Cowmanagement UK August 2015

V O LU M E 13 N O 5 AUGUST 2015

IN THIS ISSUE

F E E D IN G

BU LL PRO O FS

N M R/ RA BDF GOLD CUP

‘Cut and carry’ means more milk from grass and less waste

The latest daughter-proven and genomic chart toppers

Third time lucky for this year’s winning herd

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CO NTENT

FEATURES

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Cow Talk Overalls off: choirmaster Roger Evans ForFarmers Nutritional News/ Thompsons Nutritional News Business update: feed price CRV Avoncroft Breeding Information NMR Dairy Management News Events and contacts REPORT

14 Gold Cup winner Neil Baker is striving to continually improve C O W H E A LT H

16 Milk sample helps to improve health and fertility management BREEDING

22 Focus on efficiency MANAGEMENT

40 Renewable route to sustainability/ Early intervention key to tackling digital dermatitis

Neil Baker “Our cattle have the best care... they produce high yields at low costs” 14

Editor Rachael Porter Here to help

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e’re drawing to the end of summer marred by poor milk prices and, as CowManagement went to press, there appeared to be a glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel. Rumours abound that global dairy auction prices are about to creep up, supply is tightening, and supermarkets and consumers are making the right noises about doing more to support British producers.

We want to support our readers too and we have a few articles in this issue that may, hopefully, help to further hone the efficiency of even the most tightly managed herds and businesses.

Our feeding special, starting on page 25, focuses on producing more milk from grass, with a look at zero-grazing and the benefits that two producers are enjoying since making the switch to ‘cut and carry’. We also have an article that emphasises the importance of regular – and accurate – silage analysis, if producers want to make the most of their forage and TMR rations this coming winter. Initial results show that first-cut

silage quality is looking good for most of the UK, so it’s vital that producers exploit that as much as possible.

Our business update also looks at how producers can take advantage of lower feed prices this winter to, again, shave a penny or two off the cost of production.

Take a look at page 39 to see if you could save a few bob.

It’s during tough economic times when investing in training can take a back seat on some units, but continual professional development doesn’t have to be expensive or time consuming. We spoke to three members of Dairy Pro to find out why they signed up and how they – and the wider industry – benefit from the scheme on page 10.

I doubt anyone could read Roger Evans’ column, on page 20, without raising a wry smile – and salivating a little. He’s certainly pulling out all the stops to keep his silage contractor ‘sweet’.

And if it’s inspiration that you’re looking for, we’ve an article on this year’s NMR/ RABDF Gold Cup winner on page 14.

Main article Improving skills

Special Feeding

Breeding August bull proofs

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Continual profession development starts with on-line registration

We take a look at zero grazing and first-cut silage analysis results

More leading genomic Holstein sires gain daughter-proven indexes

COW MAN AG E ME N T

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Silver lining for Gold Cup finalist Runner up in the 2015 NMR/RABDF Gold Cup competition and recipient of the NMR Silver Salver is Brian Yates from East Logan, near Castle Douglas in Dumfries and Galloway. Brian manages his 277-cow Holstein herd with help from his wife Sheila, son Michael and daughter Anna, as well as herdsman Trevor Hough and general farm worker Leslie Craik.

The herd averages 11,707kg of milk at 3.97% butterfat and 3.13% protein on three-times-a-day milking. Average somatic cell count is 108,000 cells/ml and in-calf rate 100 days post calving stands at 65%.

The Chris May Memorial Award, for the herd with the highest average lifetime daily yield among Gold Cup qualifying herds, was awarded to Nick Cobb from

From left to right: NMR chairman Philip Kirkham, RABDF’s Ian Macalpine, Michael and Brian Yates, and RABDF president David Leaver

West Chaldon, Dorchester in Dorset.

His 742-cow Holstein herd achieved a lifetime daily yield of 18.97kg of milk a day. Contributing to this is the herd’s

average milk yield of 12,915kg at 3.59% fat and 3.07% protein, a somatic cell count of 146,000 cells/ml and a calving interval of 392 days.

Take your chance to win a t-shirt CowManagement is offering the chance to win a free ‘Milk must have a future’ T-shirt to readers who visit CowManagement’s Facebook page and ‘like’ the ‘Milk must have a future’ video, featuring Scotland’s Farmers and Farmers’ Wives Choir.

Read more about how the music video has become a global on-line sensation and find out more about the woman who made it all happen on page 12 of this issue.

The closing date for entries is midnight on Sunday September 20. Good luck!

UK Dairy Day – make space in your diary Following on from the success of the first UK Dairy Day in 2014, this year’s one-day event, on Wednesday September 16 at Telford’s International Centre in Shropshire, will feature more than 300 dairy businesses exhibitors and offer trade stand space covering more than 8,000 square metres. The theme for

this year’s show is ‘sharing knowledge’.

The event will feature a learning and development zone on the first floor, with seminar sessions, held both indoors and outdoors, to inspire and educate visitors.

This zone is sponsored by ADF Milking, with seminars sponsored by Allflex. The area is also being supported by AHDB

Dairy, NFYFC and Dairy Pro and includes a career zone and ‘making more from milk’ zone.

Seminars with leading speakers will focus on the cow, the dairy unit and herd, and the team managing the business. The external demonstration area will feature foot trimming and knife sharpening. And new product display areas will show case what is new from exhibitors in one central area The exhibition’s ‘all breeds’ cattle show includes national Holstein classes and there will be a Red Ribbon sale at 4.30pm, organised by Glyn Lucas of Harrison & Hetherington.

This will feature some of the UK’s best dairy cattle.

To book your ticket, call 01923 695225 or visit http://www.ukdairyday.co.uk/tickets

COW MAN AG E ME N T

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Mark Sterk • 400 cows Ontario, Canada

Alta Genetics UK & Ireland +44 01727 884 534 www.altagenetics.co.uk | uk@altagenetics.com / altagenetics |

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MAIN ARTICLE

A professional register is helping to im prov

Is it time you signed up Continual profession development is easier than many producers think. There are also many benefits for employers and employees alike. We spoke to some members of the scheme to find out more. text Rachael Porter

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raining and development doesn’t have to be time consuming or expensive. Just ask any of the 1,000 members of Dairy Pro, which was launched in 2012. It is a professional development register, operated by BASIS, and has more than 70 training partners, including AHDB Dairy, Arla, the RABDF, LKL Services, and several vet practices.

For just £20 a year, both employers and employees can keep up to date with the latest skills, techniques and ideas, both ‘on farm’ and off it, with ‘points’ accrued when attending an industry event or a discussion group. And producers can spend as little – or as much – time as they choose to ensure that their skills and knowledge remain up to date.

Membership is open to all producers, and dairy staff with more than 12 months of dairy experience.

The scheme also offers associate and student membership.

Dairy Pro is certainly a way to keep track of industry developments that suits Rachael Poole. In partnership with her husband, James, she runs a 150-cow herd near Holsworthy, in Devon, and says that it’s vital to have a firm handle on what’s going on within your own business – as well as the wider industry.

She’s been registered on the scheme since 2012: “So I’ve been collecting points for a few years now.

I think it is important to learn and get involved with other businesses and organisations within the industry – we can learn so much from each other and by collaborating within the industry.”

Farm assurance Rachael is a member of a local dairy discussion group, run by AHDB Dairy, and says that she finds this beneficial from both a social and business point of view. “I am not collecting points to develop my CV, but I believe that it is still important, in terms of farm assurance and keeping our milk buyer happy. It certainly makes our business appear to be much more professional.

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Rachael Poole: “Scheme gives our business – and the wider dairy industry – a professional edge”

“On-going training and personal development, whether you’re an employer or an employee, is critical to the success of any business. It’s important to make the time to ensure you keep bang up to date. And by this I not only mean going to meetings but also reading respected agricultural magazines and journals and learning from other producers’ and dairy businesses’ experiences. There’s a wealth of information and resources out there to be tapped into and this register is an excellent tool to help producers do that.”

Rachael and James’ long-term aims are to have a sustainable business that can provide a succession opportunity for their children while, at the same time, maintaining a family farm set up and looking after the environment.

“We are continually looking for more efficient and effective ways to reduce production costs without compromising our herd’s health, welfare and productivity. And being registered with Dairy Pro ensures that I am informed of any relevant or topical meetings or events being held nearby. For me, the points I accrue are simply the icing on the cake. It’s what I actually learn – and can apply to our business – that has the most value.”

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o im prove producers’ skill set and image

d up and went ‘pro’?

and says that is was David who encouraged him to sign up with Dairy Pro. “And I’m so glad that I did.

It’s proved invaluable for me,” he says, adding that this scheme really adds some substance to his CV. He says that it is also relatively easy to gather Dairy Pro points as he’s come across lots of training he’s really interested in and that’s not in a classroom environment.

Employee benefits

Stephen Crowther: “The scheme means that my efforts to keep up to date are officially recognised”

Stephen Crowther agrees that Dairy Pro is invaluable to those who want to improve their skills set – as well as herd and business performance.

He is the herdsman charged with managing David Cotton’s herd, based near Glastonbury in Somerset,

“I’ve always been keen to attend discussion groups and other workshops and courses and this adds an extra layer. My efforts to improve my dairy knowledge and skills are now being officially recognised, which is great because I don’t have any formal agricultural qualifications.

“Although I have no plans to move on, I am very aware of how volatile the dairy market is and realise that getting my training on record makes me more employable should I need to look for another position at any point,” he adds.

“My CV is now in great shape because I’m constantly updating my skill set and keeping up to date with the latest ideas and technology. The register is proof of that.”

He says that not only does the register ‘add value’ to the time he spends on training and development, it also makes him feel valued: “By both my employer

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Nick Shorter: “All other professionals have to demonstrate their competence through CPD and accreditation – so why not dairy managers and staff?”

and by Dairy Pro and its many partner companies and organisations across the UK. They’re investing in my future security, as well as that of the wider dairy industry.

“That’s a great motivator and I feel positive and secure about my position both here at Bridge Farm and within the dairy sector.”

Manager’s view Velcourt’s Nick Shorter encourages all decision-making staff within the business to join Dairy Pro. Indeed he’s a member himself as well as being BASIS and FACTS registered: “I’m a big fan of

continual professional development and accreditation, under the wider umbrella of developing a more professional image for dairying and agriculture,” he says.

“All our dairy managers and trainee dairy managers, as well as herd managers working directly for Velcourt, are registered on Dairy Pro and record their training through it.

“Any other staff are also encouraged to join and their fees are paid by the business.”

The company manages 6,800 cows, in 13 dairy herds, from Cumbria to Devon, as well as offering advice on looking after a further 7,000 cows across the UK.

Nick says that, as well as accruing points for attending external training days and conferences, staff gain points for attending internal quarterly development meetings and training days, as Velcourt itself is a Dairy Proregistered training partner.

“All other professionals, be they land agents, nutritionists or agronomists, have to demonstrate their competence, through CPD and accreditation.

“We expect our vets and accountants to be fully qualified and ‘up to date’ and we should expect the same from ourselves and our colleagues and employees,” he adds. l

Dairy Pro – how does it work?

The training partners register their events and courses, each of which gets awarded points through BASIS depending on, for example, complexity or commitment required.

These are posted on a calendar.

All training partners are assessed by BASIS to gauge suitability for Dairy Pro through a set of rules.

This safeguards the educational quality and independence of each training activity.

Each event submitted for accreditation must have a clear purpose and agenda to gain accreditation, and BASIS undertakes random checks on 5% of

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training activities to ensure delivery is in compliance with Dairy Pro standards.

Training partners register the participation of Dairy Pro members in their training activities and send this information back to BASIS so it can be added to individual training records.

Training profiles are then compiled and can then be downloaded for individuals and farm businesses.

Individuals gaining a minimum of 20 points in a calendar year will become ‘Dairy Pro Endorsed’. Attending a one-day workshop, membership of a discussion group and the completion

of an on-line assessment will achieve this target, so 20 is easily achievable.

This endorsement will remain in place as long as the individual maintains his or her minimum points each year.

Becoming ‘Dairy Pro Endorsed’ signifies that a member has undertaken sufficient training and development during that year to maintain a strong skill base, and is on a par with the minimum requirements of other comparable CPD schemes.

To find out more about Dairy Pro and how to register, visit www.dairypro.co.uk.

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GET MAGICAL MOMENTS DOWN TO A Getting your cows back in calf is the ultimate reward, but it can be a huge challenge due to poor fertility and extended calving intervals.

Introducing progesterone based synchronisation programmes can improve pregnancy rates and optimise the chances of maintaining a healthy pregnancy1,2.

Ask your Vet about CIDR – a user friendly, t-shaped progesterone releasing device with high retention rates3. Suitable for dairy and beef, heifers and cows, cycling or non-cycling; there’s a programme right for you.

1. Bisinotto R.S. et al Meta-analysis of progesterone supplementation during timed artificial insemination programs in dairy cows J. Dairy Sci. 98 :2472–2487 2. Inskeep EK. Preovulatory, postovulatory, and postmaternal recognition effects of concentrations of progesterone on embryonic survival in the cow.

J Animal Sci 2004;82:24-39. 3. Chenault et al, JDS 2003 86:2039:2049 . Intravaginal progesterone insert to synchronise return to estrus of previously inseminated dairy cows Further information is available on the product SPC or contact your veterinary surgeon or Zoetis UK Ltd, Walton Oaks, Dorking Road, Walton on the Hill, Tadworth, Surrey, KT20 7NS. Customer Support 0845 3008034. www.zoetis.co.uk CIDR® 1.38g Vaginal Delivery System for Cattle contains 1.38 g progesterone: POM-V .

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O V E R A L L S

Name: Location: Herd size: Hobby:

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Kate Picken Kirkcudbright, Scotland 400 Choirmaster

Kate Picken: “Singing promotes a terrific sense of well being”

Internet sensation text Rachael Porter

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ith more than 430,000 hits and still counting, Kirkcudbright-based producer Kate Picken is making quite a stir online. When she’s not helping her family to run their 400-cow herd, Kate, who is also a full-time music teacher, is a choirmaster in her spare time and runs the Farmers and Farmers’ Wives Choirs in Scotland. And more than 70 choir members from both groups starred in the music video ‘Milk must have a future’, which was a huge Internet sensation this summer.

Kate wrote the lyrics, with help from her friend Jane Davidson, which were set to the tune of Creedence Clearwater Revival’s Proud Mary and the film shows dozens of farmers singing and dancing in Milton Farm’s rotary milking parlour.

“The song was my idea – I saw a local television news report about the plight of dairy producers and the current downturn in milk prices and thought we could take it a step further with a song and also add a touch of humour too to help get the message across,” says Kate.

Choir members travelled from across Scotland to take part in the project and the video can been viewed at ‘The Global Dairy’ Facebook page. ‘Milk must have a future’ also has its own page, with several thousand followers.

Kate, who has been teaching music for 30 years, and her daughter Jennifer, who sings at the start of the video, are now also selling ‘Milk must have a future’ T-shirts to help spread the word.

“People are posting photos on Facebook of themselves wearing the shirts across the world. The response has been phenomenal.

I even had an e-mail from a woman in Argentina who asked if we could send her the lyrics so she could get them translated.”

The two choirs were set up 2013 to mark the 75th anniversary of the Scottish Association of Young Farmers Clubs and they have performed at venues across Scotland, including the Hydro in Glasgow and the Royal Highland Show.

“Singers come from as far as Berwick Upon Tweed and Stranraer to our weekend choir practices, which are held in Lanark.” Kate adds that people love to sing, particularly as a group, and travel significant distances to take part. “Singing promotes a terrific sense of health and well being and all our members get a lot of enjoyment out of being part of a choir. Singing also brings people together – many of our members say that we’re one big happy family. So, if you enjoy singing, why not come along and join in.”

View and ‘like’ the video ‘Milk must have a future’ at https://www. facebook.com/CowManagementUK and you could be the lucky winner of a ‘Milk must have a future’ t-shirt.

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C OWM ANAGEMENT

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H E R D

R E P O RT

After an impressive ‘hat trick’ of finals, this Somerset-based herd finally takes the top spot

Neil Baker Always looking for the next challenge and striving to continually improve is what drives Neil. And now he can knock winning the Gold Cup off his ’to do’ list.

Herd size: Unit size: Average yield: Calving index:

All eyes on the top dairy prize Staying power and an eye on the future were just two factors Somerset

1,800 692 hectares 11,000 litres sold 382 days

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hen Neil Baker creates a business plan, he sticks to it. And this tenacity has not only paid off in terms of productivity and profitability. It’s also seen him lift this year’s NMR/RABDF Gold Cup, having been a finalist in the competition an impressive three times.

“I thought I’d be in the top three and I really thought that this year’s runner up

that impressed this year’s NMR/RABDF Gold Cup judging panel when they visited Neil Baker’s unit. We find out more about this award-winning herd and his plans for the future. text Olivia Cooper & Rachael Porter

– Brian Yates from East Logan – would win it, to be honest. So it was a huge surprise when our name was called out and I was absolutely stunned and thrilled,” he says, adding that it took a while for the news to sink in.

For many other people, who are familiar with Neil’s herd and business, his win was less of a surprise. It’s a fantastic dairy set up and the judging panel were particularly impressed with changes that he has made to the unit during the past few years.

He’s continually striving to improve

things, do things better and keep the business moving forward.

“Neil examines every aspect and every cost of the business. His sheer determination to tackle herd health issues is impressive and he works tirelessly to get the best from his staff, with training and protocols in place,” said RABDF chairman and Gold Cup judge, Ian Macalpine. “The judges’ decision to award him the Gold Cup was unanimous.”

Herd expansion In 2014 Neil said he was planning to increase herd size, boost milk yields and improve herd health, mastitis and fertility. And he has certainly delivered.

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Herd expansion: milkers now number 1,800 cows

Cow comfort: the herd is housed on deep, sand-bedded cubicles

Rotary parlour: a full teat-prep routine is followed at every milking

Calf unit: investment has reduced heifer age at first calving

The family-owned Rushywood Farm at Haselbury Plucknett, Somerset, now extends to 692ha, with the herd size rising by 520 head during the past year, to 1,800 cows. With 55% of the herd being heifers, yields are currently running at just above 11,000 litres sold.

“Our business strategy is to broadly follow what our family has been doing for the past four generations,” says Neil.

“This is to care for our cattle as best we can so they produce high yields at low costs, and so that we can invest in people, facilities and further expansion.”

All the cows are housed on deep-bedded sand cubicles all year round, with the exception of in-calf heifers. “We calve the heifers at 23 months old, and I just can’t get them big enough to serve at 12 months old if they’re grazing,” he says.

“Instead, we turn them out when they’re pregnant.”

Submission rates Neil currently rears around 500 heifers a year, but plans to increase this to 750 a year while, at the same time, reducing age at first calving to 22 months. “Recent investment in our calf unit and staff development has helped improve our heifer rearing operations, allowing us to calve our heifers earlier with fewer losses at a lower cost,” he says.

In a bid to improve the herd genetics, Neil only selects bulls with a lifespan score of at least +0.2 and +500 for milk yield.

Everything is inseminated using AI, with 57% in-calf by 100 days and a calving index of 382 days.

“We are constantly trying to improve fertility so we monitor submission rates, which stand at 72%, and pregnancy rates, which are currently at 26%, and have a fortnightly vet visit,” he says.

Neil also scores the cows’ transition success to monitor how well they come through the calving phase. “We are averaging an 80% success rate, which is the percentage of cows that calve without a case of milk fever, retained placenta, displaced abomasum, metritis score of three or four, or culling incident within 30 days of calving.”

Fortnightly checks and a rigorous hoof trimming programme have boosted the herd mobility score from 75% to 95% during the past five years.

Milking three times a day, staff training and coaching is important. “We carry out full milking prep at every milking, focusing on hygiene and udder stimulation, and during the winter we introduced teat sanitising brushes at the point of entry into the parlour.”

He also monitors case rates on a monthly basis, uses cell count data to identify problem cows and cluster dips after those cows have been milked. “Any cow with two cases of mastitis in a lactation is culled.”

Neil has also been working to improve forage quality. “We aim to use 50% of our

land for maize silage production and we spread our manure solids on that land, which is ploughed in immediately,” he says.

“The rest of our crops consist of lucerne and grass leys for silage production. Our aim is to use our biggest resource – our land – to grow the best quality forages at the highest yields, using manures as efficiently as possible.”

Neil is currently adding pipelines to make spreading liquid manure easier and is also building an anaerobic digester with a sand separator.

Technical performance Given the recent steep decline in milk prices, the timing of such an investment may be questionable. But Neil is confident that his herd is here to stay. “The end of milk quotas poses a threat of over-supply of milk products, leading to probable further price drops,” he says. “To combat this, we intend to become among some of the most competitive dairies in Europe by continuing to increase scale and improve technical performance.”

Neil also sees a bright future for forwardthinking businesses ready to take on the world market. “That is why we joined Arla in 2014, to take advantage of the future global demand. I strongly believe that our industry needs to co-operate more, and Arla’s access to international markets is unique among UK milk buyers.” l

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A 35ml milk sample can take the strain out of health and fertility management

Pots of knowledge Information gleaned from the NMR milk sample is helping to improve health and fertility management in many dairy herds. And there are added benefits of these ‘add on’ options to milk recording, as one progressive East Yorkshire-based producer will vouch for. text Karen Wright

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raham Gowthorpe sees a lot of sense in using the monthly milk sample from each of his cows for more than one job. In addition to monthly milk quality and somatic cell count data he now gets pregnancy test results and quarterly Johne’s disease screening information from each 35ml milk sample.

“It generates a lot of management information for us,” says Graham, who runs the Holstein herd at Laytham, near Howden, with his daughter Katie, wife Julie and a full-time herdsman. “But I

also like the fact that we can disease screen and PD without disturbing the cows. It’s a far less stressful system and it saves us time too. And it’s cost-effective.

This really benefits our herd management.”

New housing The fourth generation of the family on the 123-hectare Favin Farm, Graham has expanded the herd from 40 to 200 cows plus followers during the past 30 years.

Beef calves are reared to finishing on the

Katie and Graham Gowthorpe: “We get useful information from the milk sample”

farm, which is also used to grow cereals, grass and forage crops for the livestock.

Growing cow numbers has meant an investment in new facilities and most recently a new cubicle shed for 90 cows has been built.

“We can now comfortably house high and low yielding groups and have space for youngstock and dry cows,” adds

New cubicles mean that the 200-cow herd and youngstock can be comfortably housed at Favin Farm

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Graham. “We’re calving all year round and keep the high yielders indoors on a forage-based TMR ration then graze the low yielding group during summer.”

Cow performance is paramount here – milk from cows averaging 9,500kg on twice-a-day milking is sold to Paynes Dairies for the liquid market. “We want fit and healthy cows that produce the milk without problems,” adds Graham, who refers to targets set by Dairy Group consultant Nigel Hardie, which help to steer the progress of the herd.

“He uses key performance indicators to set targets and identify where we can make improvements. There’s no standing still. We’d like to reduce the 18% replacement rate and at least maintain, if not reduce, the 392-day calving interval.”

“Getting cows in calf is an important part of this. We start serving cows from 42 days post calving and a list of these cows is given to the milk recorder so that their milk sample can be tested to determine pregnancies.

“We’ve used this service for the past 20 months and we’ve found it to be really accurate. Those cows not in calf are referred to the vet – it’s helping to sort out problems for us and puts the vet’s time to best use in problem solving rather than routine pregnancy testing.

Longer term it will help us improve our overall herd fertility as we look to reduce our calving interval.”

Johne’s ‘issue’ Another area where Graham works closely with his vet is in disease surveillance and he takes a belt-andbraces approach to control measures, vaccinating all cattle for IBR and BVD. “Johne’s disease has been an issue here,” says Graham. “We bought some cows in 2001 and I am sure they brought Johne’s with them. In ignorance we were pooling colostrum so it’s likely we spread the disease to heifer calves that then became part of the milking herd and in turn passed it on to their offspring.”

As soon as the HerdWise Johne’s disease surveillance scheme became available Graham signed up and he now has nearly five years of records to track the Johne’s status of all his cows. “We don’t just monitor the disease,” he adds.

“We have control measures in place and calve any infected cows separately. The days of pooled colostrum are long gone too and we look to cull an infected cow at the earliest opportunity. We’re now a closed herd so we’re minimising the risk of further infection in all areas.”

Graham understands that Johne’s control is a long-term commitment and he will continue to use the HerdWise surveillance programme that uses a milk sample from each cow to test for Johne’s

disease antibodies on a quarterly basis.

“Infection levels are now falling and we want to keep this going. It’s a difficult disease to understand, but the good thing is that we’re now in control.” l

NMR milk sample tests Johne’s disease testing

Pregnancy testing

• HerdWise Johne’s screening programme tests milk samples from individual cows, collected through NMR, on a quarterly basis for the presence of antibodies against MAP (Mycobacterium avium subspecices paratuberculosis); the pathogen that causes Johne’s • The frequent testing undertaken in HerdWise allows a Johne’s disease profile to be built up for every cow.

These quarterly results are used to classify each cow using a traffic-light system, with repeatedly positive cows shown as red. This allows easy identification of high-risk cows • Results are available to the vet and producer via NMR Herd Companion • HerdWise results should be used as part of a veterinary-led Johne’s management plan • The HerdWise Johne’s screening programme is CHeCS (Cattle Health Certification Standards) accredited • Fees for Herdwise depend on herd size and are adjusted monthly depending on number of cows in herd.

• An auto-selection procedure identifies the cows for testing every month, on the chosen day after service • Animals can also be selected for testing on an ad-hoc basis • Results are reported through NMR’s Herd Companion or can be emailed to the producer • Purpose-designed ad-hoc sampling kits make this service available to all producers – NMR and non-NMR recorded cows • The test measures Pregnancy Associated Glycoproteins (PAGs), which are produced in the placenta of pregnant cows • PAGs are highly specific to pregnancy and start increasing from the point of conception • The PAG test determines pregnancy with an accuracy of 98% • The test can be used as early as 35 days after service although there can be foetal losses after this date • Results are either positive, negative or inconclusive.

• Inconclusive results are retested at the next recording free of charge • NMR charges £3.50 a test • Ad-hoc kits of 10 samples are available, with an additional charge of £8.50 for the kit (P&P included).

• Discounts are available for larger volumes.

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Shropshire-based producer and award winning columnist Roger Evans says that, when it comes to ‘wooing’ silage contractors, fish and chips just won’t cut it anymore.

Up the ‘steaks’ G

rass is the thing. You can do so much with grass – you can graze it, you can make it in to hay or silage, and you can spread slurry on it. Grazed at the optimum stage of growth it is the cheapest and the best way to produce milk. It’s not the very, very cheapest food source.

That is grazing someone else’s grass – sheep producers discovered that generations ago.

If you have modern high-sugar varieties of grass, cows will milk and milk on it. Cut and ensiled at the right stage in good weather and you can get tonnes and tonnes of ‘sunshine breakfast’. Grass is reliable, dependable and predictable. And its predictability is its one flaw.

Grass can be at its peak digestibility but can go to head and decline in feed value in just a couple of days. At first-cut silage time this is a very real problem, particularly if your first-cut silage is made by a contractor.

To put it simply, apart from the vagaries of the weather and height above sea level, it is inevitable that everyone wants the contractor at the same time. The contractor, for their part, is in a very difficult position at first-cut silage time. Their mobile phone is probably red hot on fine days when everyone wants them at the same time, and very silent when it’s raining.

They will tell you that you are third or fourth on the list. But you don’t get to see the list, do you, and every wet day or breakdown is a further delay. So you have this competitive environment, producer against producer, trying to get the silage done.

But there are ways to mitigate this. You try to keep ‘on the right side’ of the silage gang. You simply try to make your farm a good place to go. Plenty of chilli and rice at lunchtime goes down really well. Fish and chips in the field washed down with a can of coke at about 8 o’clock on the night of a late finish works wonders. These little extras in life can make a big difference.

We’ve got a new milk tanker driver and he can get a cup of tea any time he wants one. But he also knows that if ever he has to battle through snow to get here that he gets an all-day breakfast. So we were feeling a bit smug and complacent with our ‘chilli and fish and chip’ offering. That was a mistake.

Word comes in that some producers give out large slabs of beer cans at finishing time. Some direct the gang to a pub where they have free access to the producer’s tab. There’s a simple answer to all this. We could all make a commitment to a contractor and then sit down together and make a plan that allowed for height above sea level and ‘early’ farms. And we could all sow different grass varieties that matured for cutting at slightly different dates, to allow the contractor to progress through their work in a seemless fashion. All that would be quite easy to organise, wouldn’t it?

In the meantime, I’ve decided to improve my offering. Prawn salad at lunchtime with a Sauvignon Blanc. Strawberries and cream with Pimms for afternoon tea. And what better at knocking off time than a barbeque. Fillet steak and a bottle of red should do the job nicely.

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B R E E D I N G

LON GE V Insight

in performance and genetic capacity

HERD

MANAGEMENT Improve by applying solutions

Plan

progress in performance and genetic capacity

HEAL TH

IENCY FIC EF

ION CT DU

Y IT

PR O

BREEDING WITH A PURPOSE

F E RTILIT Y

Every producer sets goals for his farm. These goals may differ, but the herd is always at the heart of the business. In this six-part series we set out to help you to improve your herd. Our third article focuses on breeding to improve herd efficiency.

Part 1: Introduction Part 2: Production Part 3: Efficiency Part 4: Fertility Part 5: Longevity Part 6: Health

Simple approach helps producers achieve their breeding goal

Focus on greater efficiency Breeding has an important role to play in improving herd efficiency. But how do producers know that they’re choosing the ideal sires to help them focus on this breeding goal, when bull proofs offer such a wealth of useful information? text Rachael Porter

Milk components

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reeding for efficiency. All producers are doing that, right? Wrong.

Unless you are, in fact, selecting sires for efficiency – and for that read kilogrammes of fat and protein, longevity, feed intake, body weight, and daughter fertility – you may be way off the mark.

And that’s where CRV’s Herd Navigator tool comes into its own. It allows producers to define a breeding goal and then if, for example, its efficiency they’re looking for it focuses on selecting the

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‘efficiency’ is quite broad in terms of selection traits. “In fact it is the one link between all other goals that producers may select for. Producers looking to breed for efficiency are particularly focused on milk yield, kilogrammes of fat and protein, longevity, feed intake and, not surprisingly, profit,” adds Mr Matthews.

best bulls for production and all the traits previously listed to achieve that.

“It’s all about keeping it simple. Breeding is not complicated – you get what you breed for. This tool, or approach, allows producers to keep whatever that may be in their sights. It can get confusing with so many traits and key figures to keep in mind when looking at lists of sires. This homes in on what’s important to achieve a particular goal,” says CRV Avoncroft’s David Matthews.

Table 1 does, indeed, show that

Bulls from the CRV breeding programme certainly sire daughters that produce milk containing more protein and butterfat, allowing producers to potentially pocket a larger milk cheque with the same number of cows.

This high fat and protein production can be achieved with roughly two kinds of sires – high component bulls and bulls with a high milk production and a clear bottom limit for the milk components.

So both these types of sire would make it on to the list of possible bulls to select

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Niek Berkhout: “My cows are bred to turn feed into milk with ease”

when looking to breed for efficiency.

High fat and protein production is important, but it is only the beginning. It will only bring real added value if this is produced efficiently from a healthy and fertile herd. Low feeding, culling and vet and med costs are also important, as is good fertility.

Feed intake is important too and, for greater efficiency, additional emphasis on persistency, maturity, calving interval and bodyweight is also required. In essence, producers are looking for a cow that efficiently turns feed into milk with high longevity.

Key measurements here are lifetime energy intake in relation to lifetime milk yield, adding +5% to the efficiency score equates to 750kg more milk from same amount of feed.

Producers often ask for help to optimise herd results and to determine which ‘accent’ is needed when selecting sires.

Extra help, and underlining CRV’s integrated approach, are the two breeding figures Better Life Efficiency and Better Life Health. The former takes productivity and combines it with longevity to ensure high efficiency. For example, a sire with a score of +5% generates a financial gain of £215 per cow life in an average herd. Milk production, feed intake and longevity are particularly important in calculating Better Life Efficiency, but persistency, maturity rate, fertility and weight are also taken into account in the calculation.

One Dutch producer, who’s taken the

Gerard and Geertje Heuthorst: “We’re looking for good longevity”

breeding for efficiency route is Niek Berkhout. Based in northern part of the Netherlands, he runs what he describes as a ‘simple and low cost’ system. He’s increased cow numbers from 120 to 240 head without significant investment, the herd is milked through a traditional herringbone milking parlour and all cows are fed the same ration.

Easy-to-manage cows Niek identified a problem with somatic cell count and began to milk record to identify the problem cows within the herd. It also gave him a clear picture of how his herd was performing in the milking parlour – the rolling average yield is 9,479kg of milk at 3.66% butterfat and 3.25% protein.

With figures like these it’s easy to see that, in the past, his breeding goal focused only on milk production: “But my cows were getting too big and they were not efficient. I need easy-to-manage cows, because we want to expand to 300 head at some point in the future. I also wanted to focus more on protein production, because we make our own cheese here on the farm.”

Today has seen Niek switch from using stock bulls to using AI sires – this is safer and also allows him to tap into a wider genetic pool. He’s now cross breeding, using Brown Swiss and Jersey sires, because this produces cows and heifers that are better suited to his system. “Fat and protein yield is higher, fertility is better and feed intakes are good too.

Table 1: Breeding goals and the key selection traits required to achieve them

breeding goal

main traits

production longevity health fertility efficiency

Inet, kg milk, kg fat, kg protein, % fat & % protein longevity daughter fertility, udder health, hoof health, ketosis & calving ease daughter fertility, sire conception rate kg fat & protein, longevity, feed intake, body weight, daughter fertility

These cattle easily turn feed into milk and they last in the herd.”

High production Gerard and Geertje Heuthorst run their 110-cow herd in the Netherlands, their focus, to breed more efficient cows and heifers, is on high milk production. They use Inet, when selecting sires, to help them achieve this.

The couple has recently invested in a new barn, to improve cow comfort and also because they have plans to expand to 180 milkers.

“We think that land is just too expensive in The Netherlands to justify running a low milk production system. For us, high yields are the way to go,” says Gerard.

“But we also want healthy and fertile cows and to breed cattle that last for a long time in the herd.”

So, as well as Inet, the pair are also selecting bulls on SCC, hoof health and daughter fertility: “But we’re always keeping a close eye on milk production,” stresses Geertje. “And we only use the highest scoring InSire bulls.”

They also use CRV’s TalentScan to ensure that the best sire matches are made when serving heifers. “We’re looking to breed top quality replacement heifers because we eventually want to increase herd size to 180 cows, using home-bred stock.”

The whole herd is fed the same TMR ration. No additional concentrates are fed and the couple has found that ‘persistent’ cows with plenty of capacity to convert a lot of feed into milk have thrived on this system.

Feed efficiency is extremely important to them – they’re looking for more milk from feed and certainly between 1.42 and 1.45 litres per kilogramme of feed.

And they know that genetics and a short calving interval are key factors to help them achieve this. l

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Zero grazing: ‘Cut and carry’ helps producers to get more milk from their swards. Page 26 Silage analysis: First-cut results are in, but regular testing throughout the winter is vital. Page 30

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Zero grazing paves the way to reduced feed costs and increased milk from forage

Cash and carry ‘Cut and carry’, as zero grazing is also called, can help to maximise grass dry matter yields throughout the growing season and reduce waste. Two producers tell us how the system works on their units and why selecting the right grass mixture is key to their success. text Rachael Porter

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scalating protein prices were the catalyst that saw Alec Robertson switch to zero grazing his 520-cow herd, which he manages at Coopon Carse Farm in Wigtownshire, five years ago. And he’s not looked back since.

“Our cows are housed all year round and, at that time, we were exploring ways to best utilise the forage that we grow on the farm to maximise efficiency,” he says.

It’s the unit’s high rainfall, cow numbers and heavy clay that lend themselves to zero grazing, according to Alec. “It’s not a good combination if you want to graze cows and I believe that ‘cut and carry’ is a far better way for us to utilise grass at this unit and to maximise our land potential – particularly when the only thing that grows really well here is grass.”

Alec has been using Sinclair McGill’s Scotsward mixture for silage for many years: “Because it gives us a good cutting window and doesn’t head too quickly. It also produces a dense sward, which stands well and lends itself to cutting. And we see strong regrowth too,” he says.

All sound ideal attributes for a zerograzing sward and so Alec and his team gave it a try and it’s been working extremely well. “Sometimes we’ll cut a field up to seven times during the growing season and we always see good regrowth.”

This mixture comprises mid-season and late perennial ryegrasses, as well as a white clover blend and Timothy

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grass. “The latter helps the sward to ‘stand up’ to the mower,” says Limagrain UK’s Ian Misselbrook. His company supplies Sinclair McGill mixtures to Alec via distributor Lindsay Ker at McGill and Smith Seeds. “It’s a medium- to longterm cutting mixture, developed for either zero grazing or silage, but it also offers good grazing qualities and the clover contributes to a good aftermath,” he adds.

“And it’s a mixture that was designed to thrive in the slightly harsher climate of Scotland and Northern Ireland, but producers further south are using it, particularly on zero grazing units.”

Cutting season Alec begins the ‘cut and carry’ season in mid April and continues through to early October, depending on the weather.

He cuts two loads of grass each day, anytime between 10.00am and 11.00am.

“This allows the sugar levels in the grass to rise a little.”

And he weighs it as he harvests it, using a Lely mower on a Schuitemaker forage harvester, ensuring he doesn’t waste grass by taking more than he needs.

He mows around 5kg DM per cow per day – that’s between 35kg and 37kg fresh weight, depending on how wet conditions are, and it weighs in at upwards of 15 tonnes per day. “If it’s been raining I can just tell that I need to cut a bit more.”

The herd is currently averaging 10,900 litres at 3.8% butterfat and 3.25% protein. The milk from forage figure is creeping upwards from 4,500 litres, but most notable for Alec is the reduction in

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Alec Robertson: “We’re saving £1.00 per cow per day – 3.3ppl on 30 litres”

bought-in protein costs. “Ensuring that the cows have access to fresh grass 180 days of the year has seen our feed bill for concentrate alone fall by around £60,000,” he says.

Feed cost savings per litre soon become big numbers when you have a large and high yielding herd. “Our latest figures show that we’re saving £1.00 per cow per day – that’s 3.3ppl on 30 litres – by feeding fresh grass. And we’re also saving on making silage to feed them through the wetter or slower grassgrowing periods through the summer.”

Alec says that it costs him £4.65 to feed cows a tonne of fresh grass, compared to £11.26 to feed than a tonne of silage.

“That’s more than twice the cost of zerograzed grass and fresh grass also has a higher ME and more protein than silage.

It really is a ‘win win’.

Better management Stuart Davies is another ‘cut and carry’ producer who waxes lyrical about the benefits of zero grazing. He runs his 130-cow herd, near Cholmondeley in Cheshire, and says that adopting a zero grazing system allows him to manage his 75 hectares of grassland ‘better’. “I certainly get more dry matter yield from it throughout the growing season and it’s top quality grass too,” he says.

Cutting typically starts at the end of February, once the grass starts to grow, and can end as late as mid December.

“The grass tends to stop growing here in November or December. When it stops, we stop cutting. Until then, we really are making the most of our grass crop potential.”

And so is his commercial herd, which

he began cross breeding with Norwegian Red around five years ago. “We use Fleckvieh sires as a second cross and back to Holstein for the third cross. I was looking for better fertility and to breed smaller cows – my cow housing and facilities were built for Friesian-type cattle and not Holsteins. I also think that the resulting cows and heifers are better suited to eating the grass,” adds Stuart.

Maximising production The herd calves from the end of March through to the end of October and milk is sold to Tesco through MullerWiseman.

“It’s a seasonality contract, so we’re looking to produce as much milk from grass – the cheapest feed available to us – as possible. And being able to cut and feed grass as late as December really allows us to maximise milk production from forage.”

Stuart still makes a considerable amount of silage – around 2,500 tonnes is clamped and he also makes 350 big bales each year. “In the middle of the grazing season, we start to dry cows off. So that’s when we go in and make silage rather than feeding the cut grass to the cows.”

He looks for a dense sward – between 10cm and 15cm in height – before cutting. “It’s important to avoid letting the grass become tall and straggly because this is too fibrous. It’s the same principle as grazing – I just cut the grass to feed the cows, rather than putting them into the field to harvest it themselves.”

Stuart says that he first ‘dabbled’ in zero grazing 30 years ago. “I wanted to extend the grazing season and make sure that

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wagon, which cuts and picks up the crop with a mower attachment that has two drums and a moving floor.

The same piece of kit then travels back to the unit and down the feed passage and pushes the grass out, in a long sausage shape, behind the machine.

The grass is left in front of the milking herd for 12 hours and then any remaining is swept up and fed to the dry cows. “There’s little, if any, waste,” says Stuart.

Tight rotation

Stuart Davies: “I wanted to extend the ‘grazing’ season and reduce waste”

everything we grew we could feed.

Advances in grass varieties selection and grass seed mixtures means that we can grow leys that don’t want to rush to head, just as some modern Italian ryegrass want to do from late May onwards.”

Stuart uses Limagrain UK’s Monarch Multigraze plus clover, which he cuts every four to six weeks.

“I’m just grazing it with a mower, rather than cows,” he says. Working with his agronomist and Spunhill Farm Sales’ agronomist Mark Hancock, he’s looking at reseeding some grassland later this year using a mixture comprising two late-

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heading tetraploids and two late-heading diploids, which Limagrain UK will supply.

“Stuart complained in the past that some modern grasses headed too early and had too much yield. He made the mistake of reducing fertiliser applications and this actually stressed the grass and caused it to head early – the opposite of what he was trying to achieve,” says Mark.

“So I learnt quickly that it’s important to reduce all possible causes of stress to the grass and opted to sow a late heading mixture,” says Stuart.

Grass is ‘harvested’, twice a day, using an Italian-made Bonino zero grazing

He says that he works hard between February and September to keep the sward and the cutting rotation ‘tight’ to maximise both grass productivity and utilisation. “And we have to make sure that any paddocks that cows have grazed are cow-free for at least a month before we zero graze them again.

“Cows can detect that cows have been on the sward and will reject the grass if we cut it any sooner – it’s the same if we’ve injected slurry. So we have to be very organised and plan our grass growing, cutting and grazing season extremely well.”

Herd average yield is 9,800 litres, with 4,150 litres from forage. “I’m certain that it wouldn’t be that high if we didn’t zero graze,” says Stuart, who adds that after December, when he switches to feeding grass silage and concentrate, milk yield always drops slightly. “They definitely do better on fresh grass.” l

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Grass & Forage Crops

Includes mixtures for zero grazing

To find out how you can maximise the production potential of home-grown forage on your farm, ask for a copy of our free handbook today.

Call 01472 370117

limagrain.co.uk/sinclairmcgill

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Accurate silage analysis is key to producing more milk from forage and winter rations

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Testing times at the clamp face First-cut silage results bring some much-needed good news for producers, but regular analysis is essential if producers are to maximise efficiency this winter. We spoke to two nutritionists and a consultant to find out why. text Rachael Porter

he latest analysis of more than 2,200 first-cut grass silage samples, from Trouw Nutrition GB, yielded some good news for UK producers. Diets this winter will, on the whole, be based on better quality first-cut silage, compared to 2014, and with that comes the possibility of better cow performance and lower feed costs.

“The initial analyses show marginally drier first cuts, with an average dry matter of 30.2% compared to 29% in 2014,” says Trouw Nutrition GB’s Adam Clay, stressing that there is a considerable range but, on the whole, the picture is positive.

“Typically lower grass covers deliver material with lower NDF content and higher digestibility. This is certainly true this year with NDF dropping from 48.3% in 2014 to 46.8%. This directly affects digestibility and, therefore, ME, which has increased from 10.7MJ/kg DM in 2014

Figure 2: Grass silage dry matter percentage variation across the clamp face (Source: NIR4 Farm, 2014)

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to 10.9MJ/kg DM this year. Based on a daily dry matter intake of 10kg grass silage, this improvement in ME means cows will produce 0.4 litres per head per day more from grass silage.

“The really encouraging news is that so

far this year 47% of silages have analysed out at more than 11MJ ME/kg compared to just 21% in 2014,” he adds.

“Just 23% of forages have an ME lower than 10.5MJ/kg, compared to 54% in 2014. This suggests more producers will have better quality feed.”

Protein content has also improved from 13.7% to 14.2%, sugars are slightly higher at 3.5% while the average pH is 3.9. Mr Clay says that these indicate that clamp stability should be good, reducing the risk of wastage and making more feed available during the winter.

“In addition to a better average nutritional analysis, intake potential has also increased from 96 to 99. This means cows will be more enthusiastic about eating larger quantities of silage which will be good for diet formulation.

“It will be important to take steps to optimise rumen health as the reduced NDF and higher sugars will affect acid

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loading on the rumen. The important thing is that producers get their forages analysed so they have a better indication of what is in their clamp, because the averages usually mask a range of results.

Take a proper face sample and then resample monthly, at least, so you can fine tune the ration to reflect the silage actually being fed and exploit the potential of better quality forage.”

Accurate analysis It’s well recognised that silage quality can vary considerably from one year to the next, across the various cuts of grass silage and between different clamps.

The challenge is getting a representative sample. The current approach to forage analysis relies primarily on composite, combined samples taken from several locations across the face and averaged results. This is certainly far more accurate than just taking a handful from

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one place on the face but it will not demonstrate the substantial variation that can occur across even a single clamp face.

So says AB Vista’s Derek McIlmoyle, adding that grass silage typically provides between 40% and 70% of the total feed intake when cows are on full winter rations. “Any unaccounted for variation in silage quality can have a huge impact on nutrient intake.”

Key parameters Newly released data generated in winter 2014 using NIR4 Farm, a new portable NIR spectrometer designed to provide real-time on-farm feed value analysis, has shown that key parameters like dry matter (DM) can vary by as much as 10% from the top to the bottom of each clamp, and by as much as 8% from side to side (see Figure 1).

These are similar to the results from the Trouw Nutrition GB’s study, which assessed feed value across the face of an open grass silage clamp in a traditional ‘W’ pattern of nine samples. Both DM and NDF content varied by up to 10%, while energy density differed by as much as 1.6MJ ME/kg DM and crude protein by 3% (see Figure 2).

According to his calculations, for a typical cow, producing 30 litres a day from 40kg fresh weight of grass silage, even a 2.5% reduction in silage dry matter can reduce DM intake by 1kg.

With an average silage energy level of between 10.5 and 11.5 MJ ME/kg DM, the resulting drop in energy intake would cut milk yield by around two litres per cow.

“Given that every aspect of silage quality that affects feeding value – such as levels of digestibility, crude protein, fibre, lactic acid and volatile fatty acids – can vary, the potential fluctuations in daily nutrient intakes are huge,” he adds.

Perform consistently “What’s needed is a move away from periodic sampling or daily adjustments based on yesterday’s feed intake or milk yields – which are always at least one step behind the cows – toward feeding strategies that can account for these variations on a regular basis ahead of the cows.

“Only then can we expect cows to perform consistently, and the emergence of new portable NIR

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technology certainly makes that much easier to achieve.”

Adam Clay agrees that regular and accurate analysis is vital and emphasises the importance of taking regular samples across the face. He recommends that producers take at least nine subsamples, collected from a ‘W’ across the face, which are then mixed to provide a meaningful sample. To ration accurately, he says it is also important to get a full analysis of the silage, not a subset of just the headline figures. “Fermentation characteristics, acid load and rumen active starch can all significantly affect how a diet will be formulated, so you need to ensure that your analysis includes them. Don’t build a diet based on a partial analysis.”

He adds that there is still an assumption on some units that silage quality will remain relatively consistent throughout the clamp, but stresses this is simply not the case.

Serious dent Trouw Nutrition GB also carried out trials where a typical ration, formulated to supply maintenance plus 30 litres, was fed to herds from September onwards, without any tweaks or changes to take account of forage quality variation – so fresh weight, formulation and the mix stayed the same.

By March that same ration was only producing, on average, 26 litres. The gradual decrease in yield of four litres during the winter and into early spring, particularly in a large herd, adds up to a serious dent in the milk cheque.”

Mr Clay adds that silage quality was an issue, but this trial highlighted that the main variation was in dry matter and the impact that had on intakes. “In this instance the silage was wetter, so dry matter intakes fell.

“But whatever the variation, it comes back to the fact that if cows are to eat the ration that’s been formulated for them, silage must be analysed regularly.

If it’s not, the cows could be eating something very different from the ration that’s written on the diet sheet.”

The key to efficient winter feeding is consistency and regular silage analysis helps to avoid dramatic changes to the ration.

“It facilitates small but necessary tweaks to keep the ration – and the cows – on track. The trick, if silage DM varies, is to balance and maintain silage fresh weights to mitigate this and to keep the cereal and protein ingredients in the ration the same,” explains Mr Clay.

The alternative to regular testing is to wait for the inevitable drop in milk yield before you then sit down with the nutritionist to review the ration. “It’s a little late by then as feed efficiency and milk yield has been lost.

And any resulting changes in the ration, to get the cows back on track, will be much larger and that can also cause problems. The rumen likes consistency and digestive upsets can create more stress for the rumen, the cow – and the producer.”

Exploit forage With silage quality looking good, Promar’s Caroline Groves says this provides producers with a much-needed opportunity to get as much milk from their forage as possible.

“Make sure you feed a ration this winter that exploits the excellent forage that’s available and take care when feeding concentrates to minimise substitution rates,” she stresses.

“Look to make sure rations are balanced well and encourage high forage intakes – that shouldn’t be too difficult given the high intake potential of many grass silages.”

Miss Groves adds that data shows that, on some units with ‘B’ quota milk price tariffs, it may not be worth feeding for extra marginal litres. “That will vary from business to business. For producers who are not paid for ‘B’ litres and are paid the same price for all their milk, marginal litres could be worth looking at.

“But the milk price and the cost of extra feed have to be weighed up because the figures may not stack up.”

And she reiterates that, to make the most of this year’s top quality silage, regular analysis is vital.

Group size “As is checking that the cows are actually eating what you’re putting in front of them and checking that there’s enough feed. It’s important to check group size to ensure that you’re not feeding too much or too little of a ration.

“Producers often pull cows out of a feeding or group, or add a few cows in, and don’t adjust the amount of ration that’s being put in front of them accordingly.

“The result is that feed is either wasted or milk yields can drop off. Neither scenario is efficient. There’s no room for inefficiency in the extremely tough challenges producers are facing at the moment.” l

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NUTRITIONAL NEWS

Cost-effective source of protein Locally produced brewery co-products could help dairy producers to reduce their feed bills, according to ForFarmers’ Brian Doran.

“Mash Pro 30 is one of our co-products, which is produced by breweries in the South West,” says Brian.

“Not only does it provide a higher level of protein and energy compared to similar feeds used on farm, but it is also more cost effective than many traditional feed materials.”

The cost of protein from Mash Pro 30 is around 49p/kg CP (compared to between 56p and 60p/kg CP for rape and soyabean meal). Producers willing to clamp 100 tonnes or more are able

to secure prices as low as 38p/kg CP. And, thanks to the fermentation process involved in producing this feed, it also has a highly digestible form of protein with better levels of undegradable protein, higher energy and a higher dry matter content compared to brewers’ grains.

“More producers may be using wheat and barley in feed in response to attractive cereal prices, and Mash Pro 30 is a good source of complementary protein,” adds Mr Doran.

“Producers in the South West could consider securing and clamping stocks of Mash Pro 30, ready for autumn, at an attractive price.”

Bread – the perfect complement to maize silage feeding Producers looking to reduce feed costs this coming winter should consider using bread to complement this year’s maize silage.

Yields and starch levels of maize are predicted to be down compared to 2014 in some areas and bread can be a cost effective way of bolstering low starch maize.

By mixing bread with a moist feed,

such as Mash Pro 30, producers can produce a high-energy and highprotein ration that’s suited to complement low starch, low-protein maize.

This bread-moist feed combination can also be fed at a higher rate to replace any shortfall in the predicted maize crop, with a blend of Mash Pro 30 and bread (fed at a ratio of 4:1) providing 33% dry matter, 23.9% protein, 13MJ/ kg ME and 27.5% starch.

With bread delivering energy at a cost of 9.6p/10MJ, it also represents a cost effective source of complementary feeding compared to other high-energy feeds, such as cereals, which command an equivalent price of 10.5p/10 MJ of energy.

ForFarmers’ dry, moist and liquid feeds are able to deliver separate loads of Mash Pro30 and bread, in a suitable ratio for clamping, to any customer wanting to take advantage of current competitive pricing.

Feed price update Look to lower protein costs On August 12 the USDA released data on the current state of the US soyabean crop that surprised most of the market.

Rather than an anticipated drop in yield to 44.7 bushels/acre, they actually increased the forecast yield to 46.9 bushels/acre, says ForFarmers’ DML commodities manager Colin Shepherd.

This was obviously seen as a downward price pressure, with the 2015/16 yield 5% higher than expected. And with this month’s yield being survey based, rather than trend-line, this gives the figure more gravitas and it more than offsets a 364,000-hectare harvested area reduction in the US due to flooding in Missouri.

Despite an upward price pressure due to higher Chinese demand and lower production for other oilseeds, the following day soya dropped £7/tonne from already respectable levels in response.

This begs the question, what should I do in the face of this year’s relatively high rapemeal and distillers’ meal prices? The answer is to ‘look outside the box’.

Cereal prices are expected to remain stable with the report in question outlining good wheat crops in most parts of the world and confirming that the expected maize stocks in the US, and globally, are significantly higher than July’s forecast. So look at hipro soya to form a larger base of your protein needs and then back this up with moist feeds. These include draff and supergrains in Scotland, and brewers’ grains and moist feeds in England and Wales.

High protein liquids from molasses and syrups from the distilling/ethanol industry will, on some units, also offer the opportunity to drop feed costs by between 1ppl and 2ppl.

COW MAN AG E ME N T

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Daughter Fertility 104

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Paisley and Wifi: top bulls for efficiency One of the most important issues for modern breeding is efficiency. CRV’s Better Life Efficiency indicates the extent to which a bull contributes to more efficient milk production. The more energy is converted into milk, the better it is for efficiency. As a general rule, productivity combined with longevity leads to high efficiency. And what do we see?

Paisley (+7%), Wifi (+8%) score extremely well for efficiency: an efficient milk production, attractive conformation and high longevity. A superb combination resulting in an impressive lifetime production.

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B US I N E SS u p d a t e F E E D

Reduced feed prices are ‘a start’ when mitigating milk cheque losses

Every little helps...

Lower feed costs can offer producers some respite from the milk price squeeze. Read on to see if you could revise your herd’s ration and shave a little off your winter feed costs.

text Rachael Porter

A

s milk prices continue to fall, there is some good news that feed prices have also tightened and producers can use this to take steps, be they small ones, to help reduce cost per litre.

“There is the potential to reduce the cost of production by between 0.5ppl and 1ppl,” says ForFarmers’ Richard Colley.

“It’s not going to mitigate the losses being seen on many dairy units, due to the extremely low milk price, but it’s a start and it’s certainly a help.

“Substituting some of the more expensive feeds with lower priced ‘equivalents’ also has to be done with great care – certainly with the help of a nutritionist.

“And possibly with the involvement of your business consultant,” he stresses.

Feed prices On a year-on-year basis, Hipro soya spot price is £50/tonne lower at around £285/ tonne delivered.

This compares with rape meal, which is largely unchanged at around £195/tonne delivered and, when you compare it on a protein and energy basis, is more expensive than Hipro soya.

“There should be a cost benefit of switching to Hipro soya, which offers 48% protein and an ME of 13MJ/kg DM, compared to rape meal at 36% protein and 12MJ/kg DM,” says Mr Colley.

Moist feeds, such as brewers’ grains and distillery co-products, are also lower in price year on year in most cases and liquid feeds, such as syrups and high protein molasses, are good value.

Brewers’ grains, for example, are around £35/tonne for full loads, depending on location, which is between £5 and £10/ tonne lower than the 2014 price.

Bread is around £85/tonne delivered, compared to £100/tonne in 2014, and

again this depends on load size and location.

“I think that bread is the most under utilised source of starch and energy on the market, particularly for producers in England and Wales at the moment,” says Mr Colley.

“Availability has also improved – it’s certainly easier to get hold of than potatoes this year.

Haulage costs “There are bread plants in many parts of England, but haulage costs mean that bread can ‘lose its legs’ once it reaches the Scottish borders.

“It’s also a case of finding out what feeds are available close to your farm and if they can reduce the bought-in protein and/or energy costs of your ration without compromising quality,” adds Mr Colley.

An example of the different costs of production on a grass silage and maize diet where some of the soya, rape and wheat is replaced with moist feeds, grains and bread ranges from 6.3ppl to 5.4ppl, resulting in a cost saving of almost 1ppl.

Weighing up the options with your consultant is the starting point. Those selling to a buyer with an A and B milk pricing payment system may be best to focus on just meeting the A quota and reducing herd milk production slightly, with a focus on efficiency.

It really does depend on the unit’s management system and milk price.

What works on one unit may not be suitable on another,” says Mr Colley.

“So it’s important to weigh up your options and make sure that any ration changes make the most of reduced feed costs without compromising cow health, fertility and productivity.”

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M A N A G E M E N T

Diversification and investment has ‘future proofed’ dairy business

Renewable route to sustainability One Derbyshire-based family has created a dairy business that’s ready for the future. It has diversified and expanded, to include an arable enterprise, heifer and beef rearing units, and the next step has been to generate power through a new AD plant. text Lauren Chambers Eric Easom: “We’re ready for the future”

D

avid Easom’s business has changed beyond all recognition from when he first took on the tenancy of Broom House Farm, near Alfreton in Derbyshire, in 1946.

Since then the mixed unit, which numbered just 30 hectares, 12 cows, a sow and piglets, has transformed into a

large and sustainable farming business.

Today it supports David, as well as his four sons and four of his grandsons.

Between them, the Easom family now manages almost 300 hectares and a 350cow pedigree Holstein dairy herd. They also rear around 300 young stock and fatten 200 bulls every year. Most recently

they have installed an anaerobic digester (AD) plant that heats and powers the farm, as well as feeding electricity into the national grid. Together these enterprises are helping to create a sustainable farm business that will be there for future generations.

Large herd: the Easoms have expanded cow numbers to 350 pedigree milkers

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Central heating: water generated by AD is used to heat calf housing

The unit’s high genetic merit, high health status and closed dairy herd averages 9,250 litres per cow. It’s currently eighth in DairyCo’s Profitable Life Index, and third for herds larger than 300 cows. Milkers are fed a flat-rate, home-grown forage ration comprising grass silage, wholecrop triticale and straw. This is fed with a ForFarmers’ protein blend, as well as Lintec, Rumibuff and bespoke minerals. The diet is supplemented with bread and bakery coproducts, which the Easoms collect from a local bakery and process on site. “The bread is a good, cheap source of additional starchy feed that helps to reduce the carbon footprint of our business,” says David’s son Eric. “We collect the coproducts ourselves and have developed our own process to remove any wrapping and to chop the feed into cubes. We also get a small amount of dough from the same source, which we incorporate into the ration using our mixer wagon. It provides a good source of yeast and B12.”

Although the ration is consistent, it is still periodically reviewed with ForFarmers’ Alison Ewing and ‘tweaks’ are made when needed.

Bull-beef enterprise Access to bread co-products has allowed the Easoms to develop its beef rearing enterprise. “We fatten 200 Holstein bulls every year,” says Eric. “They are reared on an automatic milk machine using ForFarmers’ milk replacer from the VITA range. After weaning they go onto a 50:50 mix of bread and home-grown triticale, along with ad-lib straw and protein to balance the ration.” This diet allows us to sell the bulls at 12 months old into the rose veal market, and frees up housing for the next batch of bull calves.

Genomically selected and daughterproven sires are used to AI cows and heifers. The herd is block calved from mid June through to August. “We set and

Power plant: Broom House Farm’s anaerobic digester

hit target growth rates, which ensures that the heifers calve at 23 months of age – earlier than the UK average,” explains Eric. Calves are reared on ForFarmers’ VITA Start Extra and then moved onto VITA Heifer 18. Replacements are kept for the dairy herd, with the surplus being sold privately to regular buyers.

AD plant With so many replacement heifers available, continuing to expand the herd seemed like a logical plan for the Easoms.

“But our 20:20 herringbone parlour is a limiting factor, preventing us from increasing cow numbers further, and we felt it was a more sustainable investment decision to go down the renewable energy route,” says Eric.

The unit’s 250kW AD plant was installed 18 months ago, but it was something that he’d been thinking about for at least 15 years. “The AD makes use of waste you’ve already got and the output – energy – is a growing market and something that everybody needs. It’s a completely different income stream from food production, but one that we feel is sustainable,” The AD plant is positioned within the dairy unit, on a site that originally housed the slurry pit. It digests the slurry and waste material from the dairy unit, as well as the bedding and some muck from the beef unit, reducing the farm’s green house gas emissions by more than 80%. Plant operation is supported by ForFarmers’ specialist AD division, FM BioEnergy, which provides the additives to ensure efficient operation and maximum returns.

The beef and dairy herds are bedded on oat husks, a co-product from porridge production that provides good material for the AD. The digestate produced is then returned to the land.

The AD unit generates electricity and hot water. The farm uses around 20kW/hour of energy and the remaining 230kW/

hour is fed into the national grid. The hot water produced by the AD unit is also put to good use on the farm. “We have been exploring practical ways to use the hot water we are generating, and recently started using it to heat the calf housing,” says Eric.

The ideal temperature for calf housing is between 15°C and 20°C, which allows the calves to grow at their optimum rate by maintaining body temperature and using feed for growth, rather than to stay warm. “We have developed a system of heat blowers and thermostats in the calf housing to help keep the air temperature constant,” explains Eric.

“This encourages the movement of heat above the calves. The warm air rises and pushes the stale air out through the ventilated roof ridge, so cool fresh air is drawn in.

“The first calves that we have reared using the heating system have impressed us, achieving excellent growth rates and maintaining good health.”

The hot water that’s left is earmarked for dairy herd use. “Cows drink more when water is at body temperature, so we’re looking at harnessing the hot water generated by the AD unit to heat the herd’s drinking water,” says Eric.

Entrepreneurialism This forward-thinking approach to their business seems to be in the Easom family’s blood. David was one of the first producers in the area to convert his cow house into a cubicle shed and his entrepreneurialism, with the full support of his wife Edna, certainly seems to have been inherited by sons Eric, John, Mark and David, as well as his six daughters, including Helen, who works part-time on the farm.

By exploring all the options available to them and working together, the Easom’s have created a business that is sustainable in the long term and can provide for their family for generations to come. l

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BREEDING INFORMATION

You get what you breed for

Sandy-Valley Uno Paxton, dam of Paisley

high longevity of +722 days. Being a red carrier makes him interesting to both red and black-and-white breeders.

Premium milk production marks the new Delta WiFi. He’s sired by the German bull Fanatic and his dam is a typical Fidelity daughter with very high components and superb feet and legs. WiFi has extreme fat and protein production (+0.27% fat and +0.13% protein), with £589 PLI combined with longevity, daughter fertility (+8.8 Fertility Index) and udder health. He’s also available as sexed semen.

Udder specialist

Delta Vivian, dam of Delta WiFi

In a tough economic climate it is vital to maximise all the production factors on your farm, so efficient and easy-tomanage cows are the basis for good results.

New and high ranking on the UK young genomic sire listings comes Peak Tango Paisley (Tango x Uno x Planet), this Tango (Hill x Colby) son hails from the successful Rudy Missy family and has impressive production with £621PLI and long lasting (+0.6 Lifespan) and fertile daughters (+10 Fertility Index).

Released in April, but now readily available, is MS Riverboy RC (Aikman x Planet) a top bull for efficiency and udder health with a £553 PLI and a MS Riverboy RC

Another bull released in April that is now readily available is WD Reminder (Shotglass x Aswin) with a £521 PLI. Reminder is one of CRV’s highest ranking bulls. He’s an ideal sire for breeding an efficient and easy-tomanage herd.

And he’s also an udder specialist with an extremely high score for udder health and good daughter fertility (+6.5 Fertility Index) and extremely efficient milk production.

His scores for Better Life Efficiency and Better Life Health are high at 9% and 8% respectively – a winning combination.

Impressive new red-and-white bull Oldi Tempest (Try RC x Fidelity), with £387 PLI, excels in high components (+0.08% fat and +0.10% protein) from daughters with outstanding udders, great udder and hoof health, as well as very high persistency. Tempest daughters will have long and problemfree productive lives.

For full details of all bulls available call CRV Avoncroft for free on 0800 7831880.

Popular choice Titanium offers the complete package Full brother to Delta Atlantic, the most popular sire in the Netherlands for the past two years, comes the comparable Delta Titanium (Ramos x O Man). With £385 PLI, he has very high values for vitality 108 (based on 14,961 calvings) and is CRV’s highest ranking sire for hoof health, with a score of 114. Titanium transmits moderate-sized cows with above average width and body depth, resulting in long lasting and high producing cows. He offers an allround package of healthy and efficient fertile daughters, with positive percentages, confirming him to be one of the most complete daughter-tested bulls currently available. He is also available as sexed semen.

For full details call CRV Avoncroft for free on 0800 7831880.

Titanium daughter Botermeer 209

WD Reminder

COW MAN AG E ME N T

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B U L L

P R O O F S

More leading genomic Holstein sires gain daughter-proven indexes

Stability in the top spots Lancashire-based Holstein breeder James Tomlinson is pleased to see some bulls with ‘different’ sire stacks doing well in the rankings, following the August bull proof run. text Rachael Porter

L

ancashire-based producer James Tomlinson enjoys pouring over the latest bull proof run figures. “There are just so many good sires now – and they’re all ‘up there’. There’s little to split the genomic sires on PLI, for example, and they’re all very similar. So it’s a case of looking closely at the other traits and digging down into the detail,” he says.

There’s also a degree of stability this time around, particularly in the provensire list, which serves to boost the industry’s confidence in both rankings.

“The majority of the sires in the daughterproven rankings have performed well in the genomic list. Their names are familiar and it’s reassuring to see them up there and doing so well.”

Outstanding bull Gen-I-Beq Lavaman is one such sire and he holds on to his number-one position in the daughter-proven rankings published for Holstein bulls in August – the first under the new AHDB Dairy banner.

With a PLI of £615, he transmits a correct balance of production that raises milk solids, together with good daughter fitness.

“He’s interesting because he’s a sire who

James Tomlinson: “Supersire is extremely difficult to overlook”

is popular for use in spring-calving herds, yet here he is at the top of the list with a PLI that you’d assume was more suited to high input systems. I think he’s an outstanding bull,” says James, who runs the 260-cow Bilsrow herd, based near Preston, in partnership with his parents David and Sheila and his wife Eleanor.

A new entry in second place, De-Su Ransom, whose early daughter information from the US contributes to his PLI of £595, also caught James’ eye.

He combines high lifespan (+0.7) and daughter Fertility Index (+10.3) with solid production. “And he’s a Robust son from

Amax rc

46

a Ramos, which makes his sire stack looks interesting – he’s a bit different. So I’ll take a closer look at him and we may add him to our AI flask.”

Ransom pushes April’s number-two sire, Prehen Omen, into third place, now with a PLI of £582. UK-bred Omen’s high milk solids protein percentage, at +0.16, is impressive. “For me, he’s very much out of the same mould as Classic and Manifold – they’re all similar and score less than 1.0 for type,” says James.

Fourth place is occupied by Kings-Ransom Erdman, whose continuing improvement for daughter Lifespan Index sees him rank with the best of the breed for this trait at +0.7. He improves his PLI to £561.

And he’s another sire that James is excited about. “Again, his breeding is slightly different to many of the other tops bulls. He’s a Planet son from a Ramos, producing daughters with a slightly sickled legs and he’s minus two for stature. But looking at all his scores, he’s a really good all rounder.”

Stand-out sire Climbing into the top 10 to take seventh place is a popular sire of sons who started his career as a high genomic young bull, Seagul-Bay Supersire. “He’s the stand-out bull for me in the whole list,” says James, adding that he used him – and his sons – as a genomic sire. “I’ve daughters due to calve at Christmas and I’m looking forward to seeing how they milk.”

When it comes to milk and solids production, Supersire certainly leads the rankings by a mile, with +908kg milk, +37.2kg fat and +27.7kg protein. He

Gran-J Oman McCormick

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kg fat

% fat

% prote

£PLI

maint.

SCC

lifespan

dCE

F&L

udder

TM

Gen-I-Beq Lavaman De-Su Ransom Prehen Omen Kings-Ransom Erdman Mainstream Manifold Laurelhill Classic Seagull-Bay Supersire Roylane Flex Gran-J Oman McCormick No-Fla Alta Everglade

Man-O-Man Robust O Man Planet O Man O Man Robust Beacon O Man Massey

Goldwyn Ramos Goldwyn Ramos BW Marshall Laudan Planet O Man Durham O Man

Semex TAG UK Bullsemen.com Bullsemen.com Semex Genus Cogent Semex Genus Alta

95 76 96 85 99 95 85 81 99 82

+338 +259 +243 +468 +769 +312 +908 +339 –+84 +378

+20.9 +18.2 +22.1 +21.9 +31.0 +11.3 +37.2 +17.9 +19.0 +25.3

+23.1 +14.9 +21.0 +14.4 +25.5 +15.9 +27.7 +17.4 +4.9 +19.4

+0.09 +0.10 +0.15 +0.04 +0.01 –0.01 +0.02 +0.06 +0.29 +0.13

+0.15 +0.08 +0.16 –0.01 +0.01 +0.07 –0.02 +0.08 +0.10 +0.09

615 595 582 561 535 530 527 527 524 517

–4 12 6 –19 13 10 10 3 –3 22

–4 –16 –11 –17 –9 –15 –6 –11 –13 –9

0.1 0.7 0.4 0.7 0.3 0.6 0.4 0.3 0.2 0.3

12.8 10.3 8.4 9.5 12.3 15.8 2.8 10.6 19.5 10.7

1.9 1.3 1.5 1.2 1.4 1.4 0.9 1.1 0.7 2.0

1.56 2.35 0.94 0.70 -0.99 -0.41 1.06 1.45 1.23 1.44

1.19 1.45 0.71 0.33 0.95 0.53 1.51 1.38 0.58 0.59

1.39 2.03 0.82 0.50 0.29 0.33 1.55 1.71 0.99 0.91

genomic sires Sandy-Valley-I Penmanship Stantons Checkers De-Su Firewall Topcroft Pesky Trix Comestar Loic Pes009 Boardshop Apina Nadal De-Su 12272 Apex De-Su 11756 Octavian Amax rc

Enforcer Predestine Jackman Pesky Flame Enforcer Rocky Cashcoin Numero Uno Aikman

Numero Uno Freddie Shamrock Iota Sudan Bookem Goliath Numero Uno Bookem Pioneer

Semex Semex Semex Genus Semex Semex Genus Genus Genus Mastergen

67 66 67 67 67 67 67 67 68 67

+665 +250 +298 +306 +397 +593 +458 +474 +767 +479

+31.0 +29.9 +26.5 +27.0 +35.8 +25.7 +34.0 +18.7 +35.7 +29.5

+27.4 +13.8 +14.8 +19.5 +23.7 +23.2 +21.3 +14.0 +25.8 +22.0

+0.06 +0.25 +0.18 +0.18 +0.24 +0.03 +0.19 +0.00 +0.06 +0.13

+0.07 +0.07 +0.06 +0.12 +0.13 +0.05 +0.08 –0.02 +0.01 +0.08

743 677 669 660 657 657 652 648 637 630

17 –2 –9 6 18 6 14 –16 15 0

–17 –16 –25 –18 –11 –19 –16 –32 –29 –22

0.7 0.7 0.6 0.4 0.4 0.6 0.5 0.7 0.5 0.4

12.0 0.8 10.3 1.8 11.1 1.3 11.6 0.8 9.1 0.5 11.9 1.2 8.8 0.8 11.8 1.4 6.8 –0.4 3.7 1.3

1.96 2.38 1.09 1.70 0.85 1.88 1.84 0.93 1.16 2.83

1.64 1.84 1.95 1.72 1.01 1.49 1.96 2.25 1.63 1.66

2.01 2.35 2.04 2.17 1.03 1.85 2.25 2.26 1.77 2.20

mat. grandsire supplier

fertility

sire

milk

in

name

rel.

kg prote

conformation

ind.

functional traits

in

production

Table 1: Top 10 daughter-proven and top 10 genomic sires available in the UK ranked on PLI (source: DairyCo breeding+ and Holstein UK)

manages to combine this with solid fitness figures resulting in a PLI of £527. “He is absolutely tremendous and extremely difficult to over look,” adds James.

Sharing seventh place is Beacon son, Roylane Flex. Flex improves his PLI thanks to gains to his daughter fertility and conformation traits.

Genomic leader Genomic young sires now account for more than 40% of all black-and-white inseminations in the UK. Sitting in the top spot is Canadian-bred Sandy-Valley-I Penmanship, who is 66 £PLI points ahead Seagull-Bay Supersire

of his closest rival. This Enforcer son, from a Numero Uno dam, transmits a combination of high production with outstanding daughter lifespan (+0.7) and fertility (+12.0), which sees his PLI continue to move upwards and now reach £743. With figures based largely on his own DNA together with an element of his parents’ performance, it is the latter which has improved during the past few months. “He’s a clear PLI leader, but I can’t use him on my herd due to his pedigree. That would be a shame if it weren’t for the fact that there are so many other really good sires to choose from,” says James.

Second ranking Stantons Checkers (Predestine x Freddie) is one of four newcomers to the top 10, making his debut with a PLI of £677, a particularly high percentage fat (+0.25%) and a high Lifespan Index (+0.7). He also scores favourably for maintenance (–2), indicating his progeny require less feed than average for their own maintenance and he is the highest type transmitter in the top 10. “And I may use him on our herd. I need to dig a little deeper into his pedigree and mull it over. But there’s no doubt that he’s a great sire and he does have a different sire stack, so I am tempted by his figures.”

Topcroft Pesky Trix, who moves into fourth position with a PLI of £660, has really captured James’ attention. The highest UK-bred sire and from a pure British cow family, he offers solid production and superb fitness and is backed by a family that is chalking up high lifetime yields and maintaining its fertility.

“He’s a sire that I’ll definitely use. He’s from a really good cow family and because he’s UK-bred, he’s ‘tried and tested’ – we know his daughters will perform in UK-based herds.”

Boardshop holds his PLI at £657 and shares fifth place with newcomer, Comestar Loic (Flame x Sudan), whose breeding pattern is notable for its high milk components. l

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DAIRY MANAGEMENT NEWS

GeneTracker – an early indicator ‘Backing’ the right heifer or cow to breed from doesn’t need to be so much of a gamble, thanks to GeneTracker – a service launched this summer by NMR that can genotype Holstein heifers from a month old. “GeneTracker has an accuracy rate of between 65% and 70%, dependent on the trait,” says genomics adviser Lucy AndrewsNoden, who is heading up the service for NMR. “That’s equivalent to data derived from animals at the end of their second lactation. It’s a lot of time to take off the waiting game and it avoids expensive mistakes.”

Not only that, but Mrs Andrews-Noden explains that it allows producers to select the best heifers to rear for maximum genetic gain within the herd and, by identifying those calves with any weaknesses, it reduces the risk of rearing ‘passengers’. “It increases the efficiency of the dairy herd – identifying and taking just three poor heifers out of the herd will cover the cost of 100 tests,” she adds.

GeneTracker tests tissue from the animal through a dedicated lab. Data derived from this is then evaluated and processed through AHDB Dairy and HUK. “The best time to take tissue samples is at dehorning and it’s much easier, more reliable and far less hassle than using hair – and cheaper and less invasive than taking a blood sample.

“GeneTracker supplies a tissue sample unit that is allocated and bar coded to a specific animal, making it easy and highly reliable.” Mrs Andrews-Nodan will be demonstrating the use of the service on the NMR stand at the UK Dairy Day, held at Telford on Wednesday September 16. “The service is offered to any herd with official milk records and it will provide the standard 31 genomically-evaluated herd-management traits, as well as a number of key genetic recessive results such as Blad, coat colour and polled.

Using these results producers can make early decisions on the direction of their herd breeding.”

Dorset herd takes top Johne’s award Robert and Bryony Symms, from Sherborne in Dorset, are this year’s inaugural winners of NMR’s HerdWise award – recognition for the herd demonstrating best practice Johne’s disease control. Runners up are Tom and Karen Halton from Astbury,

in Congleton, Cheshire. “The Symms’ combination of a strong commitment to controlling Johne’s and great attention to the ‘small print’ within their control protocols was particularly impressive,” says Gwent-based dairy producer and chairman of the National Johne’s Action Group Lyndon Edwards.

He judged the award alongside NMR vet Karen Bond.

This annual award is open to all NMR customers who use the CHeCSaccredited quarterly milk screening service HerdWise.

HerdWise award 2015 winners Robert and Bryony Symms, from Sherborne in Dorset

Top NMR cows The top three NMR-recorded 100-tonne production cows for May and June, ranked on lifetime daily yield, are: 1. Chalclyffe Lucente, with an LDY of 31.16kg/day, yielded 102,091kg in five lactations.

From JF Cobb and Sons, Dorchester.

2. Wilderley Shottle Ednamay VG86 with an LDY of 30.05kg/day. She has yielded 106,246kg in seven lactations. and is from Wilderley Hall Farms, Shrewsbury.

3. Willowtree Rosa 298, with an LDY of 29.63kg/day, yielded 101,438kg in seven lactations.

From H Pattison and Partners, Northallerton.

Royal Welsh stars Two NMR producers took top prizes in interbreed classes at this year’s Royal Welsh Show.

Simon Davies’ Holstein cow, Spirte Rosina, won the Interbreed Production and Inspection class.

From the 275-cow Castellhyfryd herd, Carmarthen, Rosina is now in her fifth lactation and has produced 85 tonnes of milk to date. In this lactation she peaked at 87kg a day.

She is classified the maximum of 95 points in her fourth lactation.

Also from Carmarthen, Helen Cox’s partly owned in-milk heifer Clifton Tequila Bracken won the Interbreed Heifer Champion.

This two year old, who calved in February 2015 and is due to calve again in December, is one of just a few Jersey heifers to be classified VG89.

She is one of two animals jointly owned by Helen and Dafydd Cox and Steven and Claire Bland, from Penrith in Cumbria.

Both animals were judged by Norfolk-based producer and pedigree breeder Ken Proctor.

For more information on NMR products and services contact customer services, 03330 043 043, NMR web address: www.nmr.co.uk, NMR email address: customerservices@nmr.co.uk COW MAN AG E ME N T

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C O N TA C T S

SHOWS AND EVENTS September 16: Sept 29-Oct 3: October 7: October 20: November 6-15: November 11: November 18: December 10:

UK Dairy Day, Telford International Centre, Shropshire World Dairy Expo, Madison (United States) The Dairy Show, Shepton Mallet, Somerset Welsh Dairy Show, Nantyci Showground, Carmarthen Royal Winter Fair, Toronto (Canada) British Mastitis Conference, Sixways Stadium, Warriors Way, Worcester Agriscot, Edinburgh, Scotland Royal Ulster Winter Fair, Eikon Exhibition Centre, Balmoral Park, Lisburn (Northern Ireland)

2016 June 1-4: July 6-7:

I N T HI S I SSUE

Royal Bath & West Show, Shepton Mallet, Somerset Livestock Event, NEC, Birmingham

NMR/RABDF Gold Cup winner Neil The latest daughter-proven Third time lucky for this and genomic chart toppers year’s winning herd Baker takes his moment to shine Picture: Renate Boot

FEED ING

BUL L PROOF S

NM R/RABDF GOL D CUP

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ADVERTISERS’ INDEX C O N TA C T S

ADF ...........................................................33 Alta .............................................................6 Ancotec .....................................................18 Biotal .........................................................48 Boer Housing Systems Ltd, De ...................19 Cogent ......................................................13 Concept Cowhouse .........................5, 34, 42 CowComfort .............................................36 Cowsfeet ...................................................45 CRV Avoncroft/AI Services ........................37 Dairy Show ................................................24 Dairy Spares ..............................................19 Dairymaster ...............................................36 Devenish ...................................................52 DP Agri......................................................38 Easyfix .........................................................5 Enegis ........................................................34 EnviroSystems............................................18 Farmplus....................................................44

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September (September 29) – We’ll take a timely look at how you can improve parlour efficiency in our special, as well as our regular vet column and a few more wise words from Roger Evans.

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