When we think we have left the frustration behind us, a text comes from Dairygold announcing that another cent is being cut off the milk price. We know the pain is set to continue.

It’s 2009 all over again; the chequebook must be kept closed. But we learned an awful lot in 2009. We put budgets in place and now we know that the budget must be adhered to and revisited. It is time to toughen. That is difficult for a young farmer who wants to drive on.

In that mindset, a visit to the Irish Farmers Journal-supported Greenfield open day was an absolute must. Tim, Diarmuid and I set out, leaving Colm running the show. He’s a regular visitor there being involved in the discussion group. It’s a busy time on the farm with breeding going on along with the regular jobs. Whatever the milk price, the cycle of farming continues.

APPLICABLE TO ALL FARMS

We were not alone in our thinking as Greenfield filled up with cars and more young than old marched on to hear what the Teagasc experts and Greenfield managers had to say. It is quite obvious that the numbers adopting the Greenfield programme are increasing. From the questions, it was clear that farmers were there to finetune their management practices as opposed to being curious observers.

There is a view that Greenfield is not applicable to all farms because of its size. There is nothing about Greenfield management that cannot be applied to any dairy farm. Greenfield has achieved a 9% return on investment for the first five years, which is similar to other investments. The template was hammered out again; low inputs, grow enough grass, manage it well, mind the cow, prioritise the labour force and deal with cashflow problems. Budgets have been done at 24c/litre for this year. It will probably have to be revisited. There will be a deficit in 2016.

Listening to the commonsense and expertise of the men and women in front of the boards was a real tonic. There was no nonsense pedalled and they were firmly focused on solutions. The breakeven price must be reduced, meaning that input costs must be reduced and the value of the milk (solids) increased. Greenfield’s experience has been that improving milk solids alone has been worth over 3c/litre. It was found that fixing 25% of the milk price not only provided stability but also, surprisingly, increased profit.

POINTS OF INTEREST

I can’t say that we learned a huge amount but we were able to refocus on the important stuff and the value of attention to detail. There were some ideas that we brought home and will seriously consider around the kitchen table. The value of the weekly meeting was reinforced. With everyone busy, we’ve fallen down a bit ourselves on that. It is a discipline that is important.

Greenfield has had its own problems too with an outbreak of rotavirus in the calves last year. The vaccination figure for the calves now stands at €28/calf.

We follow the practice of any cow that has a low body condition score being put on a once-a-day milking after calving. This allows her to build up her condition and, consequently, have a better chance of going back in calf.

Greenfield put all the cows on once-a-day milking for the busy month of February. Ordinarily, I would cringe at such an idea. But we are still close enough to February to remember how stressed and busy we were. Removing one milking would be a huge bonus.

Overall, it resulted in a 7% drop in the milk production of the cow if she was out for the whole month. But with many of the herd only milking for half of the month or one week in February, the overall effect worked out at a 2% drop. It was probably well worthwhile in minding the people on the farm, which was also one of the key points made the day.

Job satisfaction and working conditions, including time off, must be part of the plan. There will be a cost because of the February bonus that we get, but it is paramount to keep everyone working on the farm healthy and well for the intensive four-month period. Greenfield uses contractors for everything. They have the fertiliser applied weekly. They have no machinery running costs. That sounds ideal but is a difficult leap for many farmers to make. Farmers like to do things themselves.

Management of heifers was given good focus on the day. It was pointed out that heifers will yield 30% less than a mature cow in her first lactation and 20% less in her second lactation. So those farmers with startup young herds and expanding herds will be under pressure to get milk yields up with a high proportion of young animals. We see that playing out on our own farm.

MANAGING CASHFLOW

The last stand was probably the one that farmers are struggling with most and that was the management of cashflow. The message was clear. The milk cheque will not cover all costs in 2016. Every dairy farmer needs to quantify the gap and focus on solutions to narrow that gap. This will have to include a conversation with the accountant and the bank.

The advice from AIB, the sponsors of the event, was to identify now what the shortfall is likely to be and put strategies in place to address it. Taking the drop in milk price of 6c/litre multiplied by last year’s production figure; you quickly see the black hole. It cannot be ignored. It must be managed. CL