Cows producing 2.5kg milk solids/day on third rotation in Mullingar
Dairy farmer Michael Clarke is milking 300 cows in Mullingar, Co. Westmeath where cows are producing 2.5kg of milk solids (MS)/day after flying through the second rotation in just 16 days before grass growth took off.
A joint event between Teagasc and Lakeland Dairies took place this week on the Clarke's farm where animal and grass performance was analysed and discussed.
Michael is a top-class farmer who adopts modern technologies and practices to drive efficiencies and profitability, milking 300 cross-bred cows along with his wife Lynn and their son Liam.
Speakers at the event gave an overview of the Clarke's top class farm, went through his nutrient management, clover performance and his effective mid-season management of grass to maximise milk production.
A good crowd gathered for the event
There was also a strong emphasis put on effective farmyard planning to protect water quality, and information on the €60 million Farming for Water European Innovation Partnership (EIP).
Michael converted his beef enterprise to dairy in 2010, starting off with 120 cows on a 120ac milking platform and said he has built up his land and cows through 'a bit of leasing here and there'.
The whole farm area is 191ha and the milking platform is now 136ha as the farmer only bought additional land recently of 31ha to add to the milking platform.
Michael admitted that they were running tight on grass during the mid season over the last couple of years which has been limiting cows' performance and that the new block of land will relieve pressure and result in 'less pinching, reduce concentrates fed and increase days at grass'.
Driving milk solids
Michael's cows produced 540kg of milk solids/cow last year while feeding just over 1t of meal/cow which is a fantastic result given the harsh year that 2024 was.
The farmer, however, is always looking to the next target as he told attendees at the farm walk that the next goal is to achieve 600kg/MS/cow which he acknowledged he might not achieve for another few years.
The cows are currently producing very well as Michael said he has only turned a corner in the last number of days from a grass point of view.
Grass growth in the last few days has rapidly changed his scenario and cows are producing 29.5L/day with 3.75% protein and 4.52% fat, which is 2.51kg of MS/day with only 91,000cells/ml of somatic cell count (SCC).
The herd is in great condition and really pumping milk solids
The performance is driven through cows going in on covers of 1,400kg DM/ha with only 5kg of meal in the diet but Michael is planning to cut that back with the recent surge in growth.
Michael conducted a farm grass walk a few days ago in which the average farm cover (AFC) was at 600kg DM/ha but he estimates that his AFC has improved drastically over the last number of days.
So much so, that there is a paddock on the farm with a cover of about 1,700kg DM/ha which Michael intends to cut for bales as he fears he won't be able to keep ahead of grass in the coming weeks at the rate it has taken off and cows going into optimum covers is crucial for milk production on the farm.
A heavy cover on the farm which Michael intends to cut for bales
Michael is not afraid to take out paddocks if they become too strong, but he emphasised that he needs to get them cut them speedily to have them back into the round for three to four weeks time to avoid any deficits or pinching on the cows' diet.
To keep growth rates up with demand year-on-year, Michael aims to reseed 10% of the farm each year adding, 'I've upped the clover to 4kg in any reseeding I do now' in an effort to cut down on his nitrogen (N) usage.
About 40% of the farm is clover grass swards and he intends to keep pushing on with clover incorporation.
Owen McPartland, Teagasc/Lakeland joint programme adviser, highlighted Michael's efficient use of his nutrients, utilising his soil samples and getting out 60% of his slurry in the spring.
Owen McPartland talking about Michael's system
McPartland had also pointed out that in 2023, the cows' milk solids had dropped to 440kg/MS/cow and Michael said it was due to the cows getting IBR (Infectious Bovine Rhinotracheitis) which completely hindered performance.
This was due to Michael switching vaccinations which didn't have the same affect and he said that 'they had lost volume when it happened in mid June and it wasn't worth pushing them' to try and recover the milk solids lost.
It was then highlighted that this loss of 100kg of milk solids (something which was out of Michael's hands), at today's milk solid price of €6.50/kg of MS, would represent a loss of €650/cow.
In a herd of 300 cows, that would add up to a loss of €195,000 in the milk cheque for the year.
Now, this breakdown in Michael's herd was through no fault of his own and there was nothing he could do about it, but it puts into perspective how much money can be earned by increasing milk solids on the farm.
Breeding
Michael achieved a 374-day calving interval with an 88% six-week calving rate this year which is adding significantly to the profitability of the farm.
Last year, he achieved a 79% three-week submission rate on the cows with a conception to first service of 64% for the cows and 89% for the heifers.
Michael attributed these excellent conception rates to the use of sexed semen, keeping the cows well fed and keeping them in great condition.
Out of the 300 cows, Michael admitted that there is only one heifer on the thinner side, that he is now milking just once a day and said there may be eight or nine in other years, but this spring has proved favourable for keeping cows in good condition.
Cows that don't come bulling during the pre-breeding period will be scanned and treated if needs be and identified in time ahead of breeding to give her every chance of going back in-calf earlier in the breeding season.
It was highlighted on the day that the mating start date should start about 60 days before magic day occurs on the farm in an effort to match calving dates and cows peaking with the grass growth curve of the farm.
A cow calving in May will have a diet throughout the year consisting of only 40% grass, increasing purchased concentrates by about 16-18% whereas a February-born cow's diet will consist of 70% grass throughout the year, saving on cost of production significantly.
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