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There have been increasing numbers of new entrants to dairying over the past two years, with approximately 50 farmers starting milk production last year and a similar figure doing likewise in 2018.
Tynan Roulston is just one of these new entrants, with the first cows milked on his Co Tyrone farm on 9 May last year.
Prior to the switch, Tynan operated a suckler herd with cows crossed to Angus stock bulls and progeny taken through to slaughter.
The move to dairying was driven by a couple of factors, mainly the time-consuming nature of working fragmented land blocks and the lack of additional labour.
“I have 105 good grazing/silage acres at home with a couple of larger outfarms that carried suckler cows.
“It was a big drain on my time travelling between land blocks tending to cattle. I felt I was better off focusing on getting the most return from the land at home and a spring calving dairy herd was the way forward” said Tynan.
Change in livestock
The suckler cows were dispersed in 2018, with 60 freshly calved British Friesian cows purchased during the spring of last year. Cows were purchased in Co Cork.
The milking herd is expanding to 72 animals this year, with plans to settle at 80 cows for the next few years.
There is a lot of investment needed
“Even with the current downturn in milk, there is still a good living to be had from 80 milk cows, provided you haven’t gone over the top with setup costs.
“Controlling your spending is crucial when setting up the farm for milk. There is a lot of investment needed, but you have to keep a tight handle on this if you want to get a wage and return on invested capital.”
Investment
Tynan’s setup costs for an 80-cow herd amounted to £2,000/cow. This covers construction of a new parlour, collecting yard, cubicles, heifer-rearing sheds and grazing infrastructure. The outlined figure excludes buying milking cows, but this is covered through the income generated by dispersing suckler cows.
Building
Construction work on the parlour started last January. A 12/24 swing-over parlour was installed with automatic cluster removal, but no feed-to-yield facility.
“I went for the parlour as it was cheaper than installing robots. Also, as I wanted to focus on a grass-based spring-calving system, the parlour was a more practical option and better fit for the herd.”
The other major expense was constructing pathways to access the grazing block, plus fencing and water provision
Along with the parlour, there was investment needed in a new dairy and collecting yard for cows. Cubicles were installed in existing cattle sheds, after some modifications. Only one shed needed to be extended.
“There are 100 cubicle spaces for cows and replacements, which is adequate for my plans. The other major expense was constructing pathways to access the grazing block, plus fencing and water provision.”
Spring calving
Tynan opted for a spring-calving system as he wanted to make best use of grass and produce milk as cheaply as possible. He also liked the idea of having a month in winter when all cows are dry.
The land around the farmyard is good-quality ground, capable of carrying cows in early spring and autumn, thereby maximising the grazing season.
He also wanted to keep the system as simple as possible. All cows are served to Angus stock bulls to add value to the calves produced, rather than using AI. At present, all calves are being reared on farm with the aim of finishing these animals under the Angus breed schemes.
Herd replacements are being purchased as maiden heifers through an agent, with animals sourced from repeat farms.
Herd performance
Cows are on track to average 6,500 litres per lactation from 1.5t of concentrate fed, giving a milk from forage yield of 3,200 litres/cow.
Plans are to reduce concentrate levels down to 1.25t/cow without sacrificing yield
Given that the NI average dairy herd produces close to 7,300 litres from 2.5t/concentrate with approximately 1,700 litres of milk from forage, Tynan’s output reflects efficient cows in a well-managed system despite being in its first year of production.
Plans are to reduce concentrate levels down to 1.25t/cow without sacrificing yield.
Milk price boost
Milk solids are excellent, with top-up payments ranging from 2.5p to a peak of 5p/l over base price in the past year. This top-up has helped to increase income on milk sales.
Milk is sold to Dale Farm, meaning Tynan availed of the 3p/l bonus payment for new entrants in his first production year.
Lessons learned
According to Tynan, the move to milk from suckling was the right one for him and the future of his farm.
“Once calving is out of the way, the workload is quite simple. Apart from one hour to milk cows each morning and night, I actually have more free time to get other jobs sorted.
As I farm on my own, working with dairy cows is much safer than suckler cows with calves, which is a big positive
“I rented out two outfarms that are not required. The running of the farm is much more streamlined now with less time spent going between land blocks.
“As I farm on my own, working with dairy cows is much safer than suckler cows with calves, which is a big positive.
“The farm is in a much better place with monthly cashflow coming in. This has also been a big help to complete building work”.
Advice to new entrants
For farmers converting to milk, Tynan has a couple of pointers to adhere to. First off is to control spending to under £3,000/cow if you want to keep the cost of production in line with milk price.
“You are better off having money tied up in stock or land, not buildings, so don’t exceed your limit before you even start.”
Secondly, he recommends making use of grazed grass in the system to control the level of purchased feed used.
Lastly, he advises farmers to convert for the right reasons, one of which has to be enjoying what you do.
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