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This was the key message from head of animal and grassland research at Teagasc, Pat Dillon. Pat presented figures which showed that Ireland’s cost of producing milk per kilo of milk solids has fallen substantially from €3.90/kg MS in 2013 to €3/kg of MS in 2015. A lot of this is because some costs have been diluted by increased output since quotas have gone, but farmers are becoming more efficient also, with improvements in grass utilisation and breeding.
A lack of financial discipline and a drift away from core principles has caused severe pain in the New Zealand dairy industry. So say Waikato dairy farmers Pete and Anne Morgan. Pete said that the widespread use of supplements during the high milk price years pushed up the cost structure on most farms.
“For most farmers, it happened without them realising it. It probably made sense to use supplement in a drought when milk price was high. Because it worked so well they bought it again the following year. Before they knew it they were buying it every year and had invested in tractors and feed bunkers to feed it out. The net result was that total costs increased and the focus on grassland management decreased,” Pete said.
Pete said that at the low milk price, only 15% of New Zealand dairy farmers were cash-positive. This figure would decrease further if family drawings were included. While operating costs increased on farms, so too did debt levels as farms expanded, investing in new facilities and buying land at sometimes inflated prices. When combined with high costs, some of these farms had to be sold because the owners got into a debt spiral, where the costs of servicing debt along with the operating deficit was too much to handle and they were faced with bankruptcy.
An extra 7% of pasture growth and an extra 9% of milk solids production with 40% less chemical nitrogen use is achievable when clover is incorporated into grass swards.
This was the message from Moorepark researchers Brian McCarthy and Mike Egan.
However, clover is not without its challenges, with increased risk of bloat and tweaking to pasture management required. Bandon dairy farmer Laurence Sexton said that he couldn’t ignore the obvious benefits and over-sowed 70% of his farm with clover this summer.
Laurence used an Einbock machine to over sow after grazing at a rate of 1.5kg/acre.
Milking once a day in February has no effect on annual milk solids production but a massive effect on the working day. This was the message from Tipperary and Waterford farmers Donald Bateman and John Phelan who spoke at the Cork conference.
“With a young family, I need to be there for my children in the evenings. It’s not their fault I’m a dairy farmer so I need to change practices on the farm to make time for my family. I always aim to be finished up and back in the house for 5pm, even in spring,” John said.
Listen to a discussion with 23-year-old Co Cavan farmer Brian Gilsenan, who has just completed the Teagasc Professional Dairy Farm Management course and spoke at the conference:
Listen to "What's involved in Teagasc's professional dairy farm management course?" on Spreaker.
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