Dairy Day

According to John Penno, the big issues facing dairy farmers is either the environment and animal welfare or animal welfare and the environment. Both were covered extensively at Dairy Day. Jack Nolan from the Department of Agriculture was very clear that the spotlight is on dairy farmers. Dairy farmers spread 60% of the fertiliser in Ireland, even though they only farm 20% of the agricultural land area. He said it’s madness to be chasing higher input systems when our marketing strategy is based around producing milk from grazed grass. He said that feeding 500kg of meal per cow per year is a good target and after that focus on growing and utilising grass and clover to increase milk solids production. High protein concentrates also came in for criticism as they increase the nitrate content in urine and cows don’t need high protein when they’re at grass. The key point was that moderate input systems that optimise profit are also good for the environment and are in sync with our marketing strategy.

Cash flow

Now is a good time to start putting figures together for the financial performance of 2019. These figures have a number of purposes. Firstly, they help to identify what surplus cash is available after everyone is paid. Secondly, getting all the receipts and invoices together will reduce the workload for the accountants and finally, the majority of the work will be done for the 2019 profit monitor and discussion group costs meeting. Despite a lower milk price, 2019 will be a relatively good year for most, even though the back end was wet for some. If you find that you have surplus cash, your first priority should be to build a reserve for the rainy day. Building the buffer fund of about €300/cow is important to get through difficult years like 2018. Talk to your accountant about ways of doing this tax efficiently. In terms of on-farm investment the first priority should be compliance e.g. making sure you have enough slurry storage. Then labour efficiency, e.g. calf sheds, extra milking units etc.

Soil sampling

The ideal time to soil sample is three months after the last application of phosphorus and potassium either through slurry or chemical fertiliser. Most fields in a farm are suitable to be sampled now and those that got slurry late in October can always be sampled later. The advantage of sampling now and not waiting until January when you can do every field is that you will have the results back before Christmas and a plan can be drawn up. The problem with January sampling is that the results won’t be back until early February at which time the focus will be on calving, not soil fertility. Some of the co-ops are offering a soil sampling and testing service with discounted rates. There’s no point in taking samples unless you’re going to act on them. The best grassland farmers have a recipe for each field. If samples were taken last winter look back over them and see if sufficient action was taken. While it’s too late to spread phosphorus now, lime and potash can be spread if soils are dry enough.