CAFRE, the farm advisory body in Northern Ireland, has benchmarking figures for 2016/2017 showing that the bottom 25% of farms achieved an average of 21.8p/litre (24.7c/litre) from an average production per cow of 6,800l/cow. To achieve this yield, on average they fed 2.3t of concentrate per cow.

When all costs are paid for, the net margin is the region of £45/cow (€51/cow). If we use the average for all farmers in benchmarking, then the average net margin for 2016/2017 is £278/cow (€315/cow). To achieve this, the average yield for all dairy farms completing benchmarking is 7,400l fed 2.3t of meal per cow.

At the top end of the scale, the top 25% of farmers in benchmarking achieved a yield of 7,900l per cow feeding a similar amount of concentrate (2.4t/cow). This subset achieved a net margin of £564/cow (€638/cow). This margin was achieved by slightly more output at a higher price for the same level of concentrate output.

The big question for Northern Ireland in coming years is will it be possible to continue to feed such high levels of concentrate, aiming for high milk production with new environmental restrictions coming down the line? The industry at the moment is grappling with the idea of reducing the phosphorus content in concentrate to help alleviate some of the concerns.

It looks likely that phosphorus balance in Northern Ireland will not be possible unless less concentrate is fed in the region as a whole.

Dairy Day 2017

The Irish Farmers Journal will host National Dairy Day on Thursday 23 November 2017 in Punchestown Event Centre, Co. Kildare. The event promises to offer solutions for a growing sector. The day aims to showcase all that is good about the dairy industry and find solutions for farmers to emerging challenges and trends. To get a FREE ticket for Dairy Day, simply collect 3 tokens from the Irish Farmers Journal and bring them along with you on the day or BUY YOUR TICKET HERE