Lakeland Dairies has launched a 28-page booklet of recommendations, tips and case studies focused on increasing labour efficiency on dairy farms.

Dairy Farm Labour: Working Smarter, Not Harder takes a calendar-style approach to labour, looking at areas farmers can address at every stage of the year.

The booklet, written by Colin Anderson with Adrian McKeague and Owen McPartland and produced as part of the Lakeland Dairies/Teagasc joint development programme, will be sent to all suppliers in the coming days.

McKeague said: “As herd size has expanded in recent years, we wanted to showcase simple, time-efficient farming techniques, already working across our catchment area for our milk suppliers, with this booklet.

“Total hours worked on a farm is an important element in planning dairy expansion and is often overlooked. An additional labour cost should be included into expansion planning.”

January

1 Prepare for calving season.

2 Make the switch to 3.30pm milking.

February

1 Simplify calving and calf management.

2 Milk once a day in February.

March

1 Get cows grazing.

2 Make use of your contractors to spread fertiliser, slurry and feeding out silage.

April

1 Have a fixed breeding season (breeding start and end dates).

2 Look for someone for relief milking for two milkings a week.

May

1 Focus on breeding and heat detection. Target a 90% submission rate in three weeks.

2 Observe cow flow - find ways to improve cows speed around the milking parlour.

June

1 Take your holiday.

2 Download and use a farm management app.

July

1 Invest in roadways. Resurface and extend cow tracks to help on-off grazing in the shoulders.

2 Stop breeding on 13 July.

August

1 Look tightly at your milking routine to discover time wastes in your routine.

2 Develop standard operating procedure (SOP) for your milking parlour.

September

1 Tidy your workshop, keep it organised.

2 Invest in farm maps, white boards and year calendars to help organise staff and family.

October

1 Remove late-calving and empty cows from the herd early.

2 Prepare for winter housing. Shed maintenance and animal dosing.

November

1 Keep cows at grass. Use spur roadways and multiple entrances.

2 BCS the herd. Dry thin animals off early and feed accordingly for a more successful calving season.

December

1 Feed silage every second day and push in on the day in between.

2 Plan the key dates in the year ahead.

Strategic

Lakeland Dairies chair Alo Duffy said the need for a strategic approach to farm labour had never been greater: “As herd sizes grow, so too does workload, which needs to be handled as efficiently as possible to avoid undue pressure for the farmer.

“The overall balance that needs to be achieved comes from knowing what is already tried and tested, implementing practical initiatives while taking time to plan out the farm’s activities and also getting advice and assistance.”

Lakeland Dairies CEO Michael Hanley said: “Dairy farmers work long and hard, day in and day out. As they continue to grow their milk production, this raises important issues around the provision of labour to cope with this expansion.

“It’s one of the biggest challenges facing dairy farmers today. Our mission is to promote and secure the livelihoods and sustainability of our 3,200 dairy farming families.

“It is a very pressurised job, where managing workload requirements can be a key element of the success and well-being which we want to establish for all of our dairy farmers.”