)/ha;
• At an allocation of 20kg/DM of grass/cow, that’s a demand of 60kg/ha;
• For 60kg demand/ha, most dairy farms would be comfortable and have opportunities to take out surplus bales as required.

Option two:

• Short on silage and decide to close up a 8ha on milking block for silage and reseed 2ha;
• 30ha/120 cows= 4lu/ha;
• At an allocation of 20kg/DM of grass/cow = 80kg/ha of a demand.

The Teagasc advice stated that very few farmers will achieve to grow 80kg+ for May/June/July, which often means farmers will run into grass quality/quantity issues.

This means that cows will not have good performance due to more fibre in the sward. The cows “will not milk well” if the growth rates are not at 80kg/ha consistently.

She suggested that reducing the area closed to around 5ha would be a safer option.

Gormley said that the main disadvantage in option one is that farmers might have to call on a contractor a few times over the summer for a lower number of bales.

According to dairy specialist, some farmers are working around this challenge by mowing the paddocks themselves and making more than 30 bales at a time.

She added that if this will not work for your farm, then a comprise is to reduce the closed up area to 5ha, which will leave stocking rate at 3.4lu/ha and demand at 68kg/ha.

Gormley advised that the main priority on the milking block should be that the cow is fed well with good quality grass for as long as possible.

The Teagasc advice stated that a fodder budget should be completed to work out if there is a deficit, when silage from out-farms are taken into account and a plan should be put in place to reduce deficit.

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As the busy spring period moves towards the busy summer period, now is a good time to assess the farm’s financial situation and what cashflow currently looks like on your enterprise.

Teagasc dairy specialist, Patrick Gowing has provided some guidance on what farmers should do in terms of assessing cashflow.

As a result of challenging weather conditions. the last few months have been about doing the best farmers could with the conditions in front of them and generally this meant increased feeding with lower milk yield than expected.

According to Teagasc, this has put a strain on the cash position of most farms especially as 2023 was a below average year for profitability as well.

Where to start

Beginning an analysis of cashflow for a dairy farm enterprise entails seeing what cash is available on hand, what is owed to the farmer, e.g., in a milk cheque or stock sales.

Once that has been determined, the farm owner needs to add all the money that he/she currently owes such as on an overdraft, merchant credit, or bank payments. This will gives a starting point on the cash position of the farm.

It can be a challenge to establish how a farm enterprise will be able to pay back the money and when farmers will have surpluses of cash above their monthly commitments.

This can lead to stress in trying to handle creditors and continue to operate the house and farm at the same time.

Cashflow example

To help simplify the task, Teagasc has developed a sample farm where it completed a cashflow budget for 2024.

While every farm is different and will have different commitments, the example below is aimed at giving an indication of how cash moves through a typical dairy farm which may help dairy farmers with their own cash budgeting.

For this sample farmer, the following assumptions are used:

The sample farm is spring calving and surplus calves are sold in the spring and cull cows in the autumn prior to housing.

The cashflow plan designed by Teagasc assumes the farm is starting the year with €0 in the current account and pays for meal as used and fertiliser over the summer months.

The graph below shows the cash position for each month. This is taking all cash income minus cash expenses for each month.

As you can see, the farm is in negative cash flow for the first three months until the milk cheques start to accumulate.

The dip in cashflow in June is associated with paying for the first cut of silage.

Gowing said: “While cashflows are often presented like this I don’t think they reflect the true cash position of the farm.

“To do this we use cumulative net cash. This is where we add the net cash of one month to the next to see what is actually happening the net cash flow on the farm.

In the graph above, Teagasc added the cash position of each month to the following month and divided the total by the number of cows on the farm.

This gives an indication of the amount of cash or working capital required on a farm. It is typically between €300-400/cow at its peak in March. The recovery starts in April, but the farm will not be in a positive cash position until August, according to the sample analysis.

If the farmer, for instance, had to purchase silage through the spring of 2024, then the farm may not come into a positive cash position until later in the year.

Teagsac added that if milk price continues to improve, it will speed the recovery but has negligible impact on the cash position of the farm in the first quarter as the volumes are not there.

The graph above shows a 5c/L increase on milk price throughout the year which speeds the recovery in the second half of the year but has minimal impact in the first half.

Requirements

Gowing explained that every farm is different and has different requirements for cash.

While a farm may be under pressure for cashflow, it’s important to remember that a recovery will come, but it may be slower than expected.

Farmers who feel they are further behind than the figure outlined above are urged to seek help early and complete a more comprehensive cashflow budget.

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It is important to keep a constant supply of high-quality grass in front of a dairy herd, according to advice by College of Agriculture, Food and Rural Enterprise (CAFRE) dairying development advisor, Dr. Jane Sayers.

“The key is to focus on maximising the cow’s daily grass intake,” according to Dr. Jane Sayers.

Grass is a “cost-effective feed” that can be used all year-round.

Dr. Sayers said that with good grazing management, dry matter (DM) intake of 15kg DM/head/day is achievable, and with excellent grazing management, an intake of up to 17 to 18kg DM/head/day can be achieved.                

She added: “Successful management of high yielding cows at grass requires excellent grassland management and targeted concentrate supplementation to allow the cow to meet her nutritional requirements.”

CAFRE

Cows need to be fed dense, leafy, high digestibility sward with a pre-grazing cover 3000-3200kg DM/ha, grazing the sward down to a post grazing cover of 1700 to 1800kg DM/ha. 

Ideally, the swards should be at the three-leaf stage, which is the optimum for intake, sugars, leaf to stem ratio, minerals, regrowth and responsiveness to fertiliser. 

Sayers stated that it is critical that cows are allocated the correct grazing area to support intakes, e.g., a 100-cow herd requires 1.0ha/day (2.5ac/day) to support intakes of 15kg grass DM/cow/day.  

Additionally, fresh grass should be offered after milking and the farmers should maximise the time a cow spends grazing at pastures to support high grass intakes.

The M+ figures quoted below are “only achievable” under ideal grazing conditions and will be reduced due to wet weather, as this reduces grass intake. 

Where cows are yielding above the M+ production figures for grass, supplementation with concentrate is necessary, cows should be fed at a rate of 0.45kg concentrate for each additional litre milk produced. 

Failure to feed cows for their level of production will result in reduced milk yield, poor quality milk composition, low body condition score and poor fertility throughout the season.

Cows should be fed a low protein concentrate at grass, preferably 16%.  Swards that are well managed and fertilised can have crude protein greater than 21%. 

Much of this protein in grass is rumen degradable, leading to excess levels of ammonia in the rumen and high blood and milk urea levels, which can have negative effects on cow fertility and reduce milk yields. 

According to Sayers, energy is the “greatest limiting nutrient” in the dairy cow diet. Milk yield should only drop on average by 2.5%/week (10%/month) from peak yield. 

Where grass availability may be limited due to restricted grazing ground, poor grass growth, mixed weather or management, the farmer might consider buffer feeding or partially housing cows at night. 

The aim is to balance the estimated grass availability with silage and concentrates to help maintain the cow’s level of milk production, health and fertility status.   

Dr. Sayers advised:

“Fibre increases and sugar declines as the grazing season progresses, this suggests that higher fibre concentrates may be more appropriate in the early season, while higher starch supplements would best balance late-season grass.”

In early grazing season, the use of quality digestible fibre and sugar sources is encouraged to reduce the risk of digestive upsets. 

The adviser added that during periods of grass shortage, the farmer should offer cows 2kg to 4kg DM of high quality silage at milking time. This will allow a build-up of grass and extend the grazing rotation. 

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Teagasc is advising farmers to avoid “bulking up” the first cut of silage, as this may prove to be a “false economy”.

Research by Teagasc shows that it is better to take two cuts, as this improves the yield and quality of the silage.

When the first cut is taken, in mid-to-late May, an extra 1t/ha of dry matter is produced, which is the equivalent of 4.5 bales/ha of silage, according to Teagasc.

The quality of the silage will also be “far superior” when cut earlier, as come mid-June, the grass plant enters its reproductive phase, producing a stem and seed heads.

Teagasc stated that the first cut might provide additional bulk, but this produces a lot of “poor-quality material” which offers “little nutritional value” to the animal.

“Silage cut in early June will struggle to be 65% dry matter digestibility (DMD), with this worsening if the sward was not grazed before closing,” the Teagasc advice note stated.

As many silage swards were not grazed prior to closing, due to the wet conditions, Teagasc is advising farmers to prioritise a mid-May cutting date.

A two-cut system starting in May also offers more options, for instance if we were to experience drought conditions, the silage has been cut in mid-May and the grass has started growing back.

However, if harvest is left until June, farmers might not have any grazing available and the grass is burning back.

Cutting earlier also ensures that the May growth is being incorporated into the second-cut silage crops, which will be “key in replenishing” fodder reserves, according to Teagasc.

Along with targeting an earlier cutting date, Teagasc stated that completing a fodder budget is important to have throughout the year.

A Fodder Register is in place to help connect farmers who have fodder available with those farmers that require it.

Farmers can also contact the local Teagasc advisory office to register as “having feed available”, or to enquire if there are farmers on the register from whom, “they might source feed”.

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The Irish Cattle Breeding Federation (ICBF) has published the active dairy bull list for 2024, detailing the top 75 bulls available for artificial insemination (AI) in Ireland.

The Economic Breeding Index (EBI) details of the top 75 bulls on the list are based on March 2024 genetic evaluations calculated by the ICBF.

Semen from all the bulls have been indicated as being available by the various AI companies, hence the term “active” bull list.

The criteria for bulls to make the list is as follows:

• EBI reliability greater than 35%;
• Calving difficulty reliability greater than or equal to 70%;
• At least 50 Irish calving records.

This year, there are 73 Irish-bred bulls on the list, which continues to be the highest number of Irish bred bulls that have ever been listed on the ICBF dairy active bull list.

Foreign sires dominated the active bull list in its early years. Over time, sires were increasingly sourced domestically.

The two bulls on the list that have not been sourced from Ireland both originated in New Zealand.

This year’s list is made up of 73 Holstein/Friesian bulls and two jersey crossbred bulls.

The 75 bulls have breeding values for EBI and the seven sub-indices, together with trait information on 10 key profit traits. All of the bulls are genotyped and none of them are carriers of genetic defects.

The 75 bulls on the list have EBIs that range from €375 down to €307.

69 of the bulls are genomically selected (GS) bulls. Four are daughter-proven in Ireland, while two are daughter-proven with foreign daughters.

57 of the bulls came through Gene Ireland. The full list is available on the ICBF website.

Dairy bull team

In a recent advice update ahead of breeding season, the ICBF said that selecting a large team of bulls, and using them equally on cows in the herd, is a “critical element” to help manage risk in a breeding programme.

According to the ICBF, analysis of AI sires shows that there is an “over reliance” on certain sires.

If a bull falls on the Economic Breeding Index (EBI), then its progeny could also be affected. Therefore, the ICBF said, using a team of bulls equally on cows and heifers “is vital” when breeding dairy replacements to maximise the rate of genetic gain.

With a larger team of bulls and equal usage of them, the risk of some bulls going up and some bulls going down evens out, and should provide a higher reliability for the overall bull team.

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Teagasc is reminding farmers of the risks involved when agitating and spreading slurry as the “challenging” start to 2024 has resulted in this work being delayed on many farms.

Teagasc stated that the main risk is being overcome by slurry gases, leading to poisoning, suffocation or drowning.

There are also many risks from the machinery, such as, impact or crushing when attaching the agitator or tanker and entanglement on the Power Take Off (PTO).

Slurry produces a range of gases based on the nature of the fermentation which occurs. Poisoning occurs “above ground” due to the release of hydrogen sulphide (H2S).

At 150ppm, the olfactory nerve which detects smell in the nose is desensitised and then H2S cannot be detected by smell. The gas is “rapidly fatal” above 700ppm and these levels occur after agitation.

Key points to remember when agitating, according to Teagasc advice:

• Evacuate, ventilate, agitate;
• Only agitate on a breezy day when there is considerable air movement, as one lung full of hydrogen sulphide gas released during agitation can kill;
• Ensure that all livestock, people and pets are kept clear of the slatted shed when agitating;
• Make sure that buildings are well ventilated with all doors and outlets open;
• Stay away from the agitation point for at least 30 minutes;
• Additional time must be given where there are linked tanks and linked buildings, as the gas may travel into poorly-ventilated locations within these sheds;
• The gas can also travel through linked tanks and pipes to locations away from the tank;
• Check for, and stay out of, blind ends where slurry gas may build up;
• Never enter a slurry tank, even if empty, as gases may linger.

“Indoor agitation points are dangerous and should be avoided as there are a number of options available to farmers,” Teagasc said.

This includes: Extending tanks and the installation of outdoor agitation points; fitting a slurry circulation pipe; pumping slurry to an outdoor large capacity tank; installing an aeration system; or the use of slurry additives.

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Profitable winter-milk systems rely on the availability of high-quality silage, with 75-80 dry matter digestibility (DMD) targeted to lessen the requirement for concentrate feed over the winter months, Teagasc has said.

Advisor on the Teagasc/Aurivo Joint Programme, John McCabe pointed to a number of cutting dates farmers should aim for to ensure the production of quality silage for their winter-milk herds.

The aim is to produce high yields of very digestible silage that is well preserved, McCabe said.

As the cutting date moves later into May, more fibre will be present on account of the additional bulk, second-cut yields will be reduced, and an expensive winter diet for cows will follow, he said.

Winter-milk silage

Alternatively, McCabe said that where an early May cutting date is achieved, less fibre will be present in the silage, a heavier second-cut will be obtained, and a cheaper winter diet based on a silage capable of supporting higher intakes will result.

“The more fibre that you push into your silage by delaying it out into May, the less the cow is going to be able to eat.

“We want to reduce the amount of fibre, the amount of stem, because we want the cows to eat more silage and we want the cows to eat better silage,” McCabe said.

After a challenging spring, McCabe pointed to a cutting date between May 5-10 as the “optimum” for silage for winter-milk systems.

He noted that this will allow sufficient time to achieve high yields in the second cut in late June. However, this will vary depending on the level of grazing achieved on farm this spring, the advisor said.

There is ground that has been un-grazed since the end of September or the start of October which, he said, needs to be gone by May 5 to feed a winter-milk cow in a “profitable way”.

If these grounds weren’t to be cut by early May, the Teagasc/Aurivo Joint Programme advisor said that the silage could drop from good quality to poor quality in the space of a week.

“If it was grazed bare in autumn or spring, we would say it needs to be cut before May 12, and if it is grazed recently, it needs to be cut before May 18-20 for a winter-milk cow,” McCabe said.

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With many farmers still unable to get housed stock back onto grass due to the prolonged spell of wet weather and poor ground conditions, some dairy farmers have expressed concerns over turnout running into breeding season, especially where maiden heifers are concerned.

That’s according to Stuart Childs, dairy specialist with Teagasc, who addressed the issue on the latest episode of Dairy Edge podcast.

“In reality, the vast majority of heifers are still in the shed. The forecast is only just starting to show signs of improvement…There hasn’t been the opportunity really to turn them out,” he said.

“They’re running definitely a month and possibly two months behind schedule depending on what part of the country you’re in.

“If the weather, please God, does pick up next week, we’re getting good drying in a very short space of time when we do get the dry weather. So if we do get a dry spell of weather, ground will firm up quickly enough, and we will be able to turn them out,” Childs added.

However, he said that some dairy farmers have expressed concern that turning animals out close to, or at the same time as, breeding, and the ensuing diet change of moving from silage and concentrate to grass, may impact breeding performance.

“The big concern that seems to be out there is in relation to what this transition is going to be like… There does seem to be a bit of concern that this change in diet is going to have an impact on them,” Childs said.

However, he cast doubt on whether the change of diet would itself have a negative impact, instead highlighting that good quality grass, once heifers do get out, is of greater importance.

“It’s the availability of grass that would probably be the bigger concern for me, and just making sure that once they go out, they stay out. That would be the most important thing. The quality of the diet is going to improve straight away once they do go out,” the Teagasc dairy specialist said.

For those farmers who still have concerns about the transition from a housed diet to a grass diet, Childs suggested, if possible, continuing to feed heifers concentrates for a few days immediately after turnout.

“If people are very concerned, and the big question I’m coming across is the transition from the housed diet to the grazed grass diet, and if people are really bothered about that…for the two or three or four days after they do go out, continue to give them the concentrate that they were getting, and just help them get used to being out again,” he said.

“But from a nutritional point of view, assuming that the weather does come right, and it’s not lashing rain down on top of us again…grass quality is going to be better than any silage that they’re getting, and if you want the comfort of giving them the little extra bit of concentrate for a couple of days, just while they’re switching over, they’ll be fine from then on.”

Childs noted that one concern for these heifers on an all-grass diet around breeding time is minerals, although, according to the dairy specialist, the impact shouldn’t be significant.

“The only concern I’d have for them going on an all-grass diet is from a mineral point of view, and in the short term that’s not even a major concern, because there will be a week of a carry-over effect in the feed in terms of mineral content, so they would get away with it for a couple of days,” he said.

“If there are concerns around minerals they’re either being made available to them in the field through buckets, or else they’re going to be bolused or injected with some sort of mineral to cover them for the trace minerals. It just will be lacking in the grass, there’s no two ways about it,” Childs added.

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Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Charlie McConalogue has provided clarity in relation to the qualifying criteria for the crude protein allowance under dairy banding.

Dairy farmers who declare their 2024 dairy cow nutrient excretion rate band through the Irish Cattle Breeding Federation (ICBF) can avail of the option to declare their intention to manage the crude protein in concentrates fed to their cows in 2024.

Farmers wishing to avail of this option must use the ICBF portal to confirm their 2024 nutrient excretion rate band.

The portal shows the reduction in the excretion rate that can be achieved by reducing crude protein in concentrates fed to each specific herd.

All farmers that opt into this measure must retain their original feed receipts and invoices on their holding for up to five years and make them available for inspection if requested, according to the minister.

Crude protein

The average crude protein will be based on the weighted average crude protein across all concentrates, including “straights” purchased in the calendar year for feeding to dairy cows.

Current nitrogen excretion rate bands (presented below as “default”) are based on a dairy herd consuming an annual average protein content of greater than 16% in concreate feedstuff, the DAFM said.

However, Teagasc research shows the dairy cow’s nutrient excretion rate can be reduced through a reduction in the level of crude protein in concentrate feed, according to the DAFM.

Minister McConalogue said his officials recently wrote to all farmers signposting this option for dairy farmers as one of the proposed changes under the interim review of the Nitrates Action Programme (NAP).

The interim review is currently undergoing the Appropriate Assessment and the Strategic Environmental Assessment processes, which must conclude before any new measures arising from the review can be formally adopted, he said.

However, the minister said the “intention” is to recognise those dairy farmers who opt to feed lower crude protein concentrates by using the respective lower excretion rate to calculate their holding’s stocking rate for 2024 at year-end.

Measures proposed under the interim review will have to be subject to a public consultation before they can officially take effect.

Measures that will be subject to public comment will include a change to how excretion rates for cows and calves are calculated.

DAFM

Meanwhile, the DAFM extended the deadlines to submit nitrates derogation applications and dairy banding. The 2024 nitrates derogation application deadline is now extended by seven days to Friday, April 26, 2024.

Minister McConalogue also confirmed that the closing date for dairy farmers to confirm their dairy excretion rate band for this year has been moved back to Wednesday, May 15, 2024.

The DAFM also recently issued clarification regarding the concentrate 15% crude protein limit which came into effect on Monday, April 15, and will remain applicable until September 30.

While the requirement applies to concentrates fed to dairy cows and other cattle aged over two years, at grass from April 15 to September 30, the DAFM clarified where the requirement would not apply.

The post Banding: Qualifying criteria for crude protein allowance appeared first on Agriland.ie.

As the breeding draws closer, it is important that dairy farmers begin to record heats and take action on cows that are not cycling.

With the start of the breeding season now around three weeks away, the recording of heats should begin on farms.

Knowing which cows are cycling is important before the planned start of mating date.

Three weeks before you plan to start mating, heat detection should begin to detect cows that are not cycling or having a heat.

Recording heats

On many farms, cows are still in the shed, which can make it a little more difficult to detect cows in heat and there could potentially be an increased number of silent heats.

Some farms have installed heat detection systems, which should be able to do a lot of the work for you in terms of recording heats and picking up cows with issues.

A lot of herds do not have the aid of technology and will have to use some of the old reliable methods for heat detection.

All cows in the herd should be tail painted and those that have had the tail paint removed by other cows jumping on them should be noted.

An example of a process used on many farms, is tail painting cows with one colour, such as blue, after which any cows that had a bull remove their tail paint are then painted green.

Any cows that haven’t cycled after three weeks will still have blue tail paint and will need to be checked by a vet.

The date that cows cycled should be recorded on the board or notebook, so it should be easier to tell when they are due to cycle again.

Once breeding starts you should use another colour, i.e., yellow, to identify cows that have been served and cows that haven’t.

Breeding season

Keeping records is a vital part of this, but you then have to put the records into action and make use of them.

Whether you are using heat detection technology or tail paint you have to act on what information you have.

Focus on the cows that do not have a heat over the next three weeks and get them cycling to give you a chance to get them in calf early in the breeding season.

Track the cows that are cycling to give you an idea of when you expect them to have a heat and this should help when breeding begins.

Many farms have systems in place for tracking cows so whatever works for you use it.

Getting as many cows as possible in calf in the first six weeks of breeding should be the goal, weather conditions have made it more challenging – but you should continue to focus on it.

The challenging spring may be the reason why some cows are not in the herd next year, but it should not be used as an excuse to let your heat detection work slip.

The post Recording heats as breeding start date nears appeared first on Agriland.ie.

Breeding season is fast approaching, and although the use of artificial insemination (AI) grows year-on-year, stock bulls still have a place on many farms.

There is an increased risk with having a bull on the farm, but there are also a number of benefits. The decision to have a bull or not will be made on an individual farm basis.

Breeding season

On farms where a stock bull is present, there are number of things that should be done before breeding gets underway.

Any stockbull on your farm needs to be fertility tested before breeding gets underway. An infertile bull could lead to catastrophic results when scanning time comes around.

If the bull has recently been purchased the likelihood is that he was sold fertility tested – but it may be worthwhile to double check.

There’s a wide range of things that could impact on a bull’s fertility and result in him becoming infertile or sub-fertile.

The issue with not checking a bull’s fertility is how long it will take to notice that there is an issue without testing him before turnout.

At the very minimum, you are going to lose three weeks from the breeding season, but the likelihood is you will lose much longer.

Purchasing

For a spring-calving herd, this time of year is often when bulls are purchased – but a number of considerations should come into play before purchasing any bull.

Firstly the herd size and distance that has to be walked should be considered, as depending on herd size and distances of walks two bulls may be required.

The health status of the herd of the bull being purchased is very important and you should also give enough time for an isolation period and also for an vaccination to take place.

The bred of the bull is also important, when purchasing a beef sire for use on dairy cows gestation and ease of calving are important factors to consider.

But, so is the genetic potential of the off-spring, you want to be producing high quality calves that will sell easily and achieve reasonable prices.

Decisions should be based on figures and not just looks, as the end goal is to have an animal that produces calves to sell and cows milking in the parlour.

Turning out the bull

It is a legal requirement that a bull is ringed when they are 10-months-of-age. When a bull is turned out to grass, it is recommended that a chain is attached to the ring.

This should offer some possibility of controlling the bull, should he attack.

There are also a number of things that need to be considered before the bull is turned out with the cows.

How many cows are potentially not in calf needs to be determined, as well as whether or not the bull will be able to cover these cows.

If too many cows are not in calf, the bull may struggle to cover them all and you may have a higher empty rate.

You should also be continuing with AI for about a week after the bull has been turned out. This is to give him time to get up and running.

The post Preparing the stock bull for breeding season appeared first on Agriland.ie.

Cows on the vast majority of farms have spent much longer in the shed than was expected by most, which has led to increased cases of lameness.

With the breeding season approaching on farms, a cow with a lameness issue will often struggle to go in calf.

Ahead of the planned start of mating, you should complete an assessment of your herd to identify cows with potential lameness issues.

Not only can it have a detrimental effect on dairy cow performance, it is also an animal welfare issue.

Lameness

The locomotion or mobility of your herd should be accessed ahead of breeding and cows that show signs of a lameness issue should be draft out and seen by a hoof pairer.

Locomotion and mobility scoring are based of a five-point system (below) based on both gait and posture:

1. Normal: The cow is not lame; the back is flat;
2. Mildly lame: The back is slightly arched when walking;
3. Moderately lame: The back is arched when both standing and walking. The cow walks with short strides in one or more legs;
4. Lame: The lame cow can still bear some weight on the affected foot;
5. Severely lame: The back is arched; the cow refuses to bear weight on the affected foot and remains recumbent.

Herd assessments should be performed when the cows are walking on level, unobstructed walkways that give the observer a clear view.

On many farms, locomotion scoring is frequently performed when the cows are leaving the milking parlour.

The key to locomotion scoring is knowing that a cow’s hind foot should land in the same place as her front foot – failure to do this may be an indication of a lameness issue.

Treatment

Once an assessment has been completed, it is vital that you then get the cows with lameness issues treated – even if there are only one or two cows in the herd that need to have their feet lifted.

As already mentioned, lameness is an animal welfare issue and can be quite painful depending on the type of issue.

Preventative measures should also be adopted on farms, including the regular pairing of cows and foot bathing.

Other preventative measures include the use of rubber on concrete surfaces where cows are turning and astro-turf on farm roadways.

Having good farm roadways are vital for lameness prevention, although in many cases, farm roadways will not be the cause of lameness issue this year.

Another area that farmers need to focus on, is allowing cows to walk at their own pace and prevent rushing them.

The post Lameness issues need to be a focus as breeding approaches appeared first on Agriland.ie.

The use of a synchronisation programme may be a good option for dairy farmers this breeding season.

A programme can be used on the heifers and select cows, with them often being used on animals being served sexed semen.

Synchronisation programmes have developed due to a number of reasons, such as heifers on many farms being on out-blocks and the increased use of sexed semen.

There are a number of different programmes based on products used, but what is important is that you follow the steps outlined by your vet.

Synchronisation programme

Ensuring that heifers are suitable for synchronisation is important before a programme takes place on farms.

Heifers need to be on target or ahead of target weight in order to increase their chances of holding to service on the programme.

A synchronisation programme can also be used on cows and is often used on cows that are later calving.

The use of a programme can push them forward in the calving pattern and have them calving earlier in the season.

The programme used for cows is generally different from the one used on the heifers, so it is important that you are communicating your plans with your vet.

Preparation

When it comes to a synchronisation programme, timing is very important and a discussion should take place between your vet and artificial insemination (AI) technician.

Discuss the programme with your vet and ask them to write it down, so that it can be easily followed.

Your AI technician needs to be communicated with as to when you are planning on completing the programme.

This will give them time to plan and ensure that they are available when you are planning to serve the heifers or cows.

Depending on the number of animals, more than one technician may be needed.

The post Does a synchronisation programme have a place on your farm? appeared first on Agriland.ie.

The total number of calf registrations on Irish farms has reached 1,477,133 head for the year-to-date based on the latest data from the Irish Cattle Breeding Federation (ICBF).

Births to dairy dams have reached 1,223,377, while births to beef dams have reached 253,756 head for the year-to-date.

Compared to 2023, the number of registrations is up, with 1,464,064 registered in the same period in 2023, or an increase of 13,069 head.

Registrations to dairy dams are up by 25,729 head, while registrations to beef dams are down by 12,660 head compared to the same period in 2023.

Calf registrations

In the week ending April 12, 2024 some 102,228 calves were registered based on the ICBF data.

This is an increase on 23,175 on the same period in 2023, with both dairy and beef birth up on the 2023 figure.

The total number of calves registered to dairy dams has reached 1,223,377 head, with 65,619 calves in the week ending April 12.

Compared to the same week in 2023, there has been a significant increase in the number of calves registered – with 14,842 more calves registered.

Some 36,609 calves were registered to beef dams in the week ending April 12, this is an increase of 8,333 head for the same week in 2023.

Births to beef dams for the year to date stand at 253,756 head. For the same period in 2023, it stood at 266,416 head.

Breeding season

As the calving season winds down on many farms, the breeding season for 2024 is now fast approaching.

The target that many herds will set themselves is to achieve a submission rate of 90% within the first three weeks of breeding.

This ultimately means that within the first three weeks for a 100-cow herd, 90 cows will be bred.

To achieve this target, as many cows as possible need to be cycling before breeding gets underway on farms.

The post Calf registrations approach 1.5m for 2024 appeared first on Agriland.ie.

The breeding season is fast approaching and getting cows grazing continues to be a significant challenge on dairy farms.

On many farms, fodder supplies are now very much depleted.

With breeding around the corner, it is vital that cows are being adequately fed so that cow condition does not suffer.

The weather shows no significant signs of improvement, which means that grazing and getting grass in the diet will continue to be a challenge.

Breeding season

Late April or early May is generally a time when breeding begins on farm, so over the next couple of weeks it is vital that cows are being adequately fed.

If possible, you should try to get some grass into the diet. Although it may not be possible in some areas, short periods at grass should be possible in others.

Silage will remain in the diet for the near future on the majority of spring-calving dairy herds, but where possible, there should be as much grass as possible.

Freshly calved cows will eat around 13kg of DM. This will increase by around 0.8kg, until intakes reach a maximum 10 weeks post calving.

In order to maintain DM intakes, many farms are increasing the amount of concentrates being fed in parlour or adding it into the mid-day feed in the form of soya hulls or beet pulp.

You can go up to 50% of the diet from these sources, but that should only really be done in situation where fodder is in short supplies.

Soya hull and beet pulp are a good option for farmers as they can be easily added to the diet and easily removed.

Avoid trying to overcomplicate the diet cows are currently on, and instead focus on trying to get them to grass where conditions allow.

BCS

Cows need to be in a BCS of 2.75 or higher at breeding. Any cow that is below this should be considered for once-a-day (OAD) milking.

If you are moving cows onto OAD milking, it is important that you continue to feed them twice/day in the milking parlour.

This is a mistake that is often made on farms – where cows are moved to OAD milking, but then are not fed at the evening milking.

The post Important to maintain intakes as breeding season approaches appeared first on Agriland.ie.

A target within many herds will be to have a submission rate of 90% within the first three weeks of the breeding season.

This ultimately means for a 100-cow herd, that within the first three weeks, that 90 cows will be bred.

Not every cow will hold to first service, but it means that you have given them a chance and should hopefully have a good number of cows in calf come week six of breeding.

Breeding season

Achieving a 90% three-week submission rate and a 90% six-week calving rate is important within a pasture-based production system. Doing so facilitates long lactations and high levels of milk production.

This target is only going to be achievable if all cows are cycling at the beginning of breeding.

To achieve the 90% target, you need to be submitting 4.3% of your herd each day for breeding.

For a 100-cow herd, that is between four and five cows/day submitted and served for breeding.

It is important that it is only cows that are actually in heat that are included in this target, as figures can be inflated by cows that are drafted for breeding – but aren’t actually suitable to be served.

Submission rates

Pre-breeding heat detection of cows needs to take place on farms and cows that are not cycling in the three weeks prior to breeding starting, need to be checked by your vet.

Some simple treatments can be used to get cows cycling and hopefully back in calf early in the breeding season.

Waiting until breeding has already start to detect cows that are not cycling means that you will be at least three weeks into breeding before treatment can occur.

Many farms are struggling to get cows to grass and the conditions of some cows is suffering because of this.

Focus on ensuring that the energy requirements of cows are being met and if extra feed needs to be sourced do that early.

A mid-day feed of soya hulls or beet pulp could increase the energy and dry matter intake of cows. They are also simple to add into the diet and simple to take out of the diet.

The post Breeding season: Achieving 90% three-week submission rates appeared first on Agriland.ie.

Depending on the current diet, cows are being fed additional feed costs could be as high as €250/day for a 100-cow herd because of ongoing wet weather conditions.

Met Éireann has said that there will be another 10 days of rain before high pressure is expected to set in over Ireland later this month.

The current weather pattern will mean that feed costs on dairy farms are continuing to rise.

Additional concentrates are now being fed and straights in the form of soya hulls or beet pulps are also commonly used on farms.

If grass is not currently in the diet these additional feds will likely be needed to maintain producing and energy levels in cows – however they do drive up the cost of production.

Feed costs

On many farms, up to 50% of the dry matter (DM) intakes are coming from imported feed onto the farm in the form of concentrates such as soya hulls or beet pulp.

This has a significant additional cost associated with it, which is driving up the cost of production and hampering cash flow.

Figures from Teagasc state that 1kg of grass DM costs 11c, compared to 22c/kg of pit silage and 24c/kg of bale silage.

If we look at a normal year, the feed cost of cows eating 18kg of DM would be €1.65 for 15kg of grass and €1.26 for 3kg of concentrates.

This is based of a dairy ration costing €420/t.

This would mean feed cost of €2.91/cow/day, for the average 100-cow herd this would be €291/day.

However, the situation on farms is very far from this and on many farms, concentrates feed is as high as 8-9kg/day.

Taking the example of a herd that is feed 6kg of concentrates, 3kg of soya hulls and the remaining 9kg of DM is coming from silage.

E.g., soya hulls have been given a cost of €318t of DM.

Concentrates cost rise to €2.52, soya hulls cost 0.95c and pit silage has a cost of €1.98.

This means that the cost of feed a cow on this day is €5.45/day, for the average 100-cow herd, this would be €545/day.

If the 9kg of forage DM is half grass and half silage, this would reduce cost of feed/cow to €4.96/cow or €496 for the 100-cow herd.

If the diet consists of 6kg of concentrates costing €2.52, 6kg of grass DM costing €0.66 and 6kg of silage DM costing €1.32.

The total cost of feeding €4.50/cow or €450 for a 100-cow herd.

Grass

Many farmers have expressed frustration at some of the advice that has been offered recently, with much of this focusing around getting cows to grass.

But, the figures on the cost of the extra concentrates underline why this line of advice has been given.

It is also important to factor in that the cost of feeding not only includes additional concentrates but also labour, fuel and more.

Although it may not be possible to get grass into the diet every day, every extra kilo of DM of grass vs. silage reduces feed cost by 0.11c/kg.

If grass in the diet increases further and soya hulls can be removed, this will save 0.84c/kg of DM.

There are going to be situations where grazing is not possible, so unfortunately feed costs for some are going to remain high.

But, farmers have been advised that they should also look at using feeds that are cost effective and only feed to the required levels.

The post Feed bills: What is wet weather costing dairy farms? appeared first on Agriland.ie.

Taking blood samples from a number of cows within your herd is a good way to determine their mineral status ahead of breeding.

Minerals play an important role on farms, with farmers very aware of the importance of feeding minerals pre-calving to reduce issues around calving.

They are also important for ensuring that cows are in a good position to go in calf during the breeding season.

Understanding the mineral status of your cows is vital in order to get a picture of what potential supplementation is needed.

Although supplying cows with minerals can often be required, there is also times where minerals could be in an over supply or are being supplied when they are not required.

Too little of one mineral or too much of another could result in that cow failing to conceive and possibly increase empty rates within the herd.

Mineral status

When taking blood samples, they should be completed about three weeks prior to the start of breeding, as this allows for any mineral issues to be dealt with before it all kicks off.

With farmers trying to increase fertility levels in their herds and achieve more compact calving patterns, checking the mineral status of cows will be increasingly more important.

To achieve the best fertility and monitor cow health, farmers potentially should be looking at using blood tests more regularly on farms.

To get the most accurate results, cows need to be tested around four times/year for a number of years to determine patterns within the herd.

Ideally, you should vary the age and lactation of the cows you select for blood sampling to get as accurate of a picture as possible.

Breeding

Discuss with your vet whether or not this would be worthwhile, and when the samples should be taken to ensure results can be acted on.

The whole point of completing this test, is that you can act on it and get cows in the right mineral status before breeding starts.

The other areas such as nutrition and body condition score (BCS) are also vital to ensure that cows are in a best possible condition for breeding.

The post Blood testing to determine mineral status of cows appeared first on Agriland.ie.

Ahead of breeding, a number of boosters may be required, as vaccinations play an important role on dairy farms.

Booster vaccination for leptospirosis (lepto) and bovine viral diarrhoea (BVD) are crucial for many herds.

Vaccination programmes can vary from farm-to-farm, so it is important that you follow what has been developed for you by your vet.

Vaccinations work by stimulating an animal’s immune system without infecting them with the disease.

After this, if the vaccinated animal comes into contact with the disease, its immune system will recognise it (from the vaccine) and immediately produce the antibodies needed to fight it off.

It is important to note that a vaccination programme does not replace good management practices.

It is not, and should not be, the only method of disease control. A vaccination programme should be supported by additional on-farm measures, such as biosecurity and diagnostic testing.

Although the goal when vaccinating an animal is to stop them from getting sick, often that is not possible.

Animals can still become infected with a disease they have been vaccinated for, but it should have a reduced impact on them.

Vaccinations

Vaccinating for lepto is of practical importance, due to it being zoonotic. This means that it is a disease that can be transmitted from humans to animals and vice versa.

To prevent an outbreak of lepto from occurring within a herd a combination of biosecurity measures along with a vaccination programme is required.

Clinical signs in humans start as flu-like symptoms. If left untreated, lepto can lead to kidney damage, meningitis, liver failure, respiratory distress and even, death.

Generally, this happens after humans come in contact with infected urine, afterbirth or an aborted foetus.

Often the first potential sign of a lepto infection within the herd is a drop in milk yield.

This can often be missed and put down to a number of other potential issues, such as changes in feed, lungworm, BVD or infectious bovine rhinotracheitis (IBR).

Reduced levels of fertility within the herd is also a common symptom seen in an infected herd.

In herds where there has been an increase in the number of abortions and other clinical symptoms, it is important that a screening is completed.

It is also important that any abortions are sent to the lab for testing to determine the cause.

The post The importance of carrying out vaccinations ahead of breeding appeared first on Agriland.ie.

The February Milk Price Tracker saw an increase in the base price from all 15 co-ops included, but Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers’ Association (ICMSA) dairy committee chairperson, Noel Murphy, has called on every co-op to be paying 42c/L for March supplies as a minimum.

The Milk Price Tracker – brought to you by Agriland in collaboration with the ICMSA – details milk prices from the most significant Irish dairy co-ops each month.

Speaking after the release of the Milk Price Tracker for February 2024 and in advance of the March round of milk price announcements, Murphy said that co-ops and milk purchasers “owe” their suppliers a badly needed boost and based on market data.

He also believes it will be absolutely possible to raise the milk price paid for March supplies by at least 2c/L. 

Murphy cited the falling global supply which he estimated had declined by almost 1% and the alarming fall in Irish supplies.

Which, according to the ICMSA spokesperson, could be right across all co-ops by double-digits in the run-up to the critical peak period.

“It’s highly likely now that most cows will be hitting into peak supply period without much grass in their diet and that will lower volumes, we don’t see the 2024 supply trending up anytime soon”, he said.

He added: “As the extent of the limitations on supply become apparent, we are going to see much more active forward-buying and that’ll drive-up prices.

“Those increases, which we are already seeing – just have to be passed back immediately to the milk suppliers who are still struggling with one of the worst springs on record and who are under the most severe pressure in terms of fodder.

“March is always an important month, but this year it’s been gruelling, and a real challenge and the Co-ops must know that their farmer-suppliers are at breaking point, financially and even psychologically”, Murphy said.

Milk Price Tracker

The Milk Price Tracker for January 2024, revealed that Lakeland led the way with a base price of 40.90c/L, with Strathroy in second place with a base price of 40.50c/L.

This is based solely on base milk price, even though some milk suppliers would have received a higher price from other co-ops who gave additional payments to all eligible suppliers.

Tipperary is bottom of the table with a base price of 37.74c/L. The most significant movement seen this month saw Kerry drop from the top half of the table to second from bottom for February.

The ICMSA dairy committee chairperson said that while famers are a naturally resilient bunch and will come through the weather and associated pressures, they are owed the kind of cashflow boost that would come from their co-ops looking at the supply situation and then raising prices – both asked of customers and paid to their farmer-suppliers.

Murphy said: “The other factor to remember here is that the seasonality and input bonuses might be due to end, so farmers will need that increase in base price to keep them going through Spring when there’s no sign that inputs will fall.

“We were struck by the way the February Milk Price Tracker showed a very significant disparity from top to bottom in terms of base price and we think that should be concerning to those co-ops close to the bottom.

“While bonuses bring those at the bottom to a more level playing field, some of those bonuses are dropping off in March and there will be an alarming gap in the March payment to dairy farmers if that is not filled by a comparable increase in base price.

“There’ll be a significant change in the order of co-ops if base is not improved,” according to Murphy.

Additionally, Murphy highlighted that issue of low protein percentages that are facing many farmers meaning that many farmers are not getting much of a ‘boost’ from their solids – so actually base price is the price received by suppliers.

Murphy has called on every co-op to be paying 42c/L for March supplies as a minimum.

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It is vital that you check that your maiden heifers are still on target to reach their target weights for the breeding season.

Breeding season is just around the corner and the maiden heifers on your farm, should be the best genetics you have and are the future of your milking herd.

The challenging weather conditions mean that heifers in the majority of cases remain in the shed and have not been able to obtain the compensatory growth from going to grass.

With breeding season now around a month away it is vital that you ensure that your heifers are on target.

If your heifers are below target something needs to be done to get them back on target or as close to their target weight as possible.

Maiden heifers

The aim on farms will be that the maiden heifers are served in the next few weeks and this time next year will be part of the milking herd.

These heifers should have certain targets to achieve ahead of breeding, particularly around liveweight.

Failing to reach target weights may result in lower conception rates, lower production during first lactation and may make it harder for cows to get back in-calf.

Replacement heifers are most likely the best genetics on your farm that will be bred this year. These animals are the future of your herd and if they fail to go in-calf, it could result in a major financial blow to the farm.

Because of this, it is important that replacement heifers are monitored and that targets are reached ahead of the breeding season

Based on the economic breeding index (EBI) maintenance sub-index figure, a calf’s mature cow weight can be determined.

Using this figure you can determine the weight that your yearling heifers should be at breeding.

Management

Normally getting heifers out to grass early will help to get them back on track or catch up if they are behind target.

However, that has not been possible on the majority of farms so farm this year, meaning the compensatory growth from grass has not occurred.

Instead you will have to begin feeding heifers that are behind target to try and get them back on track or as close to target as possible before breeding.

A kilo of soya between four heifers could be enough to get heifers back on track depending on how far behind they are.

You should speak with your advisor or a nutritionist to determine the best course of action for your heifers.

Grouping may need to occur, with different groups being on different feeding regiments.

The post Importance of checking that maiden heifers are on target appeared first on Agriland.ie.

Bovine tuberculosis (TB) poses a huge threat to farm animals and can be a worry of farmers’.

Figures from by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) show a rise in the number of reactors in 2023.

The data released by the DAFM shows that in the 12-month period from January 1, 2023, to December 31, 2023, 28,868 TB test reactions were detected in cattle, compared to 23,337 in the same 12-month period of 2022.

Bovine TB has become a huge frustration for farmers with the eradiation programme now running much longer than had been planned.

Although it may seem like you are fighting an upwards battle, there are measures that should be adopted on farms to prevent the spread and a breakdown in your herd.

Genetics

In herds where TB has been an issue in the past, selective culling of older animals should be considered – particularly in cases where they may have preciously come into contact with an infected animal.

This may help to reduce the likelihood of you having a reactor in future tests.

Within the economic breeding index (EBI), you can select sires with higher resistance to bovine TB – which for herds that are continually impacted by breakdowns, could be something to consider when selecting sires.

Although it will not completely eliminate the risk, it could help to prevent breakdowns from occurring.

E.g., one of the most well-known sires in recent years Kilfeacle Pivotal, has a poor performance when it comes to bovine TB resistance.

Purchasing stock

Ideally, you should avoid the purchasing of animals into your herd, as they have the potential to introduce disease into your herd.

If you are purchasing in stock you should do extensive research into the herd you are purchasing the stock from.

The current TB status of the herd and other herds in the area should be looked at, along with the herds TB history.

Some dairy farms now use contracting rearing of heifers as a way to reduce the workload on farms.

Bovine TB

Preventing your livestock from coming into direct or indirect contact with wildlife is a key way to control outbreaks.

If you have badger sets on your farm, you should notify DAFM and prevent livestock from accessing them.

Troughs should be at least 1m off the ground and all concentrates storage should be wildlife proof. This is a key measure in pending potential TB breakdowns from occurring in herds.

The post How can farmers reduce the risk of bovine TB on dairy farms? appeared first on Agriland.ie.

Research officer with Teagasc, Michael Egan, advised farmers to get chemical fertiliser onto paddocks that are suitable, and to target dryer land with fertiliser.

Egan said that only a quarter of chemical fertiliser that would usually be bought out around this time of year, has been.

He said that it should be in order and in the yard ready to go, as once the weather breaks, there will be a backlog.

Fertiliser

The Teagasc research officer outlined how chemical fertiliser applications should be managed on farms, noting that the situation on every farm will differ from one another.

He said in a situation where chemical fertiliser applications are up to date, farmers should now be following the cows after grazing.

He said that for the majority of farms, this is not the situation, and that most farms are falling into the situation of having around 30kg of nitrogen (N)/ha spread or one round of fertiliser out in March.

He advised to leave four to five weeks and then apply another 30-35kg of N/ha, to get up to target rates, and then return a scenario of following the cows.

Farms that have only gotten slurry out earlier in the year and no chemical N out should be targeting blanket spreading as soon as conditions allow, the research officer said.

He added that depending on the clover and how much slurry has been spread, a bag of urea should be sufficient.

Egan reminded farmers not to spread chemical fertiliser on land that is water logged, or that is not travelable, to have soil temperatures of 6°c or above and not to spread when heavy rain is forecast in the next 24-48 hours.

Following grazing, slurry should be applied, but Egan said to prioritise chemical fertiliser due to trafficability of land.

Weather

If the weather improves, Egan said you can spread fertiliser in front of the cows, if you are in a situation where nothing is out.

He said that everything should receive N, unless the cows are currently in the paddock.

He explained: “We need to get grass growing, it has been reasonable good, but with very little grazing done, re-growths are really going to be hit.

“Spread everything as soon as conditions allow and for anyone that has no slurry out or fertiliser, go at parts of your farm that are suitable for spreading.”

Egan said if you have paddocks that have been grazed and damaged, you firstly don’t want to damage them again, but you want them to tiller out.

If there is a phosphorus (P) allowance on the farm, it should be targeted for paddocks that have been damaged.

Nitrogen strategy

Egan said that although fertiliser needs to go out now, it also needs to go out for the remainder of the year.

In a normal year, the target would be to have around 76 units of N out, however that is not the case for the majority of farms.

He said to follow what has been highlighted above based on your farm situation and then follow this plan for the remainder of the year.

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The total number of calf registrations on Irish farms has reached 1,349,492 head for the year-to-date based on the latest data from the Irish Cattle Breeding Federation (ICBF).

Births to dairy dams have reached 1,140,794, while births to beef dams have reached 208,698 head for the year-to-date.

Compared to 2023, the number of registrations is down with 1,385,343 registered in the same period in 2023, or a reduction of 35,851 head.

Registrations to dairy dams are down 6,332 head, while registrations to beef dams is down 29,519 head compared to the same period in 2023.

Calf registrations

The total number of calves registered to dairy dams has reached 1,140,794 head, with 41,064 calves in the week ending April 5.

Compared to the same week in 2023, there has been a significant decrease in the number of calves registered – with 20,378 fewer calves registered.

Some 14,642 calves were registered to beef dams in the week ending April 5, which is down from 29,679 head for the same week in 2023.

Genotyping programme

The update from week 14 of the National Genotyping programme (NGP), shows that 483,276 passports have been issued to-date.

The update from April 2 said that in week 14, another 33,000 calf samples were received in the lab and more than 38,000 samples processed.

ICBF said that 33,124 calf samples were received into the lab and 38,070 calf samples were processed.

The average turnaround time from birth to passport being issued was 13.4 days, with samples spending on average 3.9 days in the lab.

The average time from birth to sample being received in the lab was 9.5 days.

In total, some 494,799 calf samples have been received in the lab, with 486,193 samples genotyped to date and 483,276 passports issued for NGP calves to date.

The post Calf registrations head towards 1.4m for year-to-date appeared first on Agriland.ie.

As the breeding season approaches on farms, it is important that you begin preparations and ensure that everything is ready for the planned start of mating.

The challenging weather conditions currently facing farmers mean that cows are not in as good of condition as farmers would have liked.

Farmers should aim to get as many cows in calf in the first six weeks of the breeding season.

Pre-breeding

Prior to the start of breeding, any cow that had issues around calving or has failed to cycle should be check by a vet.

Some farms now have heat detection technology to identify cycling cows, while others still have to use heat detection aids such as tail paint.

Whatever method you use, it is important that you try and identify as many cows as possible that are not cycling before breeding starts.

Cows that are not cycling before breeding begins, means that it will be at least three weeks before they are detected, and could be four weeks before they are actually served.

The body condition score (BCS) of your herd should also be assessed ahead of breeding.

It will be challenging to increase condition, but it is vital that condition does not slip further.

Supplies

On farms where heat detection technology is not in place, the use of tail paint and other similar heat detection aids are likely to be used.

Ahead of the breeding season, you should stock up on all the supplies you require.

When purchasing paints, it is always a good idea to buy a number of different colours, as this makes it easier to monitor cows.

E.g., to monitor pre-breeding heats, a blue paint can be used – this should be put on cows roughly three weeks before breeding starts.

This can then be changed to red once the blue paint has been removed, which shows they have cycled prior to breeding starting.

Any cow that has the blue colour paint on them when breeding starts should be check as they have not cycled prior to breeding starting.

Every three weeks, a different colour should be used, as this makes it easier to identify cows that are still not in calf, have repeated and also makes it easier to identify the cows that are in calf.

Vaccinations

Before breeding begins, it is important that all booster vaccinations are carried out such as leptospirosis (lepto), infectious bovine rhinotracheitis (IBR) and bovine viral diarrhora (BVD).

They should be administered in line with the manufactures or your vet recommendations.

The stress of handling animals and a potential inflammatory response to the vaccine may delay cows cycling in the week following vaccination.

If a stock bull is being used or has been purchased it is vital that he is on the same programme as the cows.

A newly purchased stock bull should be given enough time between purchase and use for vaccination to have an effected.

The post Breeding: Time to start preparation for 2024 season appeared first on Agriland.ie.

Milk supplies in a number of co-ops are down by as much as 10%, with this drop in milk volume largely due to challenging weather conditions.

The challenging spring has placed significant pressure on dairy farms from both a feed and milk output perspective.

Reduced access to grass and dwindling silage supplies means that on many farms, the milk volume sold out the farm gate is down on previous years.

Many farms are now dealing with the issue of protein percentage dropping in the milk, which can also have significant financial implications.

With the majority of dairy farms having to keep cows in the shed for extended periods of time, this has resulted in increased feed costs being incurred.

Analysis completed by Agriland has determined that additional feed cost due to the weather are in the region of €22.23/cow or €2,534.22 for 114 milking cows.

This is based off a 114 cow milking herd with dry matter (DM) intakes, ranging from 18.6-13kg (depending on calving date); with 4kg of the total DM coming from concentrates and the remainder coming from forage.

This is only part of the additional cost with lower milk supplies and lower kilos of milk solids being sold, adding to the reduced cash flow on dairy farms.

Milk supplies

Agriland contacted 15 Irish co-ops to determine the impact that the weather has had on the milk supplies so far in 2024.

Five of the 15 co-ops responded with Dairygold stating that milk supply is back 9% on 2023.

Arrabawn similarly stated that milk supply is back between 8 – 10% in February compared to 2023.

Lakeland Dairies said that supply in the Republic of Ireland is down 3% year to date, while Aurivo says that milk supply in February was up 1% on 2023.

In Tirlan’s milk price announcement for February’s supplies, it stated that yields/cow are 10% lower than the same period last year.

The biggest drop in milk supply for the year-to-date has been seen within Carbery group, consisting of the four West Cork co-ops (Bandon, Drinagh, Lisavaird and Barryroe).

Milk volumes are down 13.99% for the first 12 weeks of the year, compared to 2023.

Almost all the co-ops said that ongoing poor weather conditions was having the most significant impact on supplies.

It was also stated by some of the co-ops that while milk supplies are recovering, the weather will remain a key factor in that recovery over the coming weeks.

Protein

Many farms are also struggling with milk protein, with it being much lower than previous years.

The protein percentage of milk is a good indicator of energy status in cows. A lower than normal percentage is likely an indication that cows are getting enough energy from their feed.

You should avoid trying to over complicate diets and instead, focus on trying to get cows grazing and increasing milk protein and production from cows.

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