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The past 12 months has been the first full calendar year in the Dairylink Ireland programme for the phase two participants who joined in September 2018.
We have also been following the progress of farmers that were in phase one of Dairylink over the past year.
The overall aim of the programme is to optimise the use of on-farm resources to maximise profits from milk production. Here are some key lessons from the past 12 months of Dairylink:
1. Analyse your main resource
The most important resource on a farm is the soil and the first step to optimising it is to undertake a comprehensive soil analysis.
On Dairylink Ireland farms, each paddock gets soil-sampled individually. The results are then used to develop a fertiliser and liming plan for each paddock to optimise its soil nutrient status and allow it to grow more grass.
Soil analysis carried out on phase two farms in early 2019 showed that sub-optimal pH was the main issue that needed to be addressed.
Soil analysis results in January 2020 will show how effective fertiliser and liming plans have been at addressing soil fertility issues.
2. Track heifer weights early
Regular weighing of replacement heifers has been a key part of Dairylink since phase one started in 2015. This allows heifers to be batched and fed accordingly to hit liveweight targets and calve down by 24 months.
Weighing on electronic scales didn’t usually start until after weaning. However, phase two participants have started using a weigh band as a low-cost, labour-efficient and reasonably accurate method of tracking pre-weaning liveweights.
This has allowed several Dairylink participants to identify low growth rates early and take steps to address issues in calf sheds, such as introducing higher milk replacer feed rates or using calf jackets.
3. Everyone needs time off
Everyone can’t keep working flat out all the time. Dairylink farmers have been encouraged to look at their daily and seasonal work routines to see how work could be done more efficiently to allow more time to be spent off farm.
Simpler and more efficient work routines are also easier to follow for relief milkers or casual labour when they are brought in to help with the workload.
4. Development never stops
Despite phase one farmers being part of Dairylink since 2015, there continues to be a lot of changes and development on these farms.
Expansion has meant several farmers have been busy optimising resources on newly purchased or rented land, in a similar way to how they improved their existing farms during phase one of the programme.
The benefits of some changes that were implemented during phase one are only starting to become apparent now. For example, if sires are being selected for different traits than before, then its takes almost three years from when a cow is inseminated until her daughter is milking, and it takes five years until a sufficient number of daughters are milking to make a difference to herd performance.
5. Grass is needed for grazing
Richard Marshall in mid-Tyrone and John Oliver in north Derry surprised their neighbours in February 2019 when they turned cows out to grass.
It isn’t common practice in the northwest, but ground conditions were dry and they had grass available for grazing, so any cows that were scanned in-calf were able to go out.
The key to being able to do this was carrying adequate grass covers over the winter. Many farmers fall into the trap of grazing the milking platform bare in the autumn or over the winter, which means they can’t get cows out early in the spring if ground conditions are dry.
6. Selective dry cow therapy
Most Dairylink Ireland farmers have started using selective dry cow therapy where certain cows do not get antibiotic dry cow tubes and only get a teat sealer at the end of lactation.
It has worked well so far, with programme farmers reporting very few subsequent issues with somatic cell counts (SCC) or mastitis and they also point to financial savings as they are buying fewer dry cow tubes.
However, the decision to start using selective dry cow therapy should be made in consultation with your local vet. In general, farmers should not consider using it if bulk milk SCC has been above 250,000/ml in the last year.
7. Infrastructure gives flexibility
Several phase two participants are determined to make more use of grazed grass. They have been developing their grazing infrastructure to do this and it has proven particularly useful when ground conditions are touch and go.
Opening additional gaps into paddocks and installing extra drinkers are two key improvements that can help keep grass in cows’ diets when conditions are deteriorating underfoot.
Extra drinkers allow cows to be back-fenced in paddocks to stop them from walking over grazed ground. The extra entry points into paddocks stops poaching around gaps, as cows do not have to walk through the same gap twice.
8. Margins tighten in 2019
Milk price cuts and increased production costs tightened margins and left cashflow under pressure on many dairy farms during 2019.
Dairylink farmers will soon be analysing their financial performance over the past 12 months and developing a cashflow plan for the year ahead.
The latter is a particularly important exercise on farms where investments are still being made to help develop the business for the longer term.
If the cashflow plan shows that money could be tight in a few months’ time, then the farmer has time to weigh up their options. This could involve delaying investments, re-structuring their cost base, or taking out a short-term loan.
9. Some change is quick
We have already stated that it takes years to see the results of some changes on farms, such as sire selection.
However, there are many examples of changes that have had a significant effect on Dairylink farms in a short space of time. For example, opening a few extra gaps and installing some additional drinkers has had a huge impact on improving grazing infrastructure on several programme farms.
Another example is tightening calving profiles, where making and sticking to a decision to sell off late calvers and stop serving cows after a certain date has had a significant effect on narrowing calving spreads and improving herd fertility within a year or two.
10. Weekly grass walk lessons
Phase two participants were not measuring grass before joining Dairylink, but they now see it as an essential management tool for their businesses. For Dairylink farmers, it can be difficult finding the time to walk the milking platform some weeks, but no one ever regrets taking the time to measure grass once it’s done.
There is at least one lesson learned every time surrounding what needs to be done with grassland management. This can involve baling surplus grass or lengthening the grazing rotation if there’s a grass deficit.
Grassland management based on measurement helps improve both the quality and quantity of grass grown. It also allows underperforming paddocks to be clearly identified for reseeding.
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