Dairy Management: picking up the pieces after the storm

Aidan Brennan looks at steps farmers who are affected by loss of electrical power can take.

Aidan Brennan

29 January 2025

Dairy Management: picking up the pieces after the storm

Where there is no power to automatic scrapers, some farmers remove the blade and use a tractor and rubber yard scraper to clean the passages, says Aidan Brennan.

Storm: While the Munster region got hit worst with the snow in early January, the western region seems to have got hit worse by the recent storm, based on the number of homes and farms still without power. As we go to press, it appears that many will be left without power for another week, which is a big problem for those affected. Getting a generator is one thing, but there’s a bit of work to be done getting it set up in terms of change-over switches and other electrical work, so it’s not a magic solution for those currently without power.

As we go to press, it appears that many will be left without power for another week, which is a big problem for those affected. Getting a generator is one thing, but there’s a bit of work to be done getting it set up in terms of change-over switches and other electrical work, so it’s not a magic solution for those currently without power.

It highlights the usefulness of having one and, in areas where power goes regularly, a standalone diesel-powered generator could be worth the investment. I am seeing more of these on farms and secondhand ones from building sites or ex-hire are available to purchase. These will kick in automatically in the event of a power cut.

In terms of milking, most are only starting to calve so the impact on milking cows is relatively low compared to a storm in one month’s time. Research in New Zealand has shown that cows in mid-lactation can tolerate not being milked for up to a week and will recover production.

However, cows need to be kept on a very good plane of nutrition during this time or else they will start to dry off if feed is restricted in any way. I don’t know the impacts in early lactation. Where there is no power to automatic scrapers, I know some farmers remove the blade and use a tractor and rubber yard scraper to clean the passages.

Bull selection: Most of the AI catalogues have been sent out since before Christmas – which is earlier than normal. It’s always wise to keep an eye on the ICBF bull search to get the most up-to-date proof on a bull as some can move quite a bit when new information comes in.

Flicking through the catalogues, one of the things I have noticed is that the EBI for maintenance seems to have taken a hit and there are now many bulls with a maintenance value of less than €5, whereas in my view it should be a minimum of €15 to maintain the current size of cow. Almost all of the young bulls have a high figure for fertility, which everyone agrees is overestimated. When it comes to milk, the key thing to look at is the percentages as these drive milk value. The PTA for fat and protein percent should be as high as possible. If you choose bulls that have a lower figure than the herd average (available on the EBI report) then the herd is going backwards for percentages.

Fertiliser: This week’s dairy pages, we take a look at some of the issues with fertiliser and protected urea, looking back at some of the experiences from 2024 and some of the discussion that took place at Dairy Day in November. There are multiple strands to the debate, but I believe that spreading issues with some compounds were a cause of a lot of problems, particularly in silage ground where striping was more obvious. I think if a high hardness score can be maintained with protected urea and if spreaders are correctly calibrated it will work OK.