Teagasc research has found no significant drop in yield from skipping one of the milkings in the week. The Greenfield farm has been milking 13 times a week for the past two weeks, with no significant drop in production over and above what you would expect.

The cows are milked at 8am on Sunday morning and cups are on again Monday morning by 7am. Cows are given a full paddock, enough for three grazings, on Sunday morning, so they are content.

At this stage in the year, with breeding coming to an end and most of the main jobs completed, we need to re-charge the batteries and take some breaks. This applies to people working on the farm too. The hard work in spring needs to be balanced out, and taking Sunday evenings off for the next few months can help achieve that.

Farmer writes: Bovine psychology and 13-times-a-week milking

Dairy management: grass

Dairy management: milk recording

Dairy management: 13 times milking

Now that we are into July, there is no reason why the cows can’t be milked 13 times a week, ie milking once on Sundays.