EBI change: You will have noticed in the latest round of EBI updates that EBIs have dropped across the board by €71. This is due to the base change. Previously, the base population was cows born in 1995. Now, the base is cows born in 2005. Because genetics have improved in the interim, animals are now being compared against better animals, so the expected performance difference has decreased, hence their EBIs are lower. The ranking of cows and bulls is the same – so the best bulls will still be the best bulls. Some animals’ EBIs have changed over and under the €71 base change, but this would have happened anyway regardless of the base change. The bulls that will fluctuate most are those that are going from a mostly parental average or genomic index to a daughter-proven index with greater reliability.

Slurry: With just over two weeks left before the closing date for spreading slurry, you need to make sure that all tanks are empty in advance of the deadline. Rotation lengths should be at their longest now, so spreading slurry on grazed paddocks shouldn’t be a problem presuming it’ll be a month or six weeks before the cows will be back in that paddock again. Some farmers will wait until paddocks are closed for the year before spreading. This is fine when you can be sure ground conditions will be good enough for travelling after closing paddocks on around 10 October and before the closing date on 15 October. Farmers on heavy land who have had to house cows are under most pressure because while they may have emptied tanks after silage, the tanks are filling up again as many animals have been housed. With the forecast not good for the next couple of days, be prepared to move slurry quickly when conditions do dry up. It awaits to be seen if the Department of Agriculture will extend the spreading period this year.

Quality milk: In this week’s Focus, the finalists in the quality milk awards are profiled. To be fair, all those nominated this year and in previous years produce excellent quality milk. So what’s the common denominator? Good hygiene and a clean parlour is common across the board, but it’s the record-keeping and reaction to a problem that sets the participants apart. They get the milk quality results like everyone else but they tend to be more reactive to problems like SCC and TBC before they become an issue. High SCC cows are treated and if treatment fails, they are culled. TBCs are minimised through using an appropriate and approved machine washing technique and regular machine maintenance. One of the standout comments from nearly all of the participants has been the use of the paddle test. This is the CMT test. Most of the farmers use this to test each quarter at the last milking before the cow’s milk enters the tank after calving. They also use it to test each quarter after a cow has been treated. While it’s not 100% accurate, it gives a good indication of the level of infection. Most prefer to use the basic paddle and add the solution from a separate container.