With global milk prices on the floor, the sentiment among dairy farmers right across the world is one of cautious optimism. Cautious against spending money in the current environment, yet optimistic about the future.

Irish dairy farmers are no different. Many have delayed planned investments on the farm at least until milk prices show definite signs of recovery. That said, new dairy conversions are still happening and most farmers are continuing with their expansion plans for 2017, albeit many existing dairy farmers are going to work away with existing milking facilities before upgrading to cater for the increase in cow numbers.

Another reason cited for the slow trade in dairy equipment is the delay associated with TAMS approvals.

Peter Varley highlights on page 56 the common reasons why grant approvals are being delayed and the steps farmers can take to avoid errors and delays with their application.

Average SCC

But it’s not all doom and gloom. On pages 52 and 53, we carry an interview with Finola McCoy of CellCheck, where she outlines how average SCC on Irish dairy farms is continuing a downward spiral.

The results are positive, but we can’t get complacent: with no quotas, the temptation is there to milk on cows that should otherwise be culled due to high cell count. Don’t undo the great achievements made over the last few years.

We also look into rotary parlours. Are they an option on more Irish dairy farms? The big issue is scale and labour availability. As Ireland’s economy improves, it will become more difficult to get skilled labour to work on farms. Will rotary parlours play a role? See pages 48 and 49 for more.