Milking on

A number of farmers have been talking about milking on for longer this winter. The incentive is the high milk price and the prospect of a bigger than normal milk payment in January and February.

There’s no doubt that on the majority of farms there is money to be made by producing milk this winter. Take feed costs alone; if silage is costing €50/bale, that’s around 25c/kgDM. Meal at €450/t is costing 45c/kg as fed.

If a milking cow is eating 12kg of silage and 4kg of meal, the total feed costs are €4.80 per cow per day. If that cow is milking 10l/day at a milk price of say 65c/l that’s a total milk income of €6.50 per cow per day.

Different yields and different milk prices will change the sum, but in this case the margin is €1.70/cow/day. When you consider that a dry cow will eat around 12kg of silage at a cost of €3/day, milking on turns a cost into a profit.

There are of course other costs, such as labour, energy and parlour consumables.

Probably the most important cost is the impact on body condition score (BCS), and this cannot be ignored. It would be madness to let BCS run down this winter in the pursuit of a quick buck only for next season’s production and fertility to suffer as a result.

For me, sticking to the normal seven to eight week dry period makes more sense, with 11 to 12 weeks for first calvers who are still growing.

Drying off

The process of drying off cows has now begun in earnest. Remember that selective dry cow therapy is now mandatory, so talk to your vet about the best options for your farm.

As part of this selective approach, a sensitivity test should be carried out on cows that are to get antibiotics to ensure an antibiotic is used that is sensitive to the bugs that cow has.

Drying off is a tricky job, and it’s even trickier now that some cows won’t be getting any antibiotics, so they have less defence against picking up infection at drying off.

This means that hygiene needs to be top notch and the job will take longer than normal. Don’t start the job on an empty stomach – if doing it in the morning, milk the cows as normal and then go for breakfast and dry off after it.

Get in extra help or do less cows at any one time than you would normally do. Use a head torch to give additional light when working. This will help to make sure the teat end is spotlessly clean before inserting the tube.

After drying off, let cows stand in a yard for a few hours for the teat canal to close before going back to cubicles. Use extra lime for the two weeks following drying off.

Magazine

This years’ Irish Dairy Farmer magazine is out now. In a change to previous years, the magazine is switching to subscription only.

At a cost of just €9.99, it’s still the same size and format, featuring a raft of farmer features in Ireland and overseas plus some technical articles on solar power, automated heat detection aids and the new rules and costings on soiled water storage.

The magazine can be ordered online and will be delivered to your door. Order at www.ifj.ie/dairyfarmer or telephone 01 4199505 or 014199525.