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Eamonn and Darren Healy are milking a spring-calving herd just outside Redcross, Co Wicklow. Having set up a partnership in 2009, they joined the Teagasc/Glanbia monitor farm programme in 2015. Cow numbers have gone from 165 to 275 milking this year.
Their 97ha grazing block provides all the grass for the farm aside from 12ha of rented ground for silage. They have an overall stocking rate of 3.0 LU/ha. All the land is in one block, which means the emphasis for this enterprise is on grass utilisation. Replacement heifers are contract-reared off farm.
Grass
The farm has increased grass growth from 13tDM/ha to 16tDM/ha since 2015. Eamonn and Darren put this down to optimising soil fertility, improving grassland management and reseeding. The extra tonnage of grass grown on the farm in the three-year period is worth €58,000 to the business. The 16tDM/ha grown in 2017 is worth €310,000 overall.
Original soil tests on the farm showed that 73% of the land was deficient in phosphorous. To remedy this, high P compound fertiliser was applied heavily over a number of years. Reseeding played a big part in producing high-quality grass as 80% of the farm has been reseeded in the last seven years.
The farm is walked and grass is measured weekly by Darren. Cows don’t graze paddocks above 1,500kgDM/ha. The cows will graze lower-quality paddocks at lower covers to encourage better quality in the next round and keep milk production up. Any paddocks that do get ahead of the cows are taken out for bales. The farm has improved paddock size and increased access to paddocks with new roadways. There are now 32 paddocks on the farm.
Management and breeding
Adjustments to the management of the cows has been key in increasing the output in the last three years. The herd has gone from producing 380 kg milk solids per cow up to 480kg in 2017.
The future breeding plans involve having 280 cows with 25% Jersey genetics in the herd. To obtain this high EBI bulls of at least €247 will be used. One-third will be Jersey, one third Kiwi cross, and one third Holstein Friesian. The base genetics of the herd was Holstein. The Healys hope that including the Jersey cross will add hybrid vigour and also breed better feet as the cows have to walk further. It will slightly reduce the size of the cow too.
Darren and Eamonn don’t expect the introduction of Jersey genetics to lower the milk production potential of the herd. During calving the cows are checked at 11pm and not checked again until the following morning.
“Having a cow that suits the system is vital for us. We can’t be up and down checking cameras and monitoring 24/7 during the calving season,” Darren says
He explained that genetics is a key part in improving milk quality and fertility on the farm. Reducing the calving interval from 397 days to 366 days, having good body condition on cows coming into the winter and having a high percentage of heifers calving at 24 months (87% in 2017) allowed the increase in milk solids output.
Investment
From 2015 to 2017 there was a total of €470,000 invested on infrastructure in the farmyard and on-field infrastructure. The dairy and parlour took the biggest chunk of this investment as they upgraded from a 12-unit parlour to a 24-unit with ACRs, batch feeders and a dump line. All this investment was planned in lieu of a 30c/l base price for milk.
“Simplicity is key, the system must be designed for ease of labour,” Darren explained. There are three full-time labour units on the farm – Darren, Eamonn and Matty. Relief milkers are also used to free up time to focus on managing grass and other things.
At the beginning of the programme, the cash surplus from the farm was €6,582. Debt levels were high as Eamonn and Darren had recently purchased a good proportion of the grazing block. A target cash surplus of €50,000 was the aim for the end of 2018. The farm is now surpassing the cash surplus target of €50,000. In dealing with the debt, Darren explained the investment on infrastructure was dependent on milk price and volatility. Net profit per cow averaged €539 over the last four years excluding tax, drawings and capital repayments. Average Co-op milk price for the Healys was 33.95c/l. Given that the investment plans allowed repayments to be met at 30c/l milk price, the debt has been manageable.
The focus at the beginning of the expansion was to increase milk solids. Having more valuable milk being produced on the farm helped to pay back the investment in infrastructure including the milking parlour and cubicle facilities.
Minimising costs and not taking on too much at one time allows the farm to cope with capital repayments. Darren explained: “When milk price doesn’t justify bringing in silage at extra cost, we are happy to reduce stocking rate.” Eamonn made a point not to advocate blind expansion. He said: “It is a personal decision to milk more cows and more cows doesn’t necessarily mean more profit”.
The focus now is to increase grass growth. According to Darren, if they can increase grass grown on the farm up to 17tDM /ha it may negate the need for renting the 12ha for silage. Darren highlighted he has no issue feeding meal once it’s not substituting grass.
They plan in advance with profit monitors and projected cashflows, completed yearly and a six-year plan which is updated every year. The business plans to milk 280 cows and hang on to the simple labour-friendly system and continue to pay the debt on the farm. Both Darren and Eamonn hope that opening up their farm and showing the financial and physical performance of the business will aid people in making decisions for their own dairy enterprises.
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