Cash flow

Most of the milk processors have increased milk prices by between 1.5c/l and 2c/l for July. This is offsetting some of the impacts of the lower supply and the higher costs associated with producing milk this summer.

However, margins are still going to be very tight this year, and there can be no complacency around financial control.

Cash flow budgets should be updated based on the higher than expected milk price, but lower than expected milk yields and potentially higher than expected feed costs.

The price of meal has come down, but most farmers have fed a lot more than planned. Doing a budget won’t fix a cash flow issue, but it might help to prevent one and it will certainly help to find solutions where one exists.

This week we took a look at whether it pays to feed more meal this autumn, in light of milk/meal price dynamics. For me, it’s a high risk strategy in a year when cash is tight.

If the cows don’t give the right response, the farm will be in a bigger financial deficit.

There does appear to be a financial return to keeping cull cows for longer and milking them on, but this could easily be eroded if the cull cow price is much lower by the time they are sold. In a year like this, the least risky option could well be the best one.

Vaccines

The next important vaccine which should be given in the next few weeks is for salmonella. In-calf heifers will need two shots and pregnant cows, which have already been vaccinated will need one booster shot.

Many farmers incorporate this vaccine at the same time as fertility scanning, but remember, there is no point in doing empty cows as the vaccine is to protect the foetus from abortion caused by salmonella bacteria.

There was a shortage of salmonella last season and this left some farmers short. Further supply issues are likely this year, so get orders in early with your vet.

Those that vaccinate for IBR on a 12-month programme should also be giving the first live shot to calves in September, followed by the inactive vaccine in January or February. There are different programmes available for IBR prevention, so discuss the best option with a vet.

Fertiliser

The last date for spreading nitrogen is 14 September as the closed period starts on 15 September. For farmers stocked at between 170kg N/ha and 210kg N/ha, they have 250kg N/ha to apply and if they are stocked greater than 210kg N/ha they have 225kg N/ha to apply. So if there is say 50ha in the farm and the farm was stocked at 215kg N/ha in 2023, then the total nitrogen allowance will be 50 multiplied by 225kg which 11,250kg of nitrogen.

To work out how much a farm has applied to date, farmers should log on to the fertiliser database on the Agfood website to see opening stocks plus purchases.

Subtract whatever nitrogen is in stock on farm to work out how much has been applied to date. To work out kilos of nitrogen, multiply the tonnage by the percentage of nitrogen in the product. For example, a pallet of urea contains 1.5t of 46% nitrogen which is 690kg of nitrogen.