The perception from the Northern side of the Irish border is that the higher input/higher output model of dairy production which some farmers in Northern Ireland (NI) operate is being held up as one that southern Irish dairy farmers must avoid in a post-quota environment.

This article will point out some of the positives of milk production systems being operated in NI, and the reasoning why some dairy farmers here have made the decision to opt for a higher input/higher output system.

Many seem to believe that production in NI is based on dairy farmers calving cows all year round, never grazing cows, and cramming as many cows into the house as possible. This does happen on some farms, but the percentage of herds totally confined and calving all year round is actually very small. A recent survey suggested 15% of cows are confined, but there are no precise figures.

Let’s set the scene. The exit of dairy farmers from the industry in Britain has left the UK as a whole under quota. This has allowed milk production to expand massively in NI from 5,400 herds producing 1.4 billion litres in 1995 to 2,700 herds producing 2.06 billion litres in 2013/14. DairyCo suggests yield per cow has risen from 5,200 litres in 1995 to 7,420 litres in 2013/14. Interestingly, cow numbers in NI have hardly altered in the last 20 years. Herd size has doubled to over 100 cows and average production per herd has trebled in the same time.

The predominant breed now is the high-yielding Holstein cow. Many farms are scattered, with a small grazing block. However, these circumstances do not mean that profit can’t be made. Good profits have been made by good farmers expanding output, even with a small grazing block and a scattered land base.

What does count is what counts in any dairy system – fertility, pregnancy rate (submission rate x conception rate), good-quality forage (silage and grass), low mortality rates, a good culling policy, concentrates fed per litre, milk from forage and milk yield.

Many farmers in NI operate an autumn calving pattern which allows cows to be calved indoors, fed well, put back in calf, then let out in April and grazed all through the growing season. It also works well in terms of matching grass growth to demand, where cows are starting to dry off in late June when grass growth is past peak.

Cows will be grouped in spring with low yielders out first by day and night, and highs following later. August calvers and onwards will be housed at calving to give them a good steady start for the winter period. This system works well for high-yielding cows on a limited area.

Some farmers have pushed cow numbers to 300 and above, and operate a confined or semi-confined setup, only on a larger scale. The secret to success here is the same as on smaller units, but it must be matched by good management of staff.

In this size of unit there may be no need to calve cows all in autumn or all in spring as the cows often cannot all be grazed simultaneously anyway (depending on what grazing area is available).

What is vitally important at this scale is information about individual cows and management of that information. Some farms manage by having the right protocol in place. Then everyone knows what happens on a given day. For example, cows are dried off on a Wednesday, the vet visits on a Monday (primarily for pregnancy diagnosis), cull cows leave on a Friday. They may also have an outside contractor looking after heat detection and inseminations.

Individual cow records are paramount so that cull cows can be identified, whether that is infertile cows (cows over 200 days calved and not diagnosed in-calf), cows with low milk yields, or cows with mastitis/SCC and disease problems. Therefore, it is really important if a herd is calving all year round that this is not simply because all control has been lost. That is the worst outcome.

Some of these larger herds are now zero-grazing with some success, while others are grazing the low-yielders only.

These larger farmers, in most cases, simply do not have the grazing platform on which to graze all their cows.

What it all boils down to is the breakeven milk price and good cost control. Many farmers operating autumn calving and all year round calving have a similar breakeven cost of production to the spring-calving herds. Yes they will have higher feed costs, more silage fed, and more mechanisation. However, on the other hand they will have much higher output per hectare and per cow. This dilutes other overheads.

If the important indicators mentioned previously are good, the cost of production per litre can actually fall. There is no guarantee that costs will fall as production rises. The costs in many cases will rise. The point being made is that the efficient farmers in all systems are doing a good job and are able to cope with volatile prices. However, some of those who are investing in higher-input systems are in a higher-risk category because they have more assets tied up in production.

What we would advise is that where access to sufficient grazing is possible at four cows per hectare (excluding land for silage), farmers make maximum use of that with autumn-calving cows (when Holstein is the dominant breed in the herd). On large herds you would graze what you can with your lower-yielding cows. As already stated, the important point is that you are in control.

Case study

Cahal and Conor Casey are an example of how increasing production per cow can drive down production costs and breakeven costs per litre.

The Caseys farm 89ha of Severely Disadvantaged Area land in North Antrim (size of grazing block is 20 ha excluding silage area). The farm is 600ft above sea level. They have 140 high-yielding Holstein cows and have been selecting for health and fertility in their breeding policies for the last seven to eight years.

The Caseys started three times per day milking in December 2013. They stopped grazing the low-yielders at night and cut more of their land for silage and grazed less. The business became 6p (7.5c) per litre more efficient. How? Because feed costs per litre stayed static, and all other costs per litre have reduced by dilution across extra litres. Their total milk output increased 28% as cow numbers increased slightly by stocking tighter, feeding more per cow and three times per day milking.

Calving index has remained around 390 days through the last 24 months.

The drop in breakeven milk price has been because costs have been well controlled, while output per cow has risen by 1,700 litres in the same time. Yes, more meal is being fed, but the feed costs per litre have actually fallen slightly. The Caseys operate a flexible approach to business and if milk prices drop below 21p/litre, they will potentially cease three-times-per-day milking as the dynamics of profit and loss will change.

The Caseys keep an eye on their figures by completing monthly dairy costings and their target is to produce 2,600-3,000 litres from forage. Making profit is not only about reducing tonnes of meal fed per cow.

Many others have tried to achieve this type of result and simply pushed up their costs. It worked in this case because the genetic potential was there and the management is right.

As milk prices tighten, the Caseys will continue on this supposedly high-cost/high output path. Why? Because they are now running a lower-cost per litre, more efficient farm – and it pays.

If you simply focus on costs all the time you can miss the opportunity to increase profit on what might be a limited holding.

Jason McMinn runs FarmGate consultancy Ltd. dairy consultancy business in NI.