Dairy Management: winter milk and managing cashflow

Winter milk

This week’s Focus is on winter milk. Looking at ICBF data, the number of dairy calf registrations is back significantly compared to the same time last year.

Whether this indicates a change to calving pattern or fewer farmers planning to produce fresh milk over the winter remains to be seen.

As most farms have been calving cows for over a month, now would be a good time to do a full clean-out of calving pens and calf sheds to help reduce risk of infection and disease building up.

Ground conditions are generally good, so outdoor calving could be considered this autumn as it would save on straw and help reduce disease, but ground conditions would need to be good.

On pages 48 and 49, Teagasc’s Aisling Claffey outlines some key facts when feeding freshly-calved cows this autumn. Silage quality will determine the amount of concentrates to be fed, so regular testing of silage is critical. Most merchants provide this service free of charge.

As well as testing the whole pit using cores, the pit face could be tested once or twice a month at various levels. Aisling says that energy levels in the diet are more important than dietary crude protein levels.

In Johnstown Castle, the crude protein level of the diet has reduced from 17% to 15.5% with no impact on milk yield.

The crude protein of the silage will obviously have a big impact on what the protein in the concentrate should be, but it’s important not to over-spec the protein content in the nuts.

On energy, with the maize harvest underway there is some concern over starch levels after a dull enough summer. While crops are looking good in terms of yield, the starch level will determine the energy. Standard values are between 25% and 30%.

Cash flow

With another increase in milk price coming this month, and with fat and protein per cent increasing, the milk price received for September 2024 will be a lot higher than last year.

However, there is no room for complacency when it comes to costs. Feed is going to be an enormous cost on most farms and, while milk supply is running better now than it was last year, most farmers are still back 5% to 10% for the year.

The point here is not to demoralise, but to be realistic about how much free cash there will be available when all bills are paid. This must be established before there is any discretionary expenditure.

BISS and Eco-scheme payments will commence over the next few weeks which will help cash flow, but preliminary tax for 2024 will have to be paid out too.

In-calf heifers

Demand for in-calf heifers is sluggish this year, with really high quality heifers available for €300 to €400/head less than a few years ago. With cull cow prices high, farmers with low EBI herds or poor solids cows should consider upgrading the herd.

There are TB and other disease risks, but these can be managed. It’s a really good opportunity to upgrade the herd at minimal cost. The difference in performance between herds is often the difference between farms thriving and struggling. Breeding up will get you there, but it’s slow compared to buying in the genetics.