This month, I am sharing some important messages from Teagasc Moorepark’s recent dairy open day titled, Innovating for the Future.

OVERVIEW

• Since 2015, milk output has grown by 96% but there are challenges:
  • Environmental policies.
  • System creep, that is, unintended slippage of the core principles of an efficient dairy farm.
  • Variable pasture production.
  • Increased reliance on meal supplementation.
  • Labour shortages – due to full employment across the economy.
  • Ongoing uncertainty in policy and trade conditions.

• Table 1 identifies where we are on the key performance indicators (KPIs) and the future targets. Advisory efforts are helping to deliver these – many farmers are proving that they are achievable.

Table 1: Key performance indicator targets for future dairy farming in Ireland.

• Input costs are a huge issue – in 2024 they were up 35% on 2020 figures.
  • Meal feeding levels rose 50% from 2020 to 2024.
  • Remember, silage and meal are three and four times, respectively, more expensive than grazed grass.
• Environment:
  • Environmental standards are measured under the following headings:

  Greenhouse gas (GHG) and ammonia emissions

  • Reduce GHG emissions by 25% from 2018 to 2030.
  • Take a bow! Irish GHGs are down 4.1% from 2018 because farmers are adopting the advised practices.
  • Irish ammonia emissions continue to decline and are near EU compliance targets.
  • Water quality
    • We have to work harder to achieve more improvement.
    • Biodiversity
    • This will have to be more than 10% of the farm.
• Costs
  • From 2021 to 2024 costs/litre have gone up from 26.8c to 38.2c; a massive 43% increase.
  • What if – and it is possible in this uncertain political world – milk price decreased to 30c/L?
  • Variable costs are over 52% of the total, driven by:
    • A huge increase in meal usage.
    • Meal usage increased from 945kg in 2014 (this was high then!) to 1,216kg in 2023.
    • ‘Concentrate usage on Irish dairy farms is largely independent of SR’ – digest that research statement!
    • Marginal milk (profit) results in high-milk-price years when farmers focus on yield (kg MS/cow) instead of profitable inputs.
    • Imagine, meal costs are nearly 40% of on-farm variable costs and nearly 29% of overall costs!
  • Fertiliser cost, are driven by the market.
  • Breeding costs have increased because of the extensive use of sexed semen.
• Fixed costs have increased because of political turmoil, increased depreciation due to more investment in buildings and machinery – the latter always results when milk price is good.

MAKE DAIRY FARMS ATTRACTIVE WORKPLACES!

• We must ensure that dairy farms are great places to work.
  • With increased herd size (now it is approx. 100 cows/farm) comes the need to make our farms attractive workplaces:
    • Nearly 1,000 Leaving Cert agricultural students were interviewed as to what was important in their future job choice:
      • 77% said pay/income.
      • 68% listed job satisfaction.
      • 64% working hours/time off.
    • Dairy farmers must do everything to provide these standards and they are all achievable.
  • Farmers are working 61 hrs/week (Feb-June period) while the target is 48hrs (achieved by many).
    • Finishing time by dairy farmers averages 19.08 (target should be 18.00.
    • Farmers take 19 days off per year, the top 25% farmers take 33 days while the research target is 60 days/year.
    • Are these statistics good enough to attract young people into dairy farming?
  • How can we get nearer the research figure?
    • Adjust milking times:
      • 10:8-hour (start milkings at 7am and 3pm) milking interval.
      • Once-a-day (OAD) milking in spring until more than 50% of cows calved, and again in autumn or when some cows are thin.
      • Do 10 milkings per week and take a two-week annual holiday.
      • Get a relief milker to allow you have one to two days per week off – transition-year students will be ‘mad for’ this work.
      • Any of these options do not result in economic loss.
  • Employ staff full-time if you are working outside the hours specified above:
    • Someone, recently, said that farmers prefer to forego high profits which could be used to employ staff, by excessive investment in meal and machinery which they or family members have to drive.
    • A proactive approach to acquiring staff should be undertaken.
  • Contractors must be used on a regular basis to guarantee constant availability.
    • Contract-rear all calves.
    • Get or share with a neighbour, a night-time calver.
    • Get someone suitable locally to rear calves.
    • Use vets to dehorn calves.
    • Use contractors to make all silage, spread all slurry, spread most of the fertiliser, do some or all winter feeding. This will reduce the need for expensive machinery and will save on on-farm labour.
  • Put a labour-saving system in place to record financial transactions, calf registrations, and essential paperwork.
  • Decide to run a ‘simple system’ of dairy farming:
    • Challenge yourself to achieve this by going away for a few days with no phone, leaving your family to run the system. On coming back, take their advice on what you now must do to simplify things.
  • Automation technologies must be adopted; consider the following:
    • Automatic cluster removers, automatic machine wash, automatic yard scrapers, automatic gap release on paddocks, automatic heat detection, various phone Apps, soiled water sprinklers, etc.
  • Develop farm management skillset for your future:

  Self-care:

  • Rest, nutrition, exercise, time off, do regular health checks.
  • Have contingency plans in place in case of injury for both short and long term.
  • Over 23% and 50% of dairy farmers have recorded ‘burn-out’ and sleep issues, respectively.
  • 25% of dairy farmers have not taken a holiday in three years; this is shocking!
  • Studies have shown that the main causes of ‘burn-out’ are heavy workload, using outdated and laboursome work practices.

  Time management:

  • Set a start and finish to your day – set a good example.
  • Use a whiteboard for your to-do list.
  • Prioritise jobs and activities.
  • Organise weekly farm staff meetings.
  • Organise time off to match industry standards, including a full two-week holiday.

  Have a networking routine for:

  • Team and family communications.
  • Discussion group participation.
  • Local community activities.

  Grassland:

  • Measure weekly and discuss actions.
  • Do a spring and autumn rotation plan.
  • Plan your winter feed requirements in March.

  Livestock:

  • Plan livestock preventative care on the calendar.
  • Focus on healthcare and biosecurity.

  Financial planning:

  • Be ‘on-top’ of record keeping, data analysis and benchmarking.
  • Update your cost control plan monthly, quarterly and yearly.
  • Do a comprehensive annual financial assessment/plan in December-January.
  • Then make your new cost control plan for the year.

BREEDING AND FERTILITY MANAGEMENT:

• Breeding and reproductive programmes are intrinsically linked.
  • EBI is and will be the main driver, and it will be updated later in 2025 using a 2015-born cow as the base/reference cow.
  • Sexed semen has transformed the type and quality of dairy and male calves born on dairy farms,
  • In 2021 there were 417,852 male dairy calves born. It is projected that in 2026, this will reduce to 252,000; the difference being replaced by beef calves. This is because sexed semen usage will have increased by over 315,000 in that period.
  • Sexed semen offers an opportunity to be more selective when choosing dams.
    • If you choose, for mating, the top 30% EBI cows with a reliability of 60%, their mean EBI will be €28 higher than the herd average. If they were genotyped it would be €40. Hence, the advice is to select your best cows from a fully genotyped herd for mating to the best bulls for faster herd genetic gain.
  • As bulls and cows now have a prediction of their genetic resistance to TB, as well as other health traits, we must incorporate these into our selection decision so as to have healthier cows in the future.
  • All farmers should genotype all breeding animals – it is free – but costs €6/animal in the second year. The benefits are enormous!
  • Gestation length is an important consideration:
    • Too short or too long is problematic – the ideal is 280-282 days. Bull selection based on EBI data is accurate.
  • Uterine infections reduce cow fertility, and identifying affected cows early provides time for appropriate intervention:
    • Most cows resolve infection but 10-20% fail to do so.
    • The Metricheck device is a useful tool to identify the level of vaginal discharge and subsequent treatment required.
  • Milk-based pregnancy testing from day 28 post AI is 98.7% accurate.

MORE GRASS DRIVES PROFIT!

• Grassland management to maximise grass grown per hectare is the key to farm profit:
  • The following costs of feeds per tonne (t) of dry matter (DM) should convince you:
  • Grass sward (11t DM/ha) €110
  • Grass + white clover Sward (13t DM/ha) €85
  • Grass sward (15t DM/ha) €80
  • Multi species sward €88
  • Pit silage €230
  • Bale silage €262
  • Concentrates €326
  • Message – grow more grass/ha to dilute costs. Feed as little meal as possible as it is three-times more expensive than grass.
  • If a cow requires 1.7t DM/winter by switching from baled to pit silage one would save €55/cow.
  • Measure grass 35-40 times at least throughout the season and act if your data is not in line with those in Table 2.

Table 2: Farm cover targets throughout the grazing season.

Good grassland managers can challenge these targets a little.

• The target is to grow 15+t DM/ha with less organic nitrogen(N); and it is only possible by:
  • Soil fertility: pH >6.5, and index 3 or 4 for both P and K.
  • Sward renewal: 8-10% reseeded and 15-20% over-sown every year.
  • Grazing infrastructure: Very good paddock set-up, roadways and water.
  • Grazing management: This must reach new levels to manage clover N fixation.
• Cows grazing grass-white clover swards with 20% clover, compared with grass only swards have:
  • Higher yields (+230kg/cow).
  • More milk solids (+32kg/cow).
  • Are €504/ha more profitable.
• Now, precision N management is the key to foster nitrogen fixation by clover – it can be as high as 100kg N/ha (81 units/acre) – see Table 3.

Table 3: Recommended chemical N (kg N/ha) usage based on April clover content.

*Chemical N can be increased to 230kg N/ha in paddocks with no clover if the whole farm N does not exceed 212kg N/ha. Soiled water (SW) used whenever no N application indicated – equivalent to 25kg N.

• Earlier autumn closing (+high AFCs) reduced clover content during the following spring, particularly in swards with lower initial sward clover content.
  • Therefore, it is important to close clover swards in the correct rotation order and with medium to low AFCs.
• Increasing the level of N fertiliser in spring resulted in reduced levels of N response and N uptake:
  • Hence, the recommendation is to apply 60kg N/ha (50 units/acre) in spring, 33% in February and 66% in March – this provides the optimum combination of DM yield, N response and N recovery.
• Autumn closing date does not affect late lactation milk production:
  • Closing dates have a significant impact on grass availability and milk production in the following spring.
    • Farmers stocked at 2.9+ cows/ha must have AFCs above 800kg DM/ha on December 1 so as to ensure an opening AFCs over 1000kg DM/ha.
  • Spring grass availability is one of the main drivers of cow performance in early lactation and this benefit, achieved in early lactation, can be maintained into mid-lactation.
    • Opening AFCs of 1,157kg, 857kg and 630kg yielded 2.11, 2.07 and 2.00 kg MS/cow/day over the spring trial period.
    • For each 1kg increase in daily grass allowance, there was an increase in milk yield of 0.35kg/cow/day.
    • DM intake per cow increases by 0.8kg/cow/week up to 6 weeks and by 0.3 kg/cow/week from 7-12 weeks.
    • If grass supply is low in spring, feed silage in February not March. If silage has to be fed (either 3.4kg DM/cow/day or 5.4kg DM/cow/day) there is no difference in milk yield over six weeks (March 15); however, continuing to feed silage to April 25 gave a reduction of 91L/cow and greater BCS loss.
• Multi species swards (MSS) can maintain herbage production with 50% less N compared with a ryegrass sward.
  • MSS increased DM intake per cow by 2.4kg DM/cow/day and milk yield by 24kg MS/cow.
  • Plantain, in ryegrass-white clover swards reduced urinary N by 25%.
  • Urinary N was reduced by 9% by incorporating white clover into ryegrass swards while reducing bag N.
  • Species persistency, red clover, and chicory, is an issue in intensively grazed MSS, while plantain levels reduce after four years,
  • White clover in all swards mixes increased DM yields at all levels of N.
• Grass-red clover swards can produce high silage yields with reduced N levels.
  • When grass-red clover silage was compared with grass silage in spring, the % fat and milk yield were reduced. There was no difference in the autumn.
    • Hence, do not feed grass-red clover silage to spring calved cows.
  • Using 33kg N/ha (26 units/acre) for first cut increased cumulative production by 0.9t DM/ha.
    • Grass-clover swards can provide a yield advantage of up to 2.9t DM/ha over grass only swards.
  • Select red-clover varieties on the basis of persistency and yield.
• Protected urea gave the same grass yield as CAN and urea while reducing ammonia emissions by 58-65% and nitrous oxide by 70%. Farmers must use only protected urea from now on.
  • Protected urea was able to maintain production during poor growth (2024).
• Nationally, the % fat in milk declines from spring to summer by 0.44% (2023). The reasons are unclear.
• Reseeding costs €1,100/ha and it will have repaid itself in two years.
  • Less than 2% of our national grassland is reseeded annually – target 10+%.
  • There is no loss in production in the year a paddock is reseeded in spring.
• Lime – the forgotten fertiliser!
  • The following illustrates the beneficial effects of lime, P and K on the efficiency of nitrogen use (Opt = optimum levels):
    • Low pH, P and K = 35% nitrogen use efficiency.
    • Optimum pH, low P and K = 53% nitrogen use efficiency.
    • Optimium pH and K with low P = 54% nitrogen use efficiency.
    • Optimum pH and P with low K = 57% nitrogen use efficiency.
    • Optimum pH, P and K = 63% nitrogen use efficiency.
• The message is clear – get pH levels over 6.3 and 6.5 for clover.
  • Lime also plays an important role in the availability and supply of soil phosphorous (P) as the following shows for a soil pH of 5.5:
    • No P = soil test 1 ppm P.
    • Lime only = soil test 5.5 ppm P.
    • P only = soil test 8 ppm P.
    • P and lime = soil test 17 ppm P.
    • Note: 5t lime/ha and 100kg P/ha applied and tested after 12mths)
• The following shows the effect of soil pH on grass-clover sward yield:
  • pH 5.5 gave a yield of 8,100 kg DM/ha,
  • pH 5.9 gave a yield of 8,375 kg DM/ha,
  • pH 6.3 gave a yield of 8,710 kg DM/ha,
  • pH 6.8 gave a yield of 9,340 kg DM/ha,
    • This is clear message as to the economic value of optimum pH for reseeds.
• Silage quality for milking cows and replacement heifers should be 74% DMD, while 68-70% DMD is adequate for dry cows, mainly influenced by:
  • Soil fertility, sward quality.
  • Delayed cutting date.
  • Grass variety.
  • Pit management, poor pH and slow and uneven pit rolling.

FARM INFRASTRUCTURES MUST BE UPDATED!

• Electricity independence is the future!
  • We should plan to use electricity to milk, cool milk, provide all on-farm lighting, scrapie cubicle passages, power quad bikes, maybe some tractors?
  • Solar PV can reduce electricity bills and increase energy independence.
  • Payback periods range from three to 10 years, depending on battery storage and grant support.
  • Self-consumption of solar power maximises financial return over exporting to the grid.
  • A 26kWp system can offset 7.5t of CO2 annually – supporting climate goals!
• Herringbone parlour efficiency can be improved. As milking accounts for 33% of annual labour requirements on dairy farm, to reduce, consider the following:
  • Automatic cluster removers (ACRs).
  • Automatic machine washing.
  • Eight to nine rows per milking time.
  • Rapid exits.
  • Power washer quality.
  • Motorised backing gates,
  • Good cow and udder health.
• Factors associated with bulk tank SCC.
  • Low SCC:
    • Seasonal calving patterns.
    • Family involvement.
    • Keeping mastitis occurrence and treatment records.
    • Effective fore-milking routines.
    • Pre-milking udder preparation.
    • Post-milking teat disinfectant.
    • Reduced SCC levels were observed with the use of ACRs, automatic machine washing and strategic use of dry cow treatment.
  • High SCC:
    • Longer morning milking durations.
    • Certain parlour designs, including rotaries, and those with straight breast rails or backing gates.
• Management of poorly drained soils:
  • Over 30% of Irish grassland soils are deemed to be poorly drained.
  • Teagasc’s heavy soils programme aims to help such farmers.
  • Through this programme they have shown that grass production has increased by 4-7t DM/year.
• Farm roadway surveys show that most are suboptimal – taking longer for cows to move to and from milking – mainly due to:
  • Poor surface conditions due to congestion points, increased verge width, and capability for water to run freely off the roadway to the field.
  • Roadway width – they have not increased with increased herd size. When these were improved by a total upgrade, it resulted in 1.1 hours saved annually for every €1,000 invested,
  • But the best return was achieved by upgrading the surface resulting in 1.7 hours per year saved for every €1,000 spent.
  • Dairy and beef farm roadways can have elevated phosphorous concentrations throughout the whole year; as the P can be index 4 and they represent a big pollution risk.
• Be aware that slurry and soiled water storage may have to increase by 20% and 33% respectively because surveys show that:
  • Slurry and soiled water tanks collect 0.41 cu.m/cow/week and 0.30 cu.m/cow /week, respectively.
  • Spreading slurry at the appropriate time can save €43/cow compared with spreading it at unfavourable times.
  • Slurry storage costs (estimated) are:

Quote for the month

“Contentment is a constant feast.”