This year’s NDC & Kerrygold Quality Milk Awards finalists profiled in this Supplement showcase the very best dairy farming has to offer, from Malin Head in Donegal to Skibbereen in West Cork. Herd size doesn’t matter, cow type doesn’t matter, farm size doesn’t matter, whether the cows are milked in old or new milking parlours doesn’t matter – all dairy farmers can deliver excellent milk quality, if that is what they set out to do.
The contestants profiled in these pages are milking all types of cows, in all sorts of milking parlours. Many of the farmers involved in this year’s competition are at different stages of development, with some not long after starting on the dairy road, while others have 30 years experience or more in milking cows and producing quality milk.
Criteria
Consistency in top quality performance sets this subset of farmers apart. In general, they produce milk with a total bacteria count (TBC) less than 10, and, somatic cell count (SCC) less than 100,000 cells/ml. This standard of milk quality forms the baseline for entry to this national competition. However, milk quality alone is no longer a holistic enough measure to compare dairy farmers.
As judges, we broaden out the marking criteria to include herd health, herd fertility, animal welfare, environmental sustainability, labour efficiency, and grassland management. All of these issues have a huge impact on the overall sustainability of the enterprise. As an industry, there is little point in achieving excellent marks in milk quality but not having time to balance a life outside of the milking parlour.
To be fair, dairy farmers of Ireland owe the farmers that have been nominated by their co-ops and shortlisted for this national competition a debt of gratitude. They are excellent ambassadors for all that is good about dairy farming in Ireland. The competition winner will be announced at a special ceremony in Dublin next Wednesday 2 October.
Read more
East Cork succession plans delivering in spades
Family affair in Monaghan for Lakeland Co-op
Quality Milk Awards: making dairy land from the rocks
This year’s NDC & Kerrygold Quality Milk Awards finalists profiled in this Supplement showcase the very best dairy farming has to offer, from Malin Head in Donegal to Skibbereen in West Cork. Herd size doesn’t matter, cow type doesn’t matter, farm size doesn’t matter, whether the cows are milked in old or new milking parlours doesn’t matter – all dairy farmers can deliver excellent milk quality, if that is what they set out to do.
The contestants profiled in these pages are milking all types of cows, in all sorts of milking parlours. Many of the farmers involved in this year’s competition are at different stages of development, with some not long after starting on the dairy road, while others have 30 years experience or more in milking cows and producing quality milk.
Criteria
Consistency in top quality performance sets this subset of farmers apart. In general, they produce milk with a total bacteria count (TBC) less than 10, and, somatic cell count (SCC) less than 100,000 cells/ml. This standard of milk quality forms the baseline for entry to this national competition. However, milk quality alone is no longer a holistic enough measure to compare dairy farmers.
As judges, we broaden out the marking criteria to include herd health, herd fertility, animal welfare, environmental sustainability, labour efficiency, and grassland management. All of these issues have a huge impact on the overall sustainability of the enterprise. As an industry, there is little point in achieving excellent marks in milk quality but not having time to balance a life outside of the milking parlour.
To be fair, dairy farmers of Ireland owe the farmers that have been nominated by their co-ops and shortlisted for this national competition a debt of gratitude. They are excellent ambassadors for all that is good about dairy farming in Ireland. The competition winner will be announced at a special ceremony in Dublin next Wednesday 2 October.
Read more
East Cork succession plans delivering in spades
Family affair in Monaghan for Lakeland Co-op
Quality Milk Awards: making dairy land from the rocks
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