Managing SCC: According to the ICBF live statistics, the average national somatic cell count (SCC) this week is 186,000 cells/ml.

From the sample of herds recorded during the last 10 days (which included 136,000 cows), only 58% of herds had an average SCC below 200,000 cells/ml.

To manage SCC at this time of year, the most valuable asset you can have on farm is an up-to-date milk recording. Farms should have four milk recordings completed at this stage.

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These reports build a picture of each cow’s long-term SCC trends. Persistently infected cows with multiple high SCC records should be culled to protect the healthy young cows, which are the future of the herd.

Persistently infected cows become a major source of contagious mastitis during autumn and act as a reservoir of infection for their herd mates.

To help make the decision on what cows to cull, recording mastitis cases on the farm is one of the most important but overlooked ways to improve herd health in the long term.

By simply recording every case as it happens in a pocket notebook or on an app, and inputting the data to ICBF, farmers can make better culling decisions this autumn to reduce the number of cows at the top of the high cell count list next year.

Breeding: I surveyed eight discussion groups this week to get a picture of how breeding has gone on farms. Overall, empty rates appear to be similar to previous years (8% to 12% empty in 10 to 12 weeks for cows), although some larger herds have reported higher than normal empty rates (12% to 16%).

At face value, dairy farms have shown fantastic resilience during a difficult summer, with no major decline in fertility performance due to heat stress or the protracted period of buffer feeding.

Unlike the cows, however, I was surprised to see quite a few herds reporting high empty rates (up to 10%) in heifers, which is very disappointing. The target for heifers is to have less than 5% empty in 10 weeks, as these are the best genetics on the farm and increasingly expensive to rear.

There is very little room for error when breeding heifers on synchrony programmes. We know that very few heifers are routinely weighed and suboptimal weight at breeding is usually the main problem.

Equally, if breeding protocols are not accurately executed, conception rates can be reduced. If conception rates are reduced for whatever reason, having adequate mop-up bull power three weeks later is an essential backup.

Ploughing: Aidan, Daire and I will be on the Irish Farmers Journal stand at the Ploughing Championships for the three days next week doing live podcasts and discussing all things dairy with invited guests.

We will also go through current management options, both in terms of farm physical and financial performance during what is proving to be a tight financial year. We look forward to meeting you there. As always, your feedback and queries are welcome.