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Limavady dairy farmer Andrew Dale milks 110 Fleckvieh cows on his 70ha grassland farm. As a dairy farmer that is focused on maximising milk from forage, he is one of 48 farmers involved in the AgriSearch GrassCheck programme.
Last week, Andrew hosted a farm walk detailing his management of cows, how he is increasing grass utilisation and how he is changing herd genetics to increase milk yield.
The 110-cow herd has a 12-month rolling average yield of 6,635 litres per cow, which is a good level of output for a grass-based system.
Total concentrate fed is just over 2t/cow, milk from forage is 2,100l and milk solids per cow stand at 469kg.
The calving pattern is an area in which Andrew has focused a lot of his time in recent years. It has tightened considerably to suit a grass-based system with cows typically calving from October to April.
Increasing yield
Since Andrew took over the running of the farm, yields have been gradually rising year on year. For Andrew, the aim for the herd is to increase yields to a target of 7,000l per cow annually.
To achieve this, Andrew is changing herd genetics and moving away from the Fleckvieh cow. In the past three years, he has been using sexed Holstein-Friesian semen to produce cows that will be higher yielding.
The first group of Holstein-Friesian heifers born on farm are due to be served this winter with the aim of calving down next autumn.
A key reason behind the change in breed type is that the farm is limited in the number of cows that can be carried on the grazing block. Therefore, the additional milk produced must come from increased cow output.
Limitations
The current grazing platform consists of 37 acres (15ha), half of which is accessed by an underground pass as the farm is divided by a main roadway.
Land type is naturally heavy due to clay soils. The farm is also located in a valley and receives a high level of rainfall of between 50in and 55in in a normal year.
Therefore, grazing conditions are not always suitable to carrying cows. This means Andrew can have cows housed for six to seven months of the year.
“While we are focused on getting the most milk from forage, we still have to deal with the higher costs associated with housing.
“Having that extra 500 to 600 litres of milk per cow from similar input levels can go a long way to covering these costs.
“I would prefer to increase cow yields rather than cow numbers. At the same time, I do not want to produce a more extreme high-yielding cow either, as this is not compatible with my system.
“For me, it is more practical and economical for this farm to have 110 cows yielding over 7,000 litres rather than 150 cows yielding 6,500.
“The extra cows would require additional housing, additional management and additional feed, which would mean we have to invest in more housing and take on more ground,” said Andrew.
Zero-grazing
Three years ago, Andrew invested in a zero-grazer with the intention of using the machine to improve grass utilisation during wet periods when grazing conditions were challenging. It is an investment that has worked well on farm.
The milking parlour needs expanding to allow faster throughput of cows. Once cows are collected, they can be standing in the yard anywhere from 90 to 120 minutes waiting to be milked or to return to grass.
During this time, they are offered grass from the zero grazing machine. “I felt that the time cows spent in the yard during the milking routine was too long without access to grass, which was affecting yield.
“So now cows get the chance to eat fresh grass while in the yard before and after each milking. As they return to the grazing block with a full belly, this also reduces their grazing demand and helps to stretch grass covers,” says Andrew.
Balancing grazing
While the zero-grazing machine has been effective at increasing grass intakes and utilisation, Andrew states he still prefers the cows to graze grass on their own.
“The cows have a grazing demand of 100kg DM/ha/day which the grazing platform was able to grow back in June and parts of July.
“The zero-grazing machine is used once grass growth is below the cow’s intake demand on the grazing block. At this point, I will cut grass on an outfarm using the zero-grazing machine and this is then used to supplement grazing intakes at milking time.
“In my opinion, the zero-grazing machine should be used to balance grazing demand and grass growth. The volume cut will vary depending on the level of grass growth on the grazing platform and the number of grazing days ahead of cows.
“As grass growth falls and grazing days ahead start to reduce, then the amount of grass fed through the zero-grazing machine increases and vice-versa,” said Andrew.
Grazing
This year, the grazing season started on 15 May when cows were turned out to grass. To try and keep the grazing block under control, Andrew used the zero-grazing machine during May.
With ideal conditions during June, July and early August, the grazing platform has provided sufficient grass for cows this summer.
Fertiliser is applied after every grazing, with application rates tailored to suit the time of year. Early-season dressings are closer to 35 units per acre, reducing to 30 units mid-season and 20 units per acre by September. Just over 200kg/ha of nitrogen is applied annually.
Cows are now in their second last rotation with the final rotation due to get under way around 20 September with around 25 to 30 days grazing ahead of cows at this point.
With 110 acres of silage aftermath after the third-cut is harvested in September becoming available for grazing, there is also an option to extend the grazing season into late autumn using the zero-grazer.
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