Denis has developed a very strict policy on high cell count cows. If a cow appears very high in SCC in the milk recording results then there is a very real chance on this farm that the cow will be culled.

tubes

If she is a young cow she might get a course of tubes and injections but if that doesn’t work she is culled very quickly.

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Denis believes he has learned the hard way, having spent a lot of money on drugs and veterinary treatments down through the years.

He said: “I’ve learned that you need to be on top of not just one issue but all issues to deliver top quality. When preparing cows for milking I always wear gloves in the parlour. If you must draw out cows then do it onto the pit floor, not onto her leg or you could end up spreading infection to another quarter when a cow lies down. I have taken up the policy of not drawing out cows routinely to limit cross infection. However, if you see clots on the filter then you need to focus hard at the next milking and draw out all cows carefully and look for specks or clots in the milk.”

Denis installed a new 12-unit Dairymaster herringbone parlour in 2006. He also has a roller door at the back of the parlour. It’s a feature in parlours which I have seen more and more since the heavy frost and very cold weather.

He said: “It helps to keep frost out of the parlour when there is a very cold night and it also keeps crows out of the feed mangers.”

Denis has recording jars in the parlour and for the first three months of the year when cows are freshly calved he holds all the milk from individual cows in the jars before releasing it into the milkline to keep an eye for sick or off-form cows. He also has a water softener installed.

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There is a lot of lime in local water and the lime was causing a mineral residue to build up on the inside of the jars so it looked as if they weren’t clean. Now they are spotless.

peak milk

Milking takes approximately one hour and maybe a little longer at the start of the year when all cows are calved and in peak milk.

Denis had excellent quality milk in 2012 supplying over 450,000 litres of milk with all months except for a small volume supplied in December at less than 100,000 SCC.

FACTFILE

Farming system: in 2012, milking 78 cows in spring milk production supplying Kerry Agribusiness. Farming 160 acres (65ha) with 80 acres available for grazing, Milk delivered was 5,807 litres (1,277gals) per cow at 3.77% fat and 3.43% protein

Parlour: 12-unit herringbone

SCC results: average 62,000 for 2012

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TBC results: average 12,000 for 2012

Denis’s comment: “Milking 80 cows is close to the max for this farm. A very bad wet year and a low milk price could financially break you; there is a place called stop.”

Milk quality tip : “Routinely, I won’t strip out cows, but if there are clots in the filter then I will carefully draw out each quarter at the next milking.”

Judges’ comment: “Denis is very strong on maintaining high quality milk by avoiding cross contamination and a strict culling policy if a cow has mastitis or a high cell count from milk recording. It works based on the results for milk supplied.”