Following on from the reduced supplies in February and March volumes sold are beginning to pick up slowly and milk solids (fat and protein) are very good.

The milk results show the protein percentage has hit over 3.8% four times already in May. Last year, it only hit 3.8% protein once in the month. However, percentages are only part of the equation and volumes continue to be that little bit behind the 2017 curve. Again, this means volumes will be back for April and May compared with the same months in 2017. The last test result shows the daily milk per cow is 21 litres at 3.82% protein and 4.44% fat (1.8kg MS) on grazed grass with minerals and vitamins in the water.

The biggest issue with milk quality at the moment is elevated somatic cell count (SCC). The bulk tank hovers around 300,000 cells/ml which is very high for this time of the year. In the last week, three cows with clots have been identified, pulled out and treated. These cows go into the second herd (thin cows, high SCC and lame cows, etc). Some quarter-sampling has also been carried out to get a definitive and quick turnaround of results.

Grass side

Grass is really moving and the last number of weeks have seen growth rates exceed 80kg/day on a consistent basis. Surplus grass has been taken out as round-bale silage and while it is light (two bales/acre), it is making a dent into next winter’s feed demand.

Last year, we made over 1,000 bales alongside the pit of first-cut and it gives the option of real quality feed when you need it, whether that’s in the winter or at the shoulders of the year as the growth rate slips down.

The flexibility of grass silage as a supplement far exceeds maize as a feed source. I hear plenty about some dairy farmers talking about maize to supplement winter feed, but it’s more expensive to grow. It is also harder to preserve, more difficult to feed out and can have much higher feed-out losses. It needs to be balanced with a higher protein supplement which adds further to the extra cost.

Now that’s all fine if you have alternatives, but if you don’t, and you need to boost winter supplies, it can play a part.

Breeding

The breeding side of things is going well. The farm was two weeks into the breeding season on Monday of this week and, according to the farm manager, he is seeing very strong heats. The AI sires selected as part of the team are listed in Table 1. Maiden heifers (on the contract-rearing farm) and milking cows are bred to AI every day and served by the technician. By Monday, over 60% of the herd was submitted.

The vasectomised bulls arrived and are paddocked down the farm. They will be deployed once the first round of breeding is completed and heat observation becomes that bit more difficult. They will be rotated in teams to give them a chance to recover. No veterinary intervention on the cows has taken place yet.

All cows were tail-painted three weeks prior to the breeding start date. Cows were freshly painted the day before the start of breeding and any cows that hadn’t signs of bulling (paint removed or hair removed) were noted down. If they are not recorded bulling in the first three weeks of the AI season, depending on calving date, they will be handled.

Condition-scoring

I was on a couple of farms this week and the comment was made that the cows were in poor condition score at the start of breeding. In Kilkenny, we condition-scored at the end of March and again at the end of April and I honestly think they are two of the most important times that farmers should lay hands on cows.

It’s impossible to be scientific about it unless you have hands on. While your perception or opinion of the herd may well be right, your actions and results will be far better if you go to the trouble of proper recording and working with the results to make change.

The action taken in Kilkenny was that the cows in the BCS category of 2.5 and less were put on once-a-day milking to reduce energy required for milk and walking. This, and high-quality feed, should allow them to gain an extra half condition score sooner rather than later to help with conception rates.

The condition score results show little or no abnormality from normal for the time of year. Yes, 20% of the herd were slightly under-conditioned but only 5% were what you would call very thin. Over 75% of the herd at the start of breeding were in condition score 3 or more. All cows were on a rising plane of nutrition as grass growth rates took off as temperatures lifted.

External review

An external review of the effect of Storm Emma on the Greenfield farm is ongoing. Experts are being brought in from overseas along with Irish professionals to bring cold weather experience and management skills for livestock during extreme weather events. This review was agreed following questioning by politicians and commitments made shortly after the snow storm in early March.