In this special Focus supplement, we profile the 15 dairy farmers who have been shortlisted in this year’s NDC/IDB Quality Milk competition. It is not possible to detail all the various elements of each dairy business, so in each, we focus on various different elements that make that farm stand out from the rest.

We discuss various aspects of their business, including their milk quality results. The key barometer on milk quality that we publish is the farm’s somatic cell count (SCC) and total bacteria count (TBC).

For the competition, we use the results that they have been paid on by their milk processor in 2013. Those results put them in the frame to be qualified for this competition.

As you will see by looking through the profiles, some have invested in new equipment, while some are still using the same milking machine they have used for the last 20 years – all are producing top-quality milk.

Average herd size this year exceeded 100 cows for the first time since the competition began and the consistent quality of results this year far exceeds anything we have seen on farms for the last number of years.

The objective of this competition is to acknowledge dairy farmers who are achieving the highest milk quality in Ireland and to promote milk quality nationally and internationally.

Irish farmers can match the best in the world on milk quality and they can do it in an environmental and sustainable manner.

The plant washing routine is very interesting, because it differs a lot from farm to farm, yet all are producing top-quality results.

Half of the farmers in this Focus are using hot water on a daily basis and the other half are using hot water two or three times per week.

Your on-farm requirement will vary a lot depending on the size of your machine, the type of water, and your washing routine, etc.

It is fair to say all farmers are prepping their cows before milking – but again the level of preparation varies from farm to farm.

For some farmers, preparation means dry-wiping and checking for mastitis, while for some, it is pre-dipping, cleaning and then drawing each quarter to check for mastitis.

As an observation, it is fair to say some farmers take shortcuts on this pre-milking routine. In some cases, this can lead to mastitis establishing in a cow, and cure rates with antibiotic tubes are much worse for those cows that have a problem which is well bedded in.

There is no doubt milk recording is one of the great tools – it builds knowledge for the farmer and establishes a track record for individual cows.

This track record is what makes decisions easy when it comes to culling or management at the end of the year when frequency changes or you want to start drying off cows.

All have a good routine and limit shortcuts – some large-scale farmers think they can rush milking and get away with it. Most have found out the hard way that rushing comes back to bite you in the end.

Remember, the parlour is where the product which you sell is delivered. I’ve worked with some large-scale producers who have talked all about rushing through milking and subsequently saw a huge spike in SCC that has cost them thousands of euro and endless hours of heartache treating large numbers of infected cows.

Now, in complete contrast, they will put an extra pair of hands in the parlour at times, especially in the spring to set the herd up properly for the year ahead.

The focus on rushing the job is gone and the focus returns to doing the job right – not rushing cluster removal, teat spraying properly, drafting out cows for close inspection at the end of milking if you think there is a problem.

Articles

The following articles have been pulled together using information provided to the judging panel as we called to each farm. We visited each farm over a two-week period in July.

Pat Walshe (pictured) helped me pull together the various articles and generate the tables and data for artwork used in this Focus supplement.