A recurring topic in recent years is the stocking rate on farms. Through the abolishment of quotas and more recently record high level milk prices, many farmers have slightly lost touch with balancing growth and demand on farms.
At the National Dairy Conference 2023, Michael O’Donovan, Donal Patton and Patrick Moylan discussed what the correct stocking rate is and the role out-blocks can play on dairy farms.
Although overall stocking rates have only marginally changed from 1.9 to 2.1 cows per hectare, stocking rate on the milking platform has dramatically increased in the past decade from 2.0 to 2.7 cows per hectare on average.
Yes, there has been a steady increase in stocking rate on milking platforms. This would be OK if pasture utilisation had a correlated increase, but this has not been the case.
In fact, in 2022 and 2023, pasture utilisation has decreased by about 1t DM/ha on average compared with years previous.
Reduced production
This reduced production is mostly due to feed cost increases. Feed costs overall have increased by approximately 30% on farms, such as fertiliser, contractor, spray costs and land charges. Aligned to this, the usage of out-blocks on dairy farms has risen.
Comparing feed costs in 2023, grazed grass is still the cheapest option to feed cows.
Total costs per tonne of dry matter (DM) grown including land charge for grazed grass was €110. When we compare this to an out-block at €216 where first and second cut is taken (assuming yields of 6t and 4t DM/ha respectively), it is clear that out-blocks are adding a considerable expense to the business.
Speaking at the workshop, Michael O’Donovan expressed his concern for the under-performance of both milking platforms and out-blocks. A platform growing 15t DM/ha stocked at 2.5 cows per hectare is fully sufficient.
Data
Data taken from Pasturebase on farms across the country showed milking platforms are only growing 13t DM/ha on average.
A case study of a 100-cow 40ha farm showed an additional cost of €13,000 on the system. There was 6ha needed to fill the deficit.
A common concern between all speakers on the day was the lack of knowledge of out-block performance. Most farmers are now measuring grass on their home farms, but very few are managing grass on their out-blocks.
A key message to farmers was that they must evaluate what their whole farm is producing. Out-blocks need to be performing equally, if not to a higher level, than the grazing platform in order to financially justify taking on an extra out-block. In most cases, this isn’t happening.
Treat the out-block the same as they would treat the milking platform
Farmers on the day were in agreement that there was an opportunity to utilise out-blocks better on farms, but questioned solutions to growing more grass on out-blocks.
Michael O’Donovan and Joe Patton advised farmers to treat the out-block the same as they would treat the milking platform, focusing on improving soil fertility and getting slurry on to silage ground.
Comparing the case studies of taking on extra land versus reducing the stocking rate, some considerations to take into account are as follows:
Farmers must weigh up the implications of each scenario. If they reduce cow numbers, this will have an effect on financial performance on the farm. Farmers should also complete a whole-farm assessment before making the decision. If the farmer was already short on cubicle space or slurry storage, would taking more land be a sensible decision? In this case, the farmer may be better off financially to reduce numbers.Another case is the labour issue. If the farmer was already under pressure for labour, the out-block is going to add more time and complications to the working day.On conclusion of the session, the speakers outlined the key take-home messages.
Farms need to refocus on utilising as much grass as possible. If there is a deficit on the farm, a whole-farm assessment should be done before taking additional land. Highly productive out-blocks also have a role to play on Irish dairy farms.
A recurring topic in recent years is the stocking rate on farms. Through the abolishment of quotas and more recently record high level milk prices, many farmers have slightly lost touch with balancing growth and demand on farms.
At the National Dairy Conference 2023, Michael O’Donovan, Donal Patton and Patrick Moylan discussed what the correct stocking rate is and the role out-blocks can play on dairy farms.
Although overall stocking rates have only marginally changed from 1.9 to 2.1 cows per hectare, stocking rate on the milking platform has dramatically increased in the past decade from 2.0 to 2.7 cows per hectare on average.
Yes, there has been a steady increase in stocking rate on milking platforms. This would be OK if pasture utilisation had a correlated increase, but this has not been the case.
In fact, in 2022 and 2023, pasture utilisation has decreased by about 1t DM/ha on average compared with years previous.
Reduced production
This reduced production is mostly due to feed cost increases. Feed costs overall have increased by approximately 30% on farms, such as fertiliser, contractor, spray costs and land charges. Aligned to this, the usage of out-blocks on dairy farms has risen.
Comparing feed costs in 2023, grazed grass is still the cheapest option to feed cows.
Total costs per tonne of dry matter (DM) grown including land charge for grazed grass was €110. When we compare this to an out-block at €216 where first and second cut is taken (assuming yields of 6t and 4t DM/ha respectively), it is clear that out-blocks are adding a considerable expense to the business.
Speaking at the workshop, Michael O’Donovan expressed his concern for the under-performance of both milking platforms and out-blocks. A platform growing 15t DM/ha stocked at 2.5 cows per hectare is fully sufficient.
Data
Data taken from Pasturebase on farms across the country showed milking platforms are only growing 13t DM/ha on average.
A case study of a 100-cow 40ha farm showed an additional cost of €13,000 on the system. There was 6ha needed to fill the deficit.
A common concern between all speakers on the day was the lack of knowledge of out-block performance. Most farmers are now measuring grass on their home farms, but very few are managing grass on their out-blocks.
A key message to farmers was that they must evaluate what their whole farm is producing. Out-blocks need to be performing equally, if not to a higher level, than the grazing platform in order to financially justify taking on an extra out-block. In most cases, this isn’t happening.
Treat the out-block the same as they would treat the milking platform
Farmers on the day were in agreement that there was an opportunity to utilise out-blocks better on farms, but questioned solutions to growing more grass on out-blocks.
Michael O’Donovan and Joe Patton advised farmers to treat the out-block the same as they would treat the milking platform, focusing on improving soil fertility and getting slurry on to silage ground.
Comparing the case studies of taking on extra land versus reducing the stocking rate, some considerations to take into account are as follows:
Farmers must weigh up the implications of each scenario. If they reduce cow numbers, this will have an effect on financial performance on the farm. Farmers should also complete a whole-farm assessment before making the decision. If the farmer was already short on cubicle space or slurry storage, would taking more land be a sensible decision? In this case, the farmer may be better off financially to reduce numbers.Another case is the labour issue. If the farmer was already under pressure for labour, the out-block is going to add more time and complications to the working day.On conclusion of the session, the speakers outlined the key take-home messages.
Farms need to refocus on utilising as much grass as possible. If there is a deficit on the farm, a whole-farm assessment should be done before taking additional land. Highly productive out-blocks also have a role to play on Irish dairy farms.
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