Kildare was one of the worst affected parts of the country during and after the snow storm, with the UCD Lyons Estate farm completely shut off from the outside for four days. Things were kept running by the farm staff though, who slept on-site to keep animals fed and cows milked.
The cold spring has had a massive impact on grass growth so Bridget Lynch, who looks after grassland management, is rationing out what grass is available until the planned start of the second round on 9 April.
“We won’t let average farm cover drop below 550kg/ha,” Bridget said at the Agricultural Science Association walk held on the farm last Wednesday.
“At the moment it’s at 772kg but if grass doesn’t grow and if we keep the feed budget as it is we’ll be out of grass in 7.5 days’ time. If it grows 10kg/day we’ll have enough grass for 12 days ahead and if it grows 15kg/day we’ll have 15 days grass ahead.”
Diet and performance
Because of the weather disruption, cows were kept inside on silage and meal for longer than planned, so milk production is back on previous years. Last week, the cows were milking 26.7kg/day at 4.71% fat and 3.29% protein, or 2.13kg of milk solids per cow.
Last week there was 32% of the farm grazed and cows were fully housed for 13 days and at grass for 17 days so far this year.
Fifty-three cows out of 60 in the demonstration herd have calved. The cows are getting allocated 12kg of grass dry matter and 8kg of meal, along with 2kg of grass silage.
Finbarr Mulligan, who is responsible for formulating the diet and looking after cow health and welfare said he is disappointed with the current performance especially as the cows were on excellent quality silage of 81% DMD and 0.90 UFL when they were housed.
The feed budget in Lyons is fixed based on stage of lactation. So regardless of how much or how little grass is in the fields the cows will be on the same level of meal feeding. This has posed a problem in other springs.
Because a high proportion of the feed intake is supplement (10kg dry matter with 30% of the herd first calvers) the cows’ appetite for grass is low. As the farm follows the spring rotation planner they graze a fixed area per day and if the grass in this area is greater than demand, as it is in most springs, then very high residuals were left after grazing. But because grass growth and covers are lower this spring, the clean out is actually quite good at present with 83% of grass utilised to date.
I asked Finbarr why they feed so much meal in early spring, would they be better off feeding less meal in February and March when getting a good clean out is essential for subsequent grass growth and quality, and instead feed more meal in April and May – when cows are at peak and drive production that way, as the system is production-led.
“The feed plan is all based around energy balance. The cows get enough energy from grass and 3-4kg of meal in April, May and June. The issues with high yielding cows are in early spring when cows are in negative energy balance and are at risk of losing excess body condition score,” Finbarr says.
While production is lower than liked, cow body condition score is excellent, with the average BCS at 2.84 for the milkers. Around 20% of the milkers are considered to be in low BCS. Last year, 13 cows were put on once-a-day milking during the breeding season to improve BCS, but Finbarr doesn’t think it will be necessary to do so this year. Thin cows got rolled barley during the dry period.
The overall feed budget for 2018 is to feed 1.5t of meal per cow, 3.2t of grass dry matter and 1.5t of silage dry matter.
The amount of meal fed per cow will vary depending on her stage of lactation. Meal feeding is flat rate and no TMR is fed to keep the system as simple as possible.
Last year, the herd produced 595kg of milk solids per cow and the farm grew an average of 14t of grass per hectare. In 2017, the conception rate to first service was 50% and the six-week in-calf rate was just 54%. The overall empty rate after 13 weeks of breeding was 15%. Cows are milked on for 305 days, so drying off was staggered and some of the herd were milked right through the winter. Cows get an eight week dry period.
To make up for the poor fertility, extra heifers were introduced this year with the late calvers culled, bringing the replacement rate to 30%.
“Fertility is a big challenge for us. We have had mineral analysis done on the cows and there are no deficiencies. The question is do we have the right type of cow for the high output system with good fertility?” Finbarr asks.
The EBI of the cows is €161 – one of the highest EBI herds in the country. The milk sub-index is €56 while the fertility sub-index is €61. The predicted difference for milk is 78kg, and they are plus 0.12% for fat and plus 0.074% for protein.
In terms of profitability, Karina Pierce presented preliminary Profit Monitor data which shows that the farm made a net margin of 16.57c/l in 2017 from a gross output of 38.25c/l, variable costs of 13.96c/l and fixed costs of 7.73c/l.
Karina said that fixed costs are assumed and not actual as they cannot get accurate fixed costs for the demonstration herd as they are part of a larger farm. The fixed costs used are based on the fixed costs of the top 25% of profit monitor results for winter milk herds. Within fixed costs, labour is coming in at just 1c/l, so in reality the true fixed costs should be significantly higher, but it’s difficult to quantify what they actually are.
Housing, milking and grazing facilities are excellent, with everything built new in 2015. That’s not to detract from the fact that the farm made a respectable net margin on Profit Monitor of €1,253/cow excluding labour, tax and debt repayments and accurate fixed costs.
In brief
Grass growth is well behind normal so the start of the second round has been delayed to 9 April.The herd are on a diet of 12kg grass, 8kg meal and 2kg of grass silage. Milk yield is 2.13kg MS/cow.The herd produced 595kg of milk solids in 2017 from 1.5t of meal/cow.Six week in-calf rate was 54%, empty rate after 13 weeks was 15% and the replacement rate is 30%.Monday dairy management: anxious eyes looking for a glimmer of hope
Family farming under pressure in Germany
Kildare was one of the worst affected parts of the country during and after the snow storm, with the UCD Lyons Estate farm completely shut off from the outside for four days. Things were kept running by the farm staff though, who slept on-site to keep animals fed and cows milked.
The cold spring has had a massive impact on grass growth so Bridget Lynch, who looks after grassland management, is rationing out what grass is available until the planned start of the second round on 9 April.
“We won’t let average farm cover drop below 550kg/ha,” Bridget said at the Agricultural Science Association walk held on the farm last Wednesday.
“At the moment it’s at 772kg but if grass doesn’t grow and if we keep the feed budget as it is we’ll be out of grass in 7.5 days’ time. If it grows 10kg/day we’ll have enough grass for 12 days ahead and if it grows 15kg/day we’ll have 15 days grass ahead.”
Diet and performance
Because of the weather disruption, cows were kept inside on silage and meal for longer than planned, so milk production is back on previous years. Last week, the cows were milking 26.7kg/day at 4.71% fat and 3.29% protein, or 2.13kg of milk solids per cow.
Last week there was 32% of the farm grazed and cows were fully housed for 13 days and at grass for 17 days so far this year.
Fifty-three cows out of 60 in the demonstration herd have calved. The cows are getting allocated 12kg of grass dry matter and 8kg of meal, along with 2kg of grass silage.
Finbarr Mulligan, who is responsible for formulating the diet and looking after cow health and welfare said he is disappointed with the current performance especially as the cows were on excellent quality silage of 81% DMD and 0.90 UFL when they were housed.
The feed budget in Lyons is fixed based on stage of lactation. So regardless of how much or how little grass is in the fields the cows will be on the same level of meal feeding. This has posed a problem in other springs.
Because a high proportion of the feed intake is supplement (10kg dry matter with 30% of the herd first calvers) the cows’ appetite for grass is low. As the farm follows the spring rotation planner they graze a fixed area per day and if the grass in this area is greater than demand, as it is in most springs, then very high residuals were left after grazing. But because grass growth and covers are lower this spring, the clean out is actually quite good at present with 83% of grass utilised to date.
I asked Finbarr why they feed so much meal in early spring, would they be better off feeding less meal in February and March when getting a good clean out is essential for subsequent grass growth and quality, and instead feed more meal in April and May – when cows are at peak and drive production that way, as the system is production-led.
“The feed plan is all based around energy balance. The cows get enough energy from grass and 3-4kg of meal in April, May and June. The issues with high yielding cows are in early spring when cows are in negative energy balance and are at risk of losing excess body condition score,” Finbarr says.
While production is lower than liked, cow body condition score is excellent, with the average BCS at 2.84 for the milkers. Around 20% of the milkers are considered to be in low BCS. Last year, 13 cows were put on once-a-day milking during the breeding season to improve BCS, but Finbarr doesn’t think it will be necessary to do so this year. Thin cows got rolled barley during the dry period.
The overall feed budget for 2018 is to feed 1.5t of meal per cow, 3.2t of grass dry matter and 1.5t of silage dry matter.
The amount of meal fed per cow will vary depending on her stage of lactation. Meal feeding is flat rate and no TMR is fed to keep the system as simple as possible.
Last year, the herd produced 595kg of milk solids per cow and the farm grew an average of 14t of grass per hectare. In 2017, the conception rate to first service was 50% and the six-week in-calf rate was just 54%. The overall empty rate after 13 weeks of breeding was 15%. Cows are milked on for 305 days, so drying off was staggered and some of the herd were milked right through the winter. Cows get an eight week dry period.
To make up for the poor fertility, extra heifers were introduced this year with the late calvers culled, bringing the replacement rate to 30%.
“Fertility is a big challenge for us. We have had mineral analysis done on the cows and there are no deficiencies. The question is do we have the right type of cow for the high output system with good fertility?” Finbarr asks.
The EBI of the cows is €161 – one of the highest EBI herds in the country. The milk sub-index is €56 while the fertility sub-index is €61. The predicted difference for milk is 78kg, and they are plus 0.12% for fat and plus 0.074% for protein.
In terms of profitability, Karina Pierce presented preliminary Profit Monitor data which shows that the farm made a net margin of 16.57c/l in 2017 from a gross output of 38.25c/l, variable costs of 13.96c/l and fixed costs of 7.73c/l.
Karina said that fixed costs are assumed and not actual as they cannot get accurate fixed costs for the demonstration herd as they are part of a larger farm. The fixed costs used are based on the fixed costs of the top 25% of profit monitor results for winter milk herds. Within fixed costs, labour is coming in at just 1c/l, so in reality the true fixed costs should be significantly higher, but it’s difficult to quantify what they actually are.
Housing, milking and grazing facilities are excellent, with everything built new in 2015. That’s not to detract from the fact that the farm made a respectable net margin on Profit Monitor of €1,253/cow excluding labour, tax and debt repayments and accurate fixed costs.
In brief
Grass growth is well behind normal so the start of the second round has been delayed to 9 April.The herd are on a diet of 12kg grass, 8kg meal and 2kg of grass silage. Milk yield is 2.13kg MS/cow.The herd produced 595kg of milk solids in 2017 from 1.5t of meal/cow.Six week in-calf rate was 54%, empty rate after 13 weeks was 15% and the replacement rate is 30%.Monday dairy management: anxious eyes looking for a glimmer of hope
Family farming under pressure in Germany
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