Andrew Cromie, ICBF, spoke on genomics and its potential for the dairy herd. He said that Ireland was one of the first countries to implement genomics in the national breeding programme in 2009.

Today, approximately 54% of semen is coming from genomically tested bulls. He highlighted the possibility of using genotyping to select replacement heifers, and added that some farmers have started to utilise this technology already.

He said that the advent of genomics will allow the possibility of genomic mating plans, whereby farmers will be able to match bulls more accurately to cows using genomics results.

He also said that results from the sexed semen field research trial were positive and this opened up the possibilities of more targeted mating for dairy replacements and could also lead to increased numbers of beef progeny from the dairy herd.

Cromie also showed how the EBI evaluation has evolved since its implementation in 2000.

He showed how the index has evolved over the years and why it has evolved to include traits such as milk, fertility, beef, calving, maintenance, management and health.

He said that EBI has contributed approximately €100m of an increase in genetic worth to the national herd since its implementation.

In the next five years, it is estimated that it will contribute an additional €270m to the genetic worth of the national herd.

In relation to health and disease traits, Cromie showed an example of the prevalence of BVD persistently infected (PI) calves born per sire.

He said that significant numbers of some bulls’ progeny have been confirmed as BVD PIs, while other bulls have virtually no offspring becoming infected.

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He said that detailed analysis is showing strong correlations between resistance to disease in some bulls.

Farm infrastructure and planning

Speaking at the Irish dairy farming summer tour and conference, Bertie Troy, Grasstec, said that planning is crucial to a growing dairy farm.

He urged farmers to “minimise mistakes of the past” and take time to plan buildings and farm infrastructure (see panel on Page 33).

Bertie’s presentation centred around: 1) infrastructure on the farm; and 2) the farmyard.

“Paddocks and roadways will leave you money and give you a sustainable business,” said Bertie, when talking about farm infrastructure. He emphasised the importance of a good roadway network and smooth road surface to avoid foot problems.

He highlighted problems that farmers have faced this summer in regards to poor water pressure and slow-filling water troughs, particularly at the end of single supply systems.

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He told the crowd that the looped water system, where available, is often a better option, adding that in a loop system, the troughs which were at the end of the line will fill 50% to 60% faster when compared to a single supply system.

He stressed that to have an adequate supply of water for cows it is the flow rate that is most important and not the size of the drinker.

On the topic of farmyard planning, he said that the first step a farmer should take is to accurately define the future herd size. He urged farmers to plan the yard carefully on paper to avoid costly mistakes.

Feeding modern dairy cow

Joe Patton, Teagasc dairy specialist, spoke about feeding and nutrition of the modern dairy cow. He said that there are currently two schools of thought among dairy farmers, those who feed cows, and those who manage grass.

He acknowledged that this is “a bit of a tragedy” and said that joined-up thinking would help. He showed that producing milk from forage is much more important than milk yield in terms of profitability.

He showed that profitability from producing milk from forage is a straight line, however when profitability per litre is plotted against yield, it is a curved line with the optimum profitability at approximately 7,000 litres.

He told farmers when choosing a dairy ration not to be focused on the crude protein content in evaluating its value. He said that if protein is to be looked at, the PDI balance should be looked at instead of simply the crude protein content.

More importantly, he stressed that energy drives the system, and the composition of the ration, ingredients used and the energy content of the ration is what farmers should be asking for.

In terms of stocking rate, he told farmers to be realistic and to look at the stock carrying capacity of the land based on the volume of grass the farm has the ability to grow on a per ha basis.

When questioned on TMR diets, he said that these work best where cows can be grouped and fed accordingly. He added that in a liquid milk system where cows are not calving seasonally, the logic of blanket feeding with a TMR ration will result in some cows being under fed and others in later lactation being overfed.

He said that in some cases where TMR rations are being fed, cows could be overfed to the tune of 500kg concentrates per head per year.

“I would prefer to put my money into improving P and K and addressing pH issues than invest it in a feeder wagon– I think it will give a better return on your investment.”