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Latest expert advice as we head into autumn/winter
Pages 36- 48
Pages 24 -26 BULL PROOFS
A clean sweep of new-launch bulls
MILK PRICES Pages 68 -70
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Dairy Farmer, Unit 4, Fulwood Business Park, Caxton Road, Preston, Lancashire PR2 9NZ
Origination by Farmers Guardian, Unit 4, Fulwood Business Park, Caxton Road, Preston, Lancashire PR2 9NZ. Printed by Warners Midlands, The Maltings, Manor Lane, Bourne, Lincolnshire, PE10 9PH. No responsibility can be accepted by Dairy Farmer for the opinions expressed by contributors.
a word from the editor
What a month it’s been; we have had bovine TB in the headlines following the screening of Sir Brian May’s documentary on the BBC, and also news that there has been a massive underspend of the farming budget for the last three years.
is last bit of news is particularly concerning as we creep ever closer to the Government’s Budget announcement at the end of October.
e industry now needs to lobby hard to make sure this underspend is not used as an excuse to cut the farming budget, which if it does happen, will certainly be a blow to all farmers.
Going back to bTB, the documentary certainly stirred up plenty of debate among livestock farmers, vets and interested parties.
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is month, we share an opinion piece from vets Roger Blowey and John Gallagher on this very topic (see pages 14-15), and also hear from dairy farmer Robert Reed (p9) who was featured in the documentary.
e fallout from the documentary meant the announcement of Labour’s new bTB eradication strategy perhaps did not get as much airtime as it may have ordinarily done.
e Government’s strategy is probably unsurprising in its nature, but it is still the case that any decisions made need to be backed up with strong scienti c evidence.
And nally, at the beginning of September it was UK Dairy Day, where once again Telford International Centre was packed with farmers, trade stands and some of the country’s nest ca le. See pages 50-62 for a full report.
What’s inside?
Expert
Round-up of
Inside Joskin’s Belgian
Budget underspend is a ‘kick in the teeth’ for farming
76
Round-up of products and updates hitting the
Getting serious about
78
cheque which arrives in December used to bring with it a lot of comfort’
A£358 million underspend of the agricultural budget over the past three years have been branded as ‘unacceptable’ and ‘nothing short of a kick in the teeth’ for the farming industry, by NFU president Tom Bradshaw.
On the eve of the NFU’s ninth Back British Farming Day, the Farming Countryside Programme annual report revealed a £130m underspend of the agricultural budget for 2023/2024 alone.
Mr Bradshaw said: “Let us be
clear, this underspend has not happened because the investment is not needed. It has happened because the schemes to replace the Basic Payment Scheme have not been completed in time and there are still many gaps and questions unanswered.”
Crucial
Addressing industry stakeholders, farmers and the Defra Secretary Steve Reed at the Back British Farming Day event in Parliament, Mr Bradshaw warned the Chancellor’s budget at the end of October was
Gov to end badger cull with new bTB eradication strategy
JThe Government has launched a new bovine TB eradication strategy, which it said would end the badger cull and help ‘drive down’ bTB rates to ‘save cattle and farmers’ livelihoods’.
The Government said the new strategy would use a ‘data-led and scientific approach’ to end the badger cull ‘by the end of this Parliament’, with the focus to ‘accelerate’ the work on the cattle vaccine, with the next stage of field trials due to start in the coming months.
The new strategy also includes boosting cattle testing, reducing the spread of disease through cattle
movements and deploying badger vaccination on a wider scale.
NFU president Tom Bradshaw said he urged Ministers to ‘move at pace and with a clear view of the science’, adding significant elements of the Government’s proposed strategy were still being researched and still not yet deployable at scale.
Mr Bradshaw said: “Peerreviewed scientific papers show that targeted badger culling provides success and has a part to play in a strategy where there is evidence that it is the right tool to contain and reduce TB.”
‘crucial for an industry which is genuinely at a tipping point’.
e NFU has called on the Government to take action to ‘value UK food security’ and environmental delivery by making a commitment to an enhanced multi-annual budget of £5.6m.
Mr Reed did not con rm or deny whether the underspend would be carried over, but he said he was ‘ ghting’ the farmers’ corner. He said: “ e farming budget
will be part of the spending review and an announcement will be made at that time.
“I am making the case to the Treasury to maximise support for farmers. I want to deliver a plan which works for all farmers and it will be based on transparency and co-design.”
Mr Bradshaw said it was a ‘concern’ that the Government may use the underspend to justify a cut in the farming budget.
He added: “If you are the Chancellor looking to make cuts, you are now looking at this asking why does the farming industry need this money – they have not spent it.”
Confidence
Mr Bradshaw urged all members to write to their MPs, and said it was important the Chancellor heard from every part of the UK about how important the budget is for rebuilding farmer con dence.
Daera extends tag switchover date
JDaera has extended the switchover date for ‘UK’ to ‘XI’ prefix livestock tags to June 30, 2025, after Ulster Farmers’ Union (UFU) warned the department to manage the change ‘with caution’, stressing that clear communication to farmers was crucial.
UFU deputy president Glenn Cuddy said: “The UFU raised that the transition did not allow livestock farmers sufficient time to use up stocks of ‘UK’ tags and the financial impact this had on keepers who currently hold large quantities of ‘UK’ tags.”
RABDF appoints chief executive
JThe Royal Association of British Dairy Farmers (RABDF) has appointed NFU’s former chief dairy adviser, Hayley Campbell-Gibbons, as its new chief executive.
Ms Campbell-Gibbons had played a ‘pivotal role in shaping policies and initiatives to support dairy farmers’ both during her time at the NFU, and most recently as head of sustainability for Kite Consulting. RABDF chair Robert Craig said he was confident under her leadership that RABDF would reach its full potential to advocate for dairy farmers.
Tom Bradshaw
Steve Reed
On the eve of the NFU’s ninth Back British Farming Day, the Farming Countryside Programme annual report revealed a £130m underspend of the agricultural budget for 2023/2024 alone.
Changes to succession rules for ag tenancies
The ‘long-awaited’ modernisation of agricultural tenancy succession has now come into play.
e changes apply to agricultural tenancies let under the Agricultural Holdings Act 1986, with rights of tenancy succession to two further generations.
Under the new rules, applicants for succession must prove they are both ‘eligible and suitable’ to be the tenant of the agricultural holding subject to succession.
One of the eligibility tests previously in place was to conrm that the applicant was not in occupation of another agricultural holding capable of producing a commercial return.
But for succession applica-
tions made from September 1, 2024, this test no longer applies.
e Tenant Farmers Association (TFA) chief executive
George Dunn said to see the test go was a ‘good thing’, adding it ‘penalised’ the individuals who were ‘most progressive in the industry, who were taking on additional opportunities while waiting for the chance to succeed to a family farm tenancy’.
Complex
Mr Dunn said: “Agricultural tenancy succession is subject to a set of complex rules.
“What was known as the occupancy condition was a particularly onerous requirement for any applicant who was occupying other agricultural land at the same time as making
an application for succession.” e removal of the occupancy conditions, now means applicants will be expected to reach
Emergency permit granted in England for bluetongue vaccines to be used
JA vaccine for bluetongue sereotype-3 (BTV-3) could be available to farmers following a rise in cases of the disease on farms along the east of England.
Biosecurity Secretary, Baroness Hayman of Ullock, has granted three unauthorised BTV-3 vaccines to be used in England, subject to a licence.
She said the vaccines were ‘suppressive’, meaning they will reduce some of the clinical signs experienced by animals with the disease.
However, Ms Hayman said unlike some of the authorised vaccines for other bluetongue serotypes, the vaccine for BTV-3 will not prevent livestock from being infected with the disease.
All movement controls and trade
restrictions in place will still apply to vaccinated animals.
e Government said licences will be made available geographically in relation to a ected areas and subject to a risk assessment, but speci c licences can be applied for through the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA).
Efforts
e Biosecurity Secretary said: “ e permi ing of these vaccines forms one part of our e orts against this highly infectious disease.
“We are working at pace in order to provide farmers with everything they need to protect their livestock and businesses and would recommend they contact their veterinarians for access to the vaccines.
Farmers are also reminded that free testing remains available.”
One of these vaccines is BULTAVO 3 from Boehringer Ingelheim. e pharmaceutical company said this injectable vaccine has shown e ectiveness in reducing viraemia (presence of BTV-3 virus in the blood) and preventing bluetongue virus mortality in sheep and ca le.
Chief UK Veterinary O cer Dr Christine Middlemiss said: “ ese vaccines are an important step forward and will aid in reducing clinical signs in animals and the impact of disease on farms, but it is not a protective vaccine, so we are still urging farmers to follow all of our guidance in order to prevent the disease spreading any further.”
a higher standard in respect of their suitability.
Mr Dunn said: “ is change to suitability e ectively places potential successors in the same place as other new entrants who would have to demonstrate their business skills and entrepreneurial acumen to a landlord in making an application for a tenancy of a holding.
Candidates
“However, the applicant for succession does not need to show that they would have been the best candidate for the farm just among the best candidates.
“ is change to the suitability test will mean that succession applicants will be be er prepared for taking over the business of the holding having thought through the business case as part of the process for succession.”
Mr Dunn said at the moment there was a ‘constant stream of members’ for whom the TFA was providing advice to on tenancy succession.
Changes to the Agricultural Holdings Act in respect of tenancies have been welcomed.
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DAIRYTalk
Ifan Roberts
Ifan Roberts is herd manager at Houghton Lodge, Leicestershire, which is one of the farms managed by Evolution Farming. This farm runs more than 1,000 cows on a spring-calving system.
“ Although finances are important, always remember that your brand is your superpower
As I flew home from my nine weeks of individual Nuffield travel in New Zealand, China, Chile and North America, studying the topic of Inspiring the next generation of dairy entrepreneurs, I found myself asking: ‘What have I learned?’
One of the answers to that question for me, having done nothing but plane-hopping and visiting all kinds of farms day after day, is how important it is to maintain a tidy and organised farm.
So far in my own career, I believe I have made the mistake of not taking enough care in how the farm I am managing looks from an aesthetic point of view, and I have not made enough effort to maintain a tidy farm, especially in busy periods like calving or harvest, discarding tidiness as a want and not a need when ranked among other things on my lengthy ‘to-do lists’.
After only conducting a few visits on my travels, I quickly began to feel a little like an inspector because I would assess each farm I visited in my head and draw conclusions about how the farm was being run and what it took to maintain standards.
I must also add that all the farms I visited were impressive in their own way, but some stood out more than others.
Interestingly, one of my findings was that the farms with the highest standards were not always the most well-resourced, and that just keeping infrastructure up to date and throwing labour at it was not always the answer.
Mindset
It was more to do with the mindset and culture of the people – the affection and pride they showed towards the job they did.
I could tell how important this was to them because I often found a great way to build a connection with the top performers on a visit was to pick out and talk about a minor detail on-farm that I liked –for example, an organised workshop or a hose pipe that had been neatly wrapped back on its cradle after use, instead of being left tangled in the muck for someone to drive over the nozzle.
The operator would then often talk in great depth
about the journey they had undertaken to build a culture within their team which achieved this attention to detail and how integral it was to how the farm operated.
Ultimately, I not only realised how I felt about the experience when visiting the best-run and tidiest farms and how impressive they were, but I also began to think of the deeper values that this creates.
This could mean hiring and retaining highperforming staff members, passing farm audits, being able to engage more freely with the public, recruiting higher performing contractors/professionals, protecting the environment, managing your relationship with milk buyers and various stakeholders, and much more.
Another thing to think about, which one farm owner reminded me of, is: ‘You never know who is looking over the fence’.
For people who are also looking for opportunity, it is important to consider that to many landowners or potential investors, it is sometimes more about how your farm looks rather than the financial returns. And although the finances are important, always remember that your brand is your superpower. Therefore, as we head into winter, it is probably a good idea to hit reset on-farm and try to raise standards before the drudgery of the winter routine kicks in.
Robert Reed
Farming 405 hectares (1,000 acres), a mix of tenanted and owned land at Gatcombe Farm, near Seaton, Devon, Robert Reed and his family milk 350 all-year-round calving Holstein cows via five robots and are achieving average yields of 12,000 litres.
“ Our biosecurity has lapsed and we now must get this back under control
Iwould like to start my first column by talking about what is going well, and what is not going so well, which is how we open things up at the robotics milking discussion group I am involved with.
So firstly the positives; fifth cut silage was completed at the end of August, and like many farmers in this area, this year has been a very good year for grass growth. And for our dry farm in particular it has been exceptional.
Maize also looks good, but we are looking at a late harvest and right now the crop just needs a bit more sun.
Moving onto the not so good; over recent months we had seen a few milk drops and high temperatures, plus a few calves off colour with high temperatures.
We discussed this with our vet at our weekly vet visit and it was decided that some bloods should be taken.
From this, we had a call from the vet saying he thought we had a BVD PI somewhere here on-farm.
So, after taking more bloods and milk samples, we have made a plan and are now undergoing a tag and test programme, alongside vaccination for BVD.
We stopped vaccinations a few years ago as blood and milk test results confirmed we were BVD-free, then only using quarterly screening.
Similarly, we have also had some discussions lately regarding Johne’s disease. We have seen a small increase in Johne’s from our milk sampling over the last few years, and unfortunately we are vulnerable to disease risk when replacing cows lost through TB.
Both Johne’s and BVD were under control in our herd, but our biosecurity has lapsed and we now must get this back under control.
Available tools
These topics are not unusual between vets and farmers and there are many tools available to help, so why can we not use the same approach with TB? Our original TB breakdown came from purchased animals and, after a good few tests, we soon learned it was not going to be a straightforward case of ‘test and clean up’.
At this point, I challenged vet Dick Sibley that we could not carry on losing cows and that we needed to sort this out. So we decided to take a different approach to TB control here at Gatcombe, over and above what the Ministry was ordering us to do.
We got involved with different universities and people; this led to testing our badgers. From then
on, we wanted to know how the TB was spreading. This led to firstly blood testing and then testing cows’ dung and saliva, working with both Nottingham and Warwick Universities.
At this point, Sir Brian May and Anne Brummer got involved, initially to help solve the badger problem.
This was very strange to begin with, for obvious reasons, but after numerous visits we soon learned that we both had the same aims in common, to get to the bottom of TB and move forward. Sir Brian’s main focus obviously would be to protect the badgers.
From our initial breakdown in 2012 until 2018, we were continuously down with TB and lost more than 100 cows, as well as losing the value of store cattle and the hassle of testing every 60 days.
We achieved TB-free status in 2018, but then discovered that we could not carry on doing the enhanced testing due to some obscure rules. But we knew we still had TB-infected cows left on the farm, but our means of finding them had been taken away.
Over the next few years, TB reared up again, on and off, and we lost more cows to the official tests. We voluntarily removed about 50 more cows which we thought to be at risk to our herd. To date, we are now currently TB-free. We did 50 blood tests in the autumn of 2023. All of these were negative, but I am still not convinced we have got rid of the last TB-infected cow on-farm. We are, however, making every effort to make sure that if there are any left, they do not spread it to any others.
Easy calving cows which milk
Sarah Slade has been a champion of Dairy Shorthorns for more than 25 years, but what is it about this English breed which has seen it endure at Southcott Farm? Natalie Noble reports.
Hardy, gentle and fantastic milkers; this sums up the Dairy Shorthorn breed, according to Sarah Slade. And it is a sentiment shared by her husband David, who at rst had his reservations.
Today, the farm in Chawleigh, Devon, is home to their Brimclose herd, comprising 300 milking cows, 11 stock bulls, followers and Beef Shorthorn calves.
Certi ed organic for 25 years, the dairy system is forage-based, with cows milked twice a day through a 20:40 herringbone parlour. ey produce, on average, 7,500
litres per lactation at around 4.1% bu erfat and 3.3% protein, with the milk supplied to Organic Herd (formerly Omsco) for cheese production.
Helping with various farm work are their three adult children – Isabel, Hannah and William –and their 16-year-old son Tom. e farm has been in the Slade family since 1913. To begin with, the Holstein was the breed of choice, with the Dairy Shorthorns making their debut on the farm in 1999.
Sarah says: “We were constantly looking at the Holsteins’ feet.
“We had to assist most calvings
Make the change
To the dairy breed of the future
The biggest & best selection of Shorthorn semen available in the UK
and we saw a lot of milk fever. Everything felt high maintenance and costly, from their feed to their health and overall management –it just was not working for us.
“We even visited America to see how Holsteins were managed there. We could see a lot of value in the Holstein; it is a fantastic breed, even more so now, but it just was not right for the way we wanted to farm.”
Wanting an easy calving cow which milked well and consistently from grass, they needed a low maintenance animal that would give them at least seven lactations.
Farm visits
Sarah had already earmarked the Dairy Shorthorn, but was keen to visit other farms to learn more about the breed.
Returning home with 17 heifers from three di erent herds – Hooton, Marleycote and Winbrook – Sarah says David was not initially sold on the breed, thinking of them as ‘old-fashioned’.
However, over the next 12-18 months, his mind was changed, nding that they were easy to manage, milked well, had good feet and legs, and calved easily.
Sarah says: “We found them incredibly well-suited to our farming goals and management.”
With David on board, they began converting the entire herd to Shorthorn.
Sarah says: “We purchased our rst stock bull – Marleycote Duke – in 2002, as well as cows and heifers, including from the Cotley and Chicklade herds.”
As well as running the bull, David served the herd by arti cial insemination (AI) to Dairy Shorthorn, alongside making further purchases of female breeding stock from the Rodway and Tonelea herds.
Sarah says: “Being organic it limited what we could buy, so it was always our plan to quickly start breeding our own stock.
“At the time, the herd book was a bit more open, so we were easily able to breed up [from the Holsteins]; it probably took us about three years.
“Pu ing red on black, and red is recessive; once we were breeding ca le which looked like Shorthorns we knew we were ge ing somewhere.
“We stopped buying-in ca le –we have been a closed herd for some time now.”
Sarah Slade farms with her husband David and their children in Chawleigh, Devon.
PICTURES : Farlap
well and consistently off grass
e Slades were focused on breeding their own type; a robust, easy calving, medium-sized, deep
bodied cow with good feet, legs and udders.
To achieve this, alongside using
purchased semen, they began breeding their own stock bulls in 2004, with their rst home-bred stock bull Brimclose Rocket, born in 2006.
Sarah says: “He was an ugly, bad-tempered bull, but he really did produce the most fantastic stock.”
To diversify genetics, the Slades have tried to avoid breeding with overly popular sires, choosing instead interesting bulls from further a eld, including the American bull Blissful Teds Spurgeon, Australian bull Lemon Grove Conrad and UK bull Marleycote Reiver.
Two years ago, the herd switched from autumn-based calving to a 12-week summer-calving block (starting June/July).
Sarah says: “We made the change because our milk buyer wants a winter milk supply, which is August onwards.
“ ere is a massive bene t for
us as a business to produce milk over winter, when the organic milk market is generally short.”
With 30-40% of the herd served to sexed Dairy Shorthorn semen, the rest are served by AI to conventional Beef Shorthorn.
Stock bulls
Cows returning from sexed semen will be served to Beef Shorthorn and run with their Dairy Shorthorn stock bulls. Heifers are run with the stock bulls, with the aim to calve them down at 24 months old. e farm’s replacement rate varies at about 15-20%.
Any heifers which do not join the milking herd are sold, predominantly via private sale. e Slades also sell pedigree breeding bulls privately. When it comes to dry cow management, close-up cows are grazed by day close to the main
A two-week-old heifer replacement calf.
ON FARM
farmhouse and housed at night, which Sarah says gives them a less stressful calving experience.
She says: “ ey will quite o en calve down outside and it is be er all round I think. Cows can act more naturally, which reduces stress, calving appears cleaner and the weather is usually fair – it is a lovely time to be raising calves.”
All calves are kept with their dam until David is satis ed there has been good colostrum uptake.
Calves are then separated and penned in groups of four, inside a light and well-ventilated, dedicated calf shed, built in 2013.
Calves are fed whole milk via gate feeders twice daily, with access to dry feed, straw (in hay racks) and fresh water from day one of being penned.
Heifers are kept on milk feeds and step-weaned at 12 weeks old. From there, they are placed in larger age-based groups in the youngstock housing.
If worming is required, a derogation is sought from the vet. First turnout is spring following birth, at about nine months old.
Beef calves are sold to local farmers and through the market, at around three to four weeks old, but not until they are strong and t enough.
Sarah says: “We have always focused on having a high health status. We are a closed herd and we test for
Johne’s disease and BVD, both of which we are currently free from.
“We are stringent with our cleaning and no calves are ever fed waste milk. Healthy calves are happy calves, and it feeds right through their lives. ey are a robust breed, but you still have to get the foundations right.”
To date, the farm averages 200ml of antibiotics across the entire 480 head of ca le per year.
Treatment
Sarah says: “It is not about withholding treatment, it is about making sure we are giving the right treatment at the right time, to make sure we have these drugs well into the future – not just for the stock, but ourselves too.”
Cull rate sits below 15, re ecting both the longevity of the breed and the high health they achieve.
Operating a paddock grazing system, stock are typically moved to fresh grazing daily, on a 21-day rotation. But forage can be a challenge with the farm’s elevation and exposure to wind causing it to quickly dry out.
Sarah says: “We will start supplementary feeding the winter ration in August; we will continue to graze but bring them in for a silage feed. en, come winter, they will be fed a ration of maize, grass and wholecrop silage, top-dressed with about 2kg/head of a 16% cake, plus up to 5kg of cake in the parlour.”
Slurry, crop rotation and undersowing maize and wholecrop are the main ways the Slades manage their soils, nutrients and all-year-round ground cover.
Leys include grass clover mixes and herbal leys, and cover crops such as kale are sporadically used.
JSarah took over the reins of the Dairy Shorthorn Society’s presidency at the AGM in June, having served two years as deputy president under David Winnington.
Understanding the adaptability and capability of the breed, and having experienced enormous change in her own business, she wants to send a very clear message to dairy producers at a time where many are assessing their businesses.
She says: “The Shorthorn has a massive amount to offer; it is a perfect candidate for the focuses we now have as dairy producers.
“I want people to realise that you can make the change. You do not need to stick with what you have if it is not working.
“You want a healthy animal which is going to do a profitable job for you – and in my opinion that is the Dairy Shorthorn.”
In 2013, the couple made a big investment in a new dairy unit, retiring the 1970s buildings and barns which were cramped at 120 cows. Not t for the future and with a failing 14:14 herringbone parlour, the family invested more than £1 million in a larger herringbone parlour, alongside a dedicated calf shed. ey also built new youngstock housing – which can be used for dry cows and additional winter housing – cubicle housing, bull pens, a slurry lagoon and three silage pits.
Having felt the e ects of TB over the years, the Slades have also invested in derisking the business.
Sarah says: “Stacking up with calves is a big health and production risk for us. So last year we built an isolation unit on a separate holding, which provides us with the ability to move calves o the farm and sell them, if the worst should happen again.”
A home-bred Shorthorn breeding bull.
The Dairy Shorthorns made their debut on the farm in 1999.
DAIRYMatters
‘There is no end in sight for farmers, they are expected to just live with this’
This month, vets Dr John Gallagher, former head of the Ministry of Farming, Fisheries and Food’s investigation service Devon and Cornwall, and Roger Blowey, former senior partner at Woods Veterinary Group, Gloucester, have come together to give their view on the BBC documentary ‘Brian May: The Badgers, the Farmers and Me’
Sir Brian May’s passion for badgers was clearly very evident in his recent documentary shown on the BBC, but as to him being a saviour with the solution to the bovine TB (bTB) problem, we think not.
He failed to mention that in the five years after his ‘solution’ there were three more bTB outbreaks on the farm where it had been applied.
He also rejected the skin test as totally unreliable, but in fact, it has a sensitivity of 80-85% and, when used every 60 days, that becomes far higher.
The dilemma is, there is so much misinformation circulating that the real facts of the problem have almost been lost.
So, what are the core facts? Despite Sir Brian’s concern with the last couple of decades, it is more than half-a-century since the first bTB badger was found in this country in 1971. This was on a farm with an outbreak in yearling cattle, outwintered on an isolated field beside woodland, where the farmer found an emaciated badger which showed generalised TB.
Subsequent detailed pathology on a large number of badgers found the nature of TB in this species was quite different to that in cattle.
Indeed, even in the 1970s, it was apparent that their
very limited reaction to virulent TB differed to such an extent that it was likely that the badger had a long ancestral relationship with bTB, dating back at least to the early 20th Century, when bTB was rife in cattle over a 100 years ago.
It is likely to have established at sites across the country where badger numbers were sufficient and particularly in the South West where the highest badger population density was in the UK.
Eradication of bTB in cattle started in 1935 with a voluntary scheme, while compulsory skin test and slaughter only started in 1950. By 1960 Britain was declared ‘bTB attested’, with 98.2% of herds free of bTB.
The problem herds appearing difficult to clear were mostly in the south west of England. But the outbreak pattern differed from that seen previously when cattle-to-cattle spread was a feature of winter housing with confinement facilitating respiratory spread.
We were seeing a pattern of infection in these problem herds while at pasture, often in much younger animals. Then cattle were being tested and cleared of bTB during their winter confinement, only for more reactors to be found the next winter.
At that time, we were allowed to trap badgers on the problem farms and examine them for TB. It is not
Dr John Gallagher
Roger Blowey
“ We have seen too many farmers whose hearts and minds have been broken by this nonsensical situation
remorselessly reaching up to 5,000 herds in recent years with 30,000 to 40,000 ca le slaughtered annually. A situation worse than it was in 1960 when TB A estation was declared.
So much more sound scienti c work was carried out in those early years both in this country and in Ireland. But this largely predated the politicisation of the problem.
We need conservation of badgers not blinded preservation, say Dr John Gallagher and Roger Blowey.
possible to always determine the source of an infection, but in almost half the herds where we could determine the likely source, infected badgers were found to be so in about 90% of cases.
Ca le-to-ca le spread was almost 10%. But this ca le origin gure has fallen greatly in recent decades due to stricter testing controls.
From an epidemiological viewpoint, the nding of such a high level of infected herds arising from infected badgers implies we had already essentially eradicated bTB from ca le, probably during the 1960s, and were now dealing with resurgent infection from the self-sustaining badger reservoir host.
Con rmation came from results of an extensive trial cull in a bTB ca le hotspot area of southern Gloucestershire involving more than 150 farms where numerous outbreaks were ascribed to infected badgers. All the badgers were culled and annual bTB testing continued as before.
At the end of the cull, no further outbreaks occurred for 10 years. In the 11th year a single outbreak occurred just inside the periphery of the area.
en over the next 10 years, sca ered outbreaks gradually occurred at the outer margins until the situation worsened as full recolonisation occurred.
Strategic culling of infected badgers was carried out from 1976 until 1986. When stopped in 1986 there were only 84 herds in England and Wales with new outbreaks that year and just 500 ca le reactors slaughtered.
When this culling stopped, new outbreaks rose
e selective culling was stopped largely due to cost and Ministerial pressure from the ‘save the badger’ lobbies. It was replaced with a partial culling policy, which continued for more than a decade.
In e ect, this partial cull spread infection by causing badgers to sca er.
And the outbreaks climbed as did the slaughter of our ca le, while ministers considered next steps. ey chose to be advised by groups of scientists with no former expertise in bTB to give a ‘fresh approach’ to the problem.
Politisation in Wales was readily apparent in this last decade or so when under the Plaid Cymru coalition with Labour, a large badger cull was to be carried out in the Pembroke area organised by APHA.
Focus
However, this was blocked and at the next election, Labour took charge. No badgers were to be touched and the APHA focus was now on ca le culling alone.
Ca le to ca le spread was declared as the ‘driver’ of the epidemic with never a badger blamed. But a Freedom of Information request showed that out of almost 9,000 reactors slaughtered in Dyfed in the 18 months to June 2019, only 1,025 showed any lesions and only six had lesions in the lungs allowing possible lateral transmission.
Sir Brian’s documentary shows the deep passions farmers have for their animals. We have seen too many farmers whose hearts and minds have been broken by this nonsensical situation.
ere is no end in sight for farmers. ey are expected to just live with this. ey have been imprisoned by irrational APHA regulations.
Until a more responsible approach is taken to identify infected social groups and cull them properly, we will never see an end to this to this horror. Nor will we see clean healthy badgers and bTB-free ca le. We need conservation of badgers not blinded preservation.
What can somatic cell count data tell us about our herd health, and what should farmers be doing when these figures start to creep up? Wendy Short reports.
Bringing down mastitis infection rates with strict hygiene protocols
An analysis of somatic cell count (SCC) gures from 400 recorded herds has revealed that fewer than 8% of cows showed signs of mastitis infection in the top-performing sector, says vet Dr Tom Chamberlain.
A signi cant di erence is typically found between the top-performing and the worst-performing herds when it comes to the percentage of infected cows in the herd, adds Dr Chamberlain, who processes milk recording data on behalf of feed suppliers.
On a 12-month rolling basis, he found that an average 15% of cows were infected, with a gure of 26% for the worst performers. e average SCC for the herds was 164
Dr Tom Chamberlain
(thousand cells per millilitre), with 104 for the best herds and 249 for the worst. He recommends se ing a target of 100 or below.
Dr Chamberlain, who runs consultancy rm Chalcombe, says: “ e data classi es infected cows as animals with a cell count above 200. It is not only a re ection of mastitis levels, but also a general indicator of herd health.
“Some feed companies monitor supplier performance to try and identify the herd’s strong and weak points. ey may intervene and suggest improvements in cases of an ongoing problem, and milk buyers may apply price penalties. Fertility and culling rates are two other issues which can come under scrutiny.
“I recommend that producers follow the DairyCo Mastitis Control Plan or similar, to keep SCC numbers at an acceptable level.
e DairyCo plan is delivered with support from a local vet, who will develop an individual farm programme to tackle the infection. In my opinion, applying strict hygiene protocols in the dry cow and cubicle housing, as well as a high standard of parlour maintenance, are the best defence against high SCCs.”
e gure for the percentage of cows infected at the rst milk recording is a useful starting point for tackling mastitis, he says.
“High numbers suggest that the dry cow housing and/or the calving facilities should be the rst areas under review. On average, about half of the infected cows in the group fell into this category, which includes cows within 30 days of calving.
“In the best herds, the gure was 21%. In the worst performing herds, it was a high as 71% and therefore represents a potential opportunity at this stage to signi cantly bring down the overall infection rate.
“It is fairly common to nd that producers invest heavily in housing for the milking cows, but continue to use outdated dry cow buildings, which I would describe as the ‘Cinderella’ of dairy farm steadings. One common problem is having too li le space per animal, o en following herd expansion without extending the accommodation.”
Space
Each cow in a loose housing situation should be allocated 10sq.m of space, excluding water troughs and passageways, he adds. ey will also need plenty of straw, and if a deep bedding system is adopted, it should refreshed on a frequent basis.
“Using large quantities of straw bedding could be considered expensive, but I believe the investment is worthwhile when weighed against the cost of mastitis. e infection
If there are high numbers of cows infected at the first milk recording, it suggests dry cow housing and/or the calving facilities should be the first areas under review.
has been estimated to incur an average £300 per case, but the gure can o en be much higher.
“A person should be able to sit down in the straw without ge ing their clothes dirty.
“In cases where cubicle housing is used for dry cows, the number of installations should equate to the number of cows in the building.
Standard
“Achieving a very high standard of cleanliness for housed cows is easier to manage on units which calve all year round, compared with tight block calving systems.” e best-performing herds in the section for ‘dry period new infection rate’ had a score of zero, while in some cases, more than one-third of cows fell into this category. A gure was also assigned to ‘dry period cure rate’, which showed a 100% result for the best herds, with an average of 80% and the lowest score at 50%.
“ ese gures also potentially point to poor dry cow management. In the worst-case scenario, every cow which ended its lactation with a high SCC returned to the milking herd still carrying signi cant infection.
“Managers of herds with a recurrent issue in this area should consider their dry cow tubing policy and whether it is advisable to use
PICTURES : John Eveson
antibiotic treatment, or to continue with teat sealants.
“ ere is pressure on producers to reduce their antibiotic usage, but the products are e ective.
“Targeted use can help to address high SCC gures and bring down mastitis case numbers.”
e herd group was also assessed on the duration of the mastitis infection, as indicated by the SCC data. Only 3% of the best herds were classi ed as carrying a chronic infection, while the average was 7% and the worst herds had a gure of 14%.
“Staphylococcus aureus and streptococcus uberis are o en responsible for chronic mastitis infections,” says Dr Chamberlain.
“As a guideline, a cow with three recorded cases of mastitis within one month over a lactation would fall into the chronic infection category.
“If dry cows enter the milking herd with low infection levels, and SCC numbers subsequently spike, the response will depend on which type of bacteria is responsible.
“ e milking parlour should be the focus of a ention, along with the main housing.
“In the parlour, particular a ention should be paid to cluster maintenance, and automatic cluster disinfection is a useful preventative measure.
“ e parlour should be regularly
serviced, with the teat liners and ushing solution changed as advised by the manufacturer.
“On rare occasions an individual cow will not respond, and culling will be the only option.”
e data set also recorded ‘lactation new infection rate’. e average percentage of cows which picked up infection during lactation was 8%, with the best herds at 4% and the worst herds at 16%.
Udder cleanliness
“ is is also an indication that infection is being picked up in the main housing or the parlour and it could be being transferred from cow to cow during milking.
“Lack of udder cleanliness at milking is one possible cause.
“ is is another instance where bacteriology will be needed to determine the type of pathogen responsible. It is a useful way of ge ing on top of a problem that may be developing.
“ e vet can take 50ml samples of milk and it is cheaper to freeze and store them in batches over several months before sending them o for analysis. Producers can also receive training so they can take their own sterile milk samples. is is not standard practice in the UK, although it is practised among large herds in the USA,” Dr Chamberlain adds.
Monitoring activity levels and rumination patterns of heifers and cows to detect heats events and identify the early signs of potential health problems enables herd managers to maximise the productivity of their adult animals. But unless its calf population has been managed accurately, the herd’s future productivity might already be compromised.
The health and growth of replacement heifer calves has a long-lasting influence on the herd’s long-term performance, with any diseases, respiratory problems or welfare issues experienced during the animal’s first year having the potential to reduce the animal’s fertility and productivity later in life.
Ensuring the herd’s youngstock are healthy and disease-free is therefore critical to the herd’s future viability.
With the SenseHub Dairy Youngstock system, herd managers can monitor calves during their first 12 months to quickly and easily identify any signs of ill health or opportunities for welfare improvements.
The system is now compatible with all nipple-fed calves (housed in groups or single occupancy hutches) and post-weaning calves.
Using a monitoring system to oversee youngstock also reduces the farm’s reliance on experienced staff and ensures each calf gets off to the best possible start and that it can make a positive contribution to the herd’s income sooner.
The SenseHub Dairy Youngstock system uses an electronic eartag to monitor the behavioural patterns of calves from birth
to 12 months of age and uses the data to identify any signs of potential ill health or opportunities for welfare improvements.
As soon as the SenseHub Youngstock system detects any irregular behavioural patterns, that could be a symptom of a health or welfare issue, the SenseHub smartphone or desktop app highlights the animal for inspection.
BLINKING LED
A programmable blinking LED on the eartag makes it easier and quicker to locate the relevant animal so the necessary care or treatment can be administered as quickly as possible.
SenseHub Youngstock can be used as a standalone system or in combination with other SenseHub Dairy application plans which monitor the reproduction and rumination status of heifers and adult cows.
SenseHub Youngstock can also be funded via a SenseHub GO subscription which spreads the cost of investment: with zero upfront costs, a GO subscription provides access to all the necessary SenseHub hardware and software for one affordable monthly payment with no hidden extras, additional costs or capital depreciation losses.
Heifers’ extra maintenance needs must be supported if future high yielders are to reach their potential. Dairy Farmer reports.
Do not forget heifers during transition period
While dairy producers must invest in their cows during the transition period if they are to positively in uence the success of the lactation, heifers must also be transitioned if they are to meet longevity targets and reach future milk production potential.
“Failing to invest in the milking cows of the future can result in a false economy for the producer, even if transition cows are not directly making money when not producing milk,” says Trident MicroNutri ruminant technical manager Anna Millar.
In fact, this is the key period when the vast majority of calf growth occurs – some 70% of that in the last weeks before calving.
Rations
It is therefore important to formulate rations to meet the energy requirements of cows transitioning from the close-up dry period, through calving and colostrum production, all the way through to the onset of early lactation.
While transition cows must be supported as much as possible, particularly from an energy point of view, Ms Millar advises
producers to consider that heifers are also working every bit as hard –and actually have even more to do.
“Young heifers can be forgotten about, but they should also be transitioned, with the correct transition diet. It is important to remember, they are not yet fully grown, so a er calving, they need to be able to eat as much as possible,” says Ms Millar.
“ ey almost have an extra job to do. We know the adult cow needs to keep herself healthy, produce milk, come into heat and hold a pregnancy.
“But the heifer has to do all of that, plus grow herself, so the energy balance is critical.
“A recent study from the National Milk Records showed 17% of heifers leave the herd before the end of their rst lactation.
“ erefore, you want your heifers to stay in the herd for longevity and sustainability and also for your bo om line.”
She says it could be the heifer’s second or even third lactation before she even starts breaking even, so keeping her healthy, from a metabolic point of view is essential.
She adds: “ ey are under huge stress, they have never calved before, they have never been in the main milking herd before, so it is a complete group change.
“ ey are also going into a parlour for the rst time.”
Ms Millar says it is therefore essential throughout transition to monitor heifers closely and maintain an excellent nutrition programme.
Every dairy cow needs to mobilise body fat reserves to meet the extra maintenance
Anna Millar
Farmers should monitor heifers throughout transition and maintain an excellent nutrition programme, says Anna Millar.
and production demands that her feed intake does not cover, and even more so for the heifer.
“ is fat mobilisation causes a surge in non-esteri ed fa y acids in the bloodstream, associated with ketosis,” she says.
Alongside this risk, the increased blood ow to the liver can see fat accumulating as it cannot be metabolised and exported from the liver quickly enough, potentially causing fa y liver disease. e incidence of
either can predispose the cow to other metabolic transition problems, along with failure to reach true peak milk yield potential.
“As extra fat mobilisation is inevitable for a cow on the steep incline to peak lactation, using a
rumen-protected choline source will help the liver to metabolise and export the extra fa y acids for use in milk production or tissue repair,” advises Ms Millar.
Cows with proper choline nutrition are more likely to have fewer metabolic disorders, be er reproductive performance and higher milk production.
Important
It supports formation of cell membranes, particularly important for mammary gland development and production, as well as playing a key role in maintaining immune function and helping reproductive health.
“By supporting overall health and productivity, this will ultimately lead to improved pro tability. You can keep your heifers in the herd and see them through to breaking even and beyond, se ing them up for higher lifetime milk production potential,” says Ms Millar.
YOUNGSTOCK IN FOCUS
ENSURING QUALITY IN HEALTH, GENETICS & NUTRITION
Achieving the highest possible outcomes for your livestock starts with the care and attention which goes into youngstock. In this series, Neogen, Trouw Nutrition and Virbac have teamed up to explain best practice when it comes to health, hygiene, genetics and nutrition.
PREVENTION IS BETTER THA STRATEGIES FOR CALF HEAL
Boosting a calf’s immunity through vaccination and maintaining optimum trace mineral levels will help to guard against scour and will support growth rates.
Coupled with stringent hygiene protocols, good colostrum management and well- ventilated housing, these measures can help ensure calves have the best chance of a healthy start in life.
Kate Ingram, Virbac’s vet and ruminant adviser, says it is easier and more cost-effective to put strategies in place to prevent disease than to manage and treat outbreaks.
Preventative
She says: “Investing in preventative measures to protect the health of calves causes less anxiety for the farm team, helps to reduce antibiotic use and is far more costeffective than treating disease.
“Maintaining a high standard of hygiene in the calf’s environment should always be the starting point. Housing calves in small, evenly aged groups
with sufficient space between calves of different ages to avoid nose-to-nose contact is important.
“Calves should always have plenty of clean, dry bedding and soiled material should be removed from pens rather than covered with clean straw.
“Operating an ‘all in, all out’ system is recommended.”
Scour is one of the biggest threats to calf well-being, accounting for more than half of deaths in calves under four weeks old, Ms Ingram says.
Vaccination is a proven, practical method of controlling scour, forming part of a wider preventative strategy.
She says: “Control of calf scour saves not only veterinary and medicine costs, but the labour and time associated with treating and nursing sick calves.
“Rotavirus, coronavirus, e.coli and cryptosporidium are the most common pathogens causing scour and vaccination is an extremely effective measure against all but cryptosporidium.
“Research has shown that the levels of the immunoglobulins to the pathogens present in the vaccine will increase in the dam’s colostrum, protecting
their newborn calf against the infections which cause scour.
“Irrespective of previous vaccination history, a single injection of the vaccine given to the dam from 12 to three weeks prior to calving boosts cow serum and therefore colostrum antibody levels against rotavirus, coronavirus and e.coli.
“Calves which received colostrum from vaccinated dams had both reduced severity and duration of scour infection, as well as more limited shedding of the pathogens into the environment, thus reducing the risk of infection to other calves in the cohort.
“It is important to recognise that vaccination will only be effective where it is combined with good colostrum management, as cow
TOP TIPS FOR PREVENTING SCOUR IN CALVES
● Operate an ‘all out, all in’ system for batches of calves
● Maintain a clean, hygienic environment for calves by removing soiled material daily if possible and providing plenty of clean, dry bedding
● House calves in small, evenly aged groups and avoid nose contact
between calves of different ages
● Implement best practice colostrum management protocols to ensure calves receive sufficient colostrum
● Aim to feed colostrum equivalent to 10-12% of body weight in the first two hours –after six hours the ability of the calf’s gut to absorb antibodies declines dramatically
● Vaccinate dams from 12 to
three weeks prior to calving with Bovigen Scour to protect against scour infections caused by rotavirus, coronavirus and e.coli
● Maintain optimum trace mineral levels in calves to boost immunity by giving them Multimin, a combined trace mineral injection containing zinc, copper, manganese and selenium
Kate Ingram
SPONSORED
N CURE:
vaccination works via the transfer of passive immunity from the dam’s colostrum.”
A newborn calf needs 10-12% of its body weight in colostrum quickly, ideally within the first two hours of life, but no later than six hours, Ms Ingram says.
“This time limit is crucial as the concentration of antibodies in the colostrum decreases from the dam post-calving and, at six hours, the calf’s gut begins to stop absorbing antibodies. After 24 hours, this ability, known as passive transfer, ends completely.
“Colostrum must be of the right quality – a reading of 22% or above on a Brix refractometer is indicative of good quality with adequate protein and antigen levels.”
A survey of 324 farmers by Dairy Farmer showed that more than half did not carry out tests to ascertain the cause of scour in calves on their farms.
Viral cases
Rotavirus and coronavirus are often responsible for viral cases of scour, whereas e.coli is the most commonly occurring cause of bacterial scour infections.
Ms Ingram says: “Rotavirus and coronavirus scour infections typically affect calves of between two and four weeks old and symptoms include watery faeces which are often green or yellow in colour, with mucus frequently present in rotavirus cases. Calves will lie down more than usual and may be reluctant to drink.
“E.coli is often seen in calves from birth to seven days old and they will present a distinctive bloated abdomen.
“Cryptosporidium is one of the most common causes of scour, but as it is a protozoa, it is not covered by vaccination.
“The risk of cryptosporidium is highest in calves when they are between seven and 28 days old and rarely occurs after they are six months old.
“Cryptosporidium infections can be treated with Virbac’s Kriptazen, a non-antibiotic medicine which can be given to calves as young as a day old and effectively reduces clinical disease and shedding.
“Cryptosporidium is very difficult to eradicate and implementing strict hygiene protocols is the best way of reducing occurrence, especially as it is also a zoonotic risk.”
Not all scour cases are contagious and can be linked
to management factors, such as incorrect mixing of milk replacers and sub-optimum milk temperature.
Ms Ingram highlights the multi-factorial nature of this disease which therefore requires a several-pronged approach to prevention.
“Nutritional deficiencies can make calves more vulnerable to disease, including scour, which will, in turn, reduce growth rates.
“The risk of this occurring is particularly high at times of stress for the calf, such as when it is separated from its dam or when it is mixing with a new social
VALUABLE INSIGHT
group, during transportation to a new site or weaning.
“Clinical deficiencies of trace minerals are rarely seen now, but sub-clinical deficiencies may be present, and this can affect growth and the immune response. Multimin is a prescription-only combined trace mineral injection for cattle, containing zinc, copper, manganese and selenium.”
Trace minerals can be given in either feeds and licks, or boluses but problems are often associated with each of these methods, such as regurgitation and the physical challenges of bolusing.
It is difficult to ensure all calves obtain the required amounts, Ms Ingram says.
“Giving calves these vital trace minerals in injectable form allows for rapid absorption, particularly at times of increased demand for the calf.
“Giving the minerals via injection rather than orally also bypasses potential mineral lock up issues in the rumen.
Pneumonia
“Our research has shown an 8% reduction in the incidence of scour in treated calves and has also demonstrated a lowering of the risk of calves contracting pneumonia.
“With Multimin, farmers can boost the performance of their animals by improving resilience to disease, their ability to conceive as well as reducing the use of medicines, delivering marginal gains across the herd.”
l The combined expertise of Neogen, Trouw Nutrition and Virbac provides valuable insight into best practices for health, genetics and nutrition. By implementing these strategies, farmers can improve the quality and performance of their herds while promoting better animal welfare. Investing in youngstock through preventative care, genetic evaluation and high-quality nutrition is a key factor in achieving successful livestock production.
WORLD DAIRYING ARGENTINA
El Rancho farm was the first dairy unit in Argentina to install milking robots in 2018 and now the focus is on controlling rising costs. Chris McCullough reports.
Argentinian farm embraces automation
Situated in Balcarce, in the Buenos Aires province, El Rancho farm is owned by Diego Baudrix and has been in his family since the early 1800s.
Diego started with just 25 Argentine Holstein cows back in 1964 milking them by hand, and rst upgraded to a mechanised parlour in 1970.
In 2018 the farm invested in eight Lely Astronaut A5 robotic milking units.
Today the farm extends to just over 1,000 hectares (2,471 acres) with 650 Holstein Montbeliarde cross cows, and is managed by Ignacio Sala, a vet who has worked there for the past six years.
Ignacio says: “Our average yield for cows with over two lactations is around 9,000kg with 3.7% bu erfat and 3.7% protein. For rst lactation cows the average is 6,800kg with the same milk solids. Cows are visiting the robots on average 2.2 times per day.”
Breeding strategy
For the past 14 years, the farm has been using Montbeliarde bulls to breed out the original Holstein cows, in order to reach a pure-bred Montbeliarde herd.
Ignacio says: “We have achieved 80% of that goal and now we are starting to use Holstein semen again, along with the Montbeliarde semen. e idea is to maintain a pure-bred Montebeliarde herd of about 300 cows.
“Half of that herd is going to be bred with Montbeliarde genetics and half with Red Holstein.
is way in a couple of years we will be milking 300 pure Montbeliarde cows and 330 Montbeliarde Holstein cross cows.
“ e reasoning behind this breeding strategy is because we want to pro t from the advantages we have found with the F1 cows, hybrid 50% Holstein and 50% Montebeliarde, over these last few years. e hybrids will be bred with beef semen so as to sustain the herd breeds split.
“Our goal is to have cows well adapted to our production system, so the traits we pay a ention to the most are longevity, fertility, robustness and the ability to eat large amounts of grass.”
e cows are grazed outdoors all year round, including the winter time as the rain mostly falls in the spring and summer periods.
Around 670 followers are also on the farm, and these graze the pastures, supplemented with silage and concentrates if required.
All heifers are bred with AI genetics and surplus pregnant heifers are sold each year.
Ignacio says: “In terms of sta numbers, we have ve people working with the milking cows, and three more with the dry cows, calving cows and calves. One person operates the tractor and mixer wagon, and one works with the heifers.
“Right now we are ge ing paid around 42 dollar cents per litre [32ppl). It is a good price compared with what we were ge ing few months ago, when it was just 13 dollar cents [less than 1ppl].
“However, costs are really high at the moment. e milk is sold to a big company called La Serenísima.
Ignacio Sala
The aim from breeding the 50:50 Holstein Montbeliarde herd is to achieve 1,600kg of milk solids per hectare per year.
In most cases, milk price is based on quantity, with very li le in uence from the milk solids.”
Feeding plan
e cows consume 22.5kg of dry ma er per day including 12.5kg grass, 6kg ration fed via the robots, and remainder mainly maize silage and alfalfa hay, along with soybean, wheat, and corn if needed.
Ignacio says: “ e robots feed each cow 0.215g of ration per kg of milk produced. e amount of grass fed to the cows is not the same during the year. We reach a maximum of 17kg DM during spring and a minimum of 5kg during winter.
“Silage and hay are fed to the cows in the same paddock they are grazing. And in the coldest month of the year we may have to bu er feed them with fodder.”
In the future, Ignacio intends to make every process on the farm more e cient, to try and
boost pro ts, and without expanding the herd.
ARGENTINA WORLD DAIRYING
He says: “ e main goal of the farm is to create a system as resilient as possible, a system with the ability to overcome climatic, political and economic changes with few negative impacts and with the ability to recover fast.
“ is is the reason why we aim to feed the cows with as much grass as possible because we strongly believe it is the most stable resource we have, and also the cheapest one.
“At the same time, by milking 50:50 cross-bred cows we intend to increase milk production and total milk solids. We expect our heifers to go from 6,800kg of milk per lactation to 7,800kg of milk, and our cows to reach 10,000kg of milk per lactation.
“Simultaneously, we are increasing our stock rate to 2.2 cows per hectare. at means we will be producing around 1,600kg of milk solids per hectare and per year.”
Dairy farming in Argentina
JIt is a challenging time producing milk in Argentina at the moment as farmers battle high inflation rates, prolonged drought and a national downturn in demand for dairy foods. Since the latter half of 2023 dairy production in Argentina has plummeted, which has increased prices
to farmers, but on the flipside the costs of raw materials have also increased to a level that is forcing some Argentine dairy farmers out of business. Reports suggest that milk production in Argentina in the first five months of 2024 was around 14% lower than the same period in 2023.
The farm invested in eight Lely Astronaut A5 robotic milking units in 2018.
BREEDING BULL PROOFS
Aclean sweep of new-launch bulls fills the top 10 positions in the recent ranking for young genomic sires published by AHDB. Never seen before in a dairy bull ranking, this all-new top 10 demonstrates the fast-moving nature of Holstein breeding, and sees bulls which appear in their own right within the top 20 also featuring as sires of sons at the top of the same list.
The new number one bull is Denovo 20723 Columbia, and its sire, Denovo 2776 Leeds, is proving to be one such influential bull. With a huge Profitable Lifetime Index (PLI) of £938, Columbia is predicted to transmit many of the traits sought by modern dairy producers.
Among them is a high Feed Advantage (FAdv), indicating that it will help producers breed animals which use the least amount of feed for their milk production needs. With Columbia having a FAdv of 247, its daughters are predicted to require 247kg less dry matter in each lactation than daughters of a bull with a score of zero and at the same level of production.
Clean sweep of new-launch bulls
In second place, with a PLI of £934, comes the Cookiecutter Holysmokes son, T-Spruce Harmony. This bull’s exceptional daughter Fertility Index (11.7), udder health (-19 Somatic Cell Count, -3 Mastitis) and high Lifespan Index
Top 10 Holstein bulls with genomic indexes ranked on £PLI
(+183 days), help earn it one of the highest HealthyCow (HC) indexes of the breed (315). This means the better health it will transmit is worth, on average, £315 for each of its daughters over their lifetimes, compared with a bull with a HC of £0.
Two more sons of Leeds feature in third and fourth place – Denovo 20771 Segment (PLI £932) ranking third with high fat (54.1kg) and a strong Lameness Advantage (2.7), and Denovo 20893 Harmony, at PLI £931, ranking fourth.
Breed leader
Harmony is also the breed leader for combined weight of fat and protein at 97.7kg and, with a superb Maintenance Index (-29), also has the best FAdv at 299.
This, together with the transmission of high yields, health and efficiency also contributes to the best EnviroCow score of the breed (5.2). This has the scope to help producers improve the environmental efficiency of milk production through breeding – the most effective approach to making permanent, cumulative and long-term gains.
SCC = Somatic Cell Count; LS = Lifespan; FI = Fertility Index; Env Cow = EnviroCow; TM = Type Merit.
Autumn Calving Index reveals high milk solids transmitters
JProducers calving in a tight block in autumn with a focus on genetic improvement are advised to consider basing their sire selection on Autumn Calving Index (£ACI).
At the top of this list stands
Winstar Mendel P, which has an £ACI of £719, reflecting its exceptional Predicted Transmitting Ability for weight of fat and a good Maintenance Index for feed.
Moving into second place is
Winstar Graziano (£ACI £713), another high milk solids bull, which also transmits lower somatic cell counts.
In the Spring Calving Index (£SCI) ranking, Progenesis Wimbledon moves up one place
to become the new leader. Its £SCI of £601 is in part due to excellent daughter fertility.
Winstar Mendel P takes second place (£SCI £599), closely followed by Denovo Invictus (£SCI £598).
De-Su Frazzled 6984, the maternal grandam of Denovo Leeds 2776, which is most influential sire of sons in new top 10 genomic sires list.
“Balancing mineral levels to meet requirements, without oversupply or undersupply, is important from an environmental and financial perspective – we call it Responsible Minerals.”
Alicia
Wilson
Ruminant Nutritionist
Trouw Nutrition GB
Includes
• Improved fibre digestibility
• High relative bioavailability
• Healthier, more productive animals
For more information visit trouwnutrition.co.uk/maxcare
BREEDING BULL PROOFS
Captain retains his top placing
The Holstein bull, Genosource Captain, stands firm at the top of the new Profitable Lifetime Index (£PLI) ranking for daughter-proven sires. Now with a PLI of £800 based on 911 UK milking daughters and thousands more worldwide, this bull continues to affirm its excellent Predicted Transmitting Abilities
(PTAs) for production traits (now at 1,153kg milk), and strong Feed Advantage (273).
A new graduate enters the running in second place in the form of Cookiecutter Holysmokes.
With a PLI of £797, this bull mirrors its earlier genomic prediction now that milking daughters are on-stream. It transmits high protein (35.9kg) and good SCCs (-18).
Denovo 16219 Aladdin makes a big leap into third place with a PLI which has risen to £785. Its PTAs show high fat and protein (48.1kg and 36.9kg respectively) and a very good Maintenance Index (-21).
Ranked in fourth is Bomaz Kettle, which firms up earlier figures as a great milk solids improver (+0.19% fat, +0.17% protein) and transmits a favourable gestation length of -3 days.
His PLI is £783. Climbing into fifth position is Denovo 14744 Ginetta, another high production
bull (91.8kg fat plus protein) with good calf survival of 2.2.
Marco Winters, AHDB head of animal genetics, says: “It is always gratifying to see so many bulls standing firm in these daughter-proven rankings, reaffirming producers’ breeding choices, often made when these were young, genomic sires.
“Captain, for instance, made his debut at the top of the £PLI rankings in the UK as a young sire in early 2020 and now he is proven, with thousands of milking daughters, he confirms this early promise.”
AIS = AI Services; CBL= Cogent Breeding; GEN = Genus
£PLI = Profitable Lifetime Index; SCC = Somatic Cell Count; LS = Lifespan; FI = Fertility Index; Feed Adv = Feed Advantage; Env Cow = EnviroCow; TM = Type Merit.
UK-bred bull is top proven Ayrshire for £PLI
JA UK-bred bull has risen to the top of the Ayrshire Profitable Lifetime Index (PLI) ranking, usurping the Scandinavians which regularly lead for this breed.
Tontine Astorwell, is a son of Gunnarstorp, out of the Ideostar daughter, Tontine Ideo Welcome EX93 (6E).
Offering high production (Predicted Transmitting Abilities are 767kg milk and 27.9kg protein) with good udder health (-16 SCC, -2 Mastitis), Astorwell has a breed-specific PLI of £507. Second Ayrshire on this
newly published list is VR Hakvin, from the Nordic countries.
Graduating from the young bull list, Hakvin’s earlier genomic predictions are confirmed as it proves to be a solid production transmitter with good daughter fertility (9.2), as daughters come into milk. This £499 PLI bull also has the highest EnviroCow index of the proven bulls (3.0).
Young sires
AHDB has also released the genomic young sires ranking.
The list for Ayrshires is led by VR Wehmais Vimo Vehmaa (PLI
£545) with VR Uppura second (PLI £540).
The British Friesian ranking shows no change at the top as Bloemplaat Hoeve Ewoud remains in first place. His PLI is £309, backed by good production transmission, and -10 SCC.
Retaining his second position is Inch Hearty (PLI £260). Now with 113 UK daughters, he shows good lifespan (+107 days) and has the highest Type Merit of the top five bulls (1.71). The young sire genomic list sees a new entry in Bankhouse Distinction. Its PLI of £341 sees last time’s
leader, Goonhilly Coverack, down to second, (PLI £335). Goonhilly Cornelly is third (PLI £329).
Jersey
VJ NR Hauggaard Nibali Nibiru remains leader of the Jersey ranking, with a PLI of £431. He is also the highest HealthyCow index bull,with a score of 190. Second is VJ Hoeholt Jern James, now with a PLI of £410. With a PLI of £405, VJ Kibsgaard Jocko Jojo remains in third position. The young sire genomic rankings see VJ Outrup Luxplus Leander retain the lead (PLI £461).
A UK-bred daughter of the number one proven sire, Genosource Captain.
“The greatness of our lives is not what we leave behind but in what we send forward”
Oliver Pemberton is focused on efficiencies across all areas of the farm, from making the most of existing assets, managing variable costs and having a firm handle of breeding and calving protocols. Dairy Farmer reports.
BREEDING Looking after freshly calved cows
When it comes to breeding policy, Oliver Pemberton is aiming to breed a cow with good feet which will go on to have a positive impact on fertility and therefore milk yield.
Mr Pemberton, who runs a herd of 140 Holstein Friesians at Broad Haye Farm, Cheadle, Sta ordshire, says: “ e breeding policy is sexed semen for cows, and we select for good legs and feet, a nice compact cow, decent bu erfat and protein, as well as yield.
“ e aim is for 60 replacements a year, which are reared at home. Heifers run with our Angus stock bull and calves are sold at about four weeks of age.”
e farm is all down to grass and Mr Pemberton aims for three silage cuts from 45 hectares (110 acres) of silage ground each season. at said, the chaotic weather this
Farm facts
r69 hectares (170 acres) owned, plus 20ha (50 acres) rented
r140 Holstein Friesians on year-round calving
rHerd is milked twice a day and average yield is 8,0008,500 litres at 3.31% protein and 4.5% butterfat
year has led him to try for haylage with the second cut.
He says: “We are on heavy clay and the elds are not very forgiving when it rains a lot. at said, we seem to be really good at growing grass and the policy of overseeding on a fairly regular basis seems to be paying o .
“There are 70-80 acres of permanent pasture, which is either reseeded or overseeded as and when needed, which helps ensure there is good grass for grazing as well as conserving.”
Cows are usually housed from October through to March/April, weather-dependent.
Mr Pemberton says: “We cannot leave them out once temperatures have fallen and rainfall is increasing; poaching is too much of a risk, plus they will not do as well as the grass simply does not grow.”
Once inside, cows are fed conserved grass, a moist feed made up of wheatfeed, wheat syrup and a bespoke preservative, which all
rMilk is sold to Muller Direct
rA new cubicle shed and 20:20 parlour are currently being installed
rCalving interval is about 400 days, although the business intends to reduce this
rRears 60 dairy replacements a year
goes in a total mixed ration and an 18% protein nut in the parlour.
“Dry cows are separated from the others when they are far o and fed the milking cow ration plus straw.
“Our vet practice’s team of vet techs comes in and body condition scores the cows around drying o and this is really helpful in ensuring they approach calving in the best possible condition. We would like the score to be between 2.5-3.”
Straw bedding
e calving yard is bedded on straw and, depending on the time of calving and number of calvings, the team tries to leave the calf with its dam for enough time for two good colostrum feeds.
Mr Pemberton says: “We test colostrum quality with a Brix refractometer and if, for whatever reason, it looks as if the calf has not fed enough, we will give a feed via a tube just to be sure.”
Every cow, apart from rst calvers, will also be given a bucket of Ne ex’s Fresh Calver to drink, made up in 37degC water.
Mr Pemberton says: “We have been giving Fresh Calver for about 10 years and the cows do really well with it.”
e drink gives the cow energy, 48g of calcium to support calcium homeostasis and electrolytes to provide immediate rehydration.
“It also contains vitamin E and
selenium to help support cleansing and immune function.
Ne ex’s Emily Hall says: “ e nutrient demand of a freshly calved cow is approximately double that of a dry cow, meaning it is important to supply plenty of nutrients post-calving to support milk production and promote recovery a er giving birth.
“Cows lose about 60 litres of uid from the uterus in the form of blood and uterine uids at the point of calving and it is important to replenish those uids as quickly as possible to reduce the risk of dehydration.
“Cows will usually drink soon a er calving, but water alone will not replace lost electrolytes. Furthermore, the expulsion of the calf combined with the loss of uids results in a large ‘space’ available, where the abomasum can easily displace to. e intake of a large volume of uid immediately a er calving can help ll this space and reduce the risk of displaced abomasum occurring.”
Oliver Pemberton
The farm has 140 Holstein Friesians on year-round calving.
INNOVATION
From selling the plough to removing soya from the cows’ diet, embracing the enthusiasm of the next generation has pushed the Davies family to continually improve the sustainability of all aspects of their dairy operation. Dairy Farmer reports.
Listen to next generation to bring on innovation
Robert Davies farms in partnership with his wife Rachel, parents Bryan and Jean, and son Harry, milking 130 cows on a robotic system as part of a diverse business in Herefordshire, which includes broiler chickens, cider fruit, arable, commercial and residential rental properties, renewables and nishing beef ca le.
“You have to make sure you listen to the next generation or you sti e innovation,” says Robert.
“My father let me have a fairly free rein and I am trying to do the same with Harry.”
An example of this was the farm’s decision to purchase a direct drill in 2023, which has now resulted in moving fully to this approach, with the business selling the plough and combination drill this year.
Direct drilling
“When Harry came back from Harper Adams [University], he was really keen to give direct drilling a go,” says Robert.
“We had a perfectly good plough and drill so it was easy to think: ‘Why bother?’ But actually, I needed that youth and enthusiasm to change and he needed me to be willing to let him try. We trialled a Mzuri Pro-Til direct drill on demo and then subsequently bought it and have not looked back.”
While most of the Davies’ 202 hectares (500 acres) of land is a lightish loam, some of their contract-farmed ground is clay, but the family use the drill to plant everything from grass seed to cover crops, winter bird food, wheat, barley, beans and maize.
“I do like to give Harry Christmas presents that I can get the VAT back on, so last year I bought him a penetrometer to test for compaction before sowing,” says Robert.
“If the compaction is 75mm or less, we go straight in with the
Continues over the page...
Left to right: Harry, Bryan and Robert Davies.
INNOVATION
Mzuri – if the compaction is deeper, we would drop the subsoiler in rst, but we have not needed to since we started testing.
“At the end of the day, if the Mzuri had not worked out, we could have sold it and carried on as we were – but you are not going to move forward if you do not try new things.”
Typically, the Davies family will drill Westerwolds and clover a er winter barley, ge ing a cut (or two) in the autumn, and then grazing sheep over winter until Christmas. ey then take another cut in the spring before maize.
“We aim to start rst cut around April 15, and then spray o and drill maize directly into that,” says Robert.
“We purchased auto-steer with the help of a Severn Trent STEPS grant and stick strictly to the same tramlines in every crop. We allow the tramlines to get compacted as this actually helps to carry the machinery.”
Soil testing
Following in Bryan’s footsteps, Robert continues to religiously soil test a third of the farm annually in rotation for pH, phosphorus and potassium and act on the results. P is a particular priority in the local
Wye Catchment and the family has grown phosphate-hungry lucerne on one eld with no inputs for four years, resulting in reduced phosphate levels over that time.
Robert also tests one representative sample in the annual third with a Solvita biological analysis, which measures organic carbon and microbial activity.
“You can have high organic matter without high microbial activity, and we want to ensure we have both,” he says.
Feeding
e farm supplies Arla, and this summer it was a host farm for one of the co-operative’s Sustainafarm events. With the farm scoring high points in Arla’s FarmAhead Incentive model, especially in the areas of protein and feed e ciency, there was a lot of interest in the farm’s unconventional approach to feeding through the robots. e herd is fed a partial mixed ration at the feed fence, and then fed to yield in the two Lely Astronauts.
“Over the last few years, we have tried to reduce the overall protein content in the diet and worked hard to increase the quality of our forage using a multi-cut, six-cut silage
The beauty of farming is there is always something new to try and, for us, that is really motivating
ROBERT DAVIES
approach to increase dry ma er intakes,” says Robert.
“We started moving away from soya about three years ago – we knew that it was something Arla was going to reward through its incentive model and my R500 discussion group gave me the con dence to make the change.
“We switched from soya to rapemeal in the mixer wagon and did not notice any di erence in performance, and in terms of £ per % of protein, it was cheaper.
“Six months ago, we then decided to try replacing the compound in the robots with homegrown wheat and rapemeal, with grass, maize and wholecrop barley then fed
at the feed fence. It has saved us about £100/tonne and we just have to wash the weigh cells out more frequently. I try and forward-buy rapemeal when the price is right and, so far, this is working well for us.”
Anaerobic digestion
Another area that the Arla FarmAhead Incentive rewards is processing slurry through a biogas plant.
e Davies family installed a biolectric micro anaerobic digester (AD) system on-farm in 2023, with all slurry passing through the plant before being separated and utilised
Forage quality has been increased by using a multicut, six-cut silage approach to increase dry matter intakes.
on-farm or exported to rented ground further a eld.
e AD system produces 175,000 kWh electricity per year, with about 90% of the electric used by the farm and the rest exported to the grid.
Robert says: “ e plant only processes slurry with no additional feed, and the daily checks and maintenance take one of us about 10 minutes per day. It puts a ceiling in our electricity cost of about 28p/kWh for the next 10 years, so it made nancial sense on top of the environmental bene ts.”
Making the most of slurry is a focus for Harry and Robert, and the business is currently building additional storage to increase capacity to at least six months.
Robert says: “Rather frustratingly, despite being in a high priority area for water, we were not able to access funding under the recent
Slurry Infrastructure Grant. Under the scheme rules, once the slurry has been processed through the AD plant, it is classed as digestate and therefore ineligible for grant funding.”
Nutrient stripping
e farm is also investigating the area of nutrient stripping.
“ e issue with slurries and manures is that you can only target one nutrient level in your application,” says Robert.
“ ere are trials ongoing to strip apart the di erent nutrients in the slurry so that you can deal with elements such as nitrogen and phosphates separately, and we are really interested in how we can use this on our farm.
“ e beauty of farming is that there is always something new to try and, for us, that is really motivating.”
The herd is fed a partial mixed ration of grass, maize and barley wholecrop at the feed fence.
The Davies family use a penetrometer to test for compaction before sowing.
New Zealand vet Rory Dean describes how the calving season is progressing, the difficulties New Zealand farmers have with attracting skilled labour and his work with clients to improve milk quality.
‘We ended up with a relieved farmer and a smiling group of veterinary technicians’
Spring has arrived here in the Kaipara and it has been a real treat so far. Calving seems to be flying by.
Our farming clientele are far happier this season, with production up considerably across the district. This is largely down to cows calving in far better condition than last year, as well as far better weather conditions.
Farms on the Ruawai flats sit heavy at the best of times, so the reduced rainfall has meant far more cows on grass than standing off on concrete. This has also positively impacted on animal health.
Looking at one large corporate herd nearby with 1,500 cows, their mastitis rate at this time last season was already approaching 15%. Now it is under 2%.
While there are many factors influencing milk quality and udder health, much of this will have been down to the terrible conditions last year. Lameness rates are down considerably too.
Some recent New Zealand work
About Rory Dean
JRory Dean is a selfemployed large animal veterinarian based in Northland, New Zealand, originally hailing from Dumfries and Galloway. He is a member of the Dairy Cattle Vets committee and is also an initial investigating veterinarian (exotic disease) for the Ministry for Primary Industries.
came out linking the time cows spend stood on concrete to an increase in lameness rates. While this may seem obvious, this effect has truly been exaggerated over the last two seasons in our area.
To continue on the animal health trend, we have seen a significant improvement in calf health and growth rates this season.
There are two factors behind this in my mind; a poor season last year contributed to an increase in preventive spend – such as scour vaccines – and, of course, an improvement in the environmental conditions benefits all ages of cattle.
Clean paddock
Calves born on a warm night into a clean paddock stand every chance, providing husbandry practices are up to scratch, which contrasts to calves last season, in which they were often born onto pugged paddocks in the driving rain.
The optimism continues with growing confidence from Fonterra around increased farmgate prices
We have set up a ‘calving cup’ competition, with points for number of calvings
RORY DEAN
for milk. It seems that the continued trend towards reduction in national herd size, and the infuriating increase in pine tree plantations on marginal – often dairy – land has had some role in this, decreasing supply.
This should help combat the considerable increase in farm working expenses many of our farmers are enduring with inflation.
I have been reminded how difficult it is to attract skilled labour to farming operations in this part of the country recently.
Several farm owners, share milkers and contract milkers have asked if I know of anyone with skill and experience looking for a role.
Unfortunately, there is a problem with methamphetamine and alcohol abuse locally, which leaves employers in a difficult situation.
They can either tolerate the mistakes and absence associated with these issues or sack these staff members to be faced with a vacancy which is increasingly difficult to fill.
My untrained advice which I have simply learned from experience is
to look to an immigration agency. These are expensive, but they really earn their money. We have a couple of farms locally which have engaged Filipino staff members and would never look back.
While it would be wrong to make a blanket statement about any group of people, the immigrant mentality seems to bring with it a certain work ethic.
We have recently been involved in a very satisfying case working with Fonterra to improve a client’s milk quality. When farmers exceed a bulk tank somatic cell count of 400,000, a demerit is applied.
Part of the cost of the ‘grade’ is put towards receiving professional help should the problem persist.
In this case, mismanagement by a previous farm manager had racked up a number of grades, and as the cows calved and entered the herd this season, the cell count was well above the demerit threshold.
Mastitis
While there was minimal clinical mastitis, the herd cell count was sitting at about 430,000. The initial visit involved rapid mastitis testing all of the 140 cows which were currently in supply, and we were impressed by how ‘clean’ the herd was. The records were what let the herd down.
Three-quarter cows were not recorded or marked at all, cows which should have received antibiotic dry cow had not, and some cows should have been culled.
We ended up only removing nine cows from supply, and the cell count tumbled to settle around a healthy
100,000. is made for a very happy farmer and an impressed vet.
Milk samples were taken, indicating a potential environmental issue, and we returned around a week later to observe a milking.
At this second visit, we discuss teat spray preparation with the farm manager, observe milking routine, measure vacuum levels, score teat health and record any observations as necessary. We try not to disrupt the sta ’s morning too much.
It was immediately apparent that this farm manager is a signicant improvement on last season’s individual, with many aspects of this visit ticking the box for gold standard practice.
A er o ering some tips for tightening up milking routine and improving teat spray coverage, as well as culling some cows, we wrote up a report and enjoyed our win. e team at Kaipara Farm Vets really enjoy this work. It can be very
THE
WORLD‘S LEADING TRADE FAIR FOR ANIMAL FARMING
challenging wading through all the information to nd out the problem and prioritise corrective measures, but when it goes well it is truly gratifying. We ended up with a relieved farmer and a smiling group of veterinary technicians.
Mayhem
To add a bit of fun to the mayhem which is calving time at a rural New Zealand veterinary practice, we have set up a ‘calving cup’ competition,
with points for number of calvings, and extra points for things such as caesareans and twins.
At the time of writing, I am still in the lead, but I worry that I may slip into second place this weekend as one of my colleagues is on call.
Concerns abound around foul play, bribing receptionists with co ee to get all of the calving cases, asking farmers to throw an easy calving the vet’s way – I forgot how competitive vets can be.
Rory Dean has recently been involved in a very satisfying case working with Fonterra to improve a client’s milk quality.
Forage quality and quantity is likely to be a hot topic for farmers and nutritionists alike as we head into autumn and winter, so we have spoken to some experts to get their latest advice.
38
Get ahead of any challenges now 48 FEEDING
What are the targets this winter?
Looking ahead to winter, veterinary technical manager at Dugdale Nutrition Debby Brown says forage quality is going to be one of, if not the, biggest nutritional challenge facing dairy farmers.
According to silage analysis so far, silages are sampling low in either energy and protein, with some low in both areas.
Mrs Brown says: “Out of all the samples I have seen this year, I have only seen three which have had a metabolisable energy of more than 11.” is is largely due to a poor start to the grass growing season, caused by the warm, wet winter and followed by a wet spring, resulting in stemmy swards which, in many cases, are of low digestability.
Mrs Brown says: “Some people have got be er second cuts, but it has been so catchy all summer that the quality is just not there, and the grass has had no sun, so there is no sugar.”
Due to grass forage being the substrate for so many dairy farmers’ diets, Mrs Brown says forage quality is going to be the biggest challenge heading into winter.
Fighting
She says: “If your forage is poor to start with, you will be ghting that all the time. You are going to need higher energy, higher protein and maybe more starch to drive the rumen to try and digest forage.
“But if cows are not eating very much forage because it is not very palatable, then you have another ba le on your hands.”
Mrs Brown says farmers who grow their own cereals and produce wholecrop for milking rations will also be confronted with poor yields, particularly poor wheat yields.
Forage quality an ongoing challenge
She says: “For a lot of people, the wheat did not grow at the start, so they replaced it with maize. But generally maize has grown really well, considering a lot of it went in late, so that might be a saving grace. But not everybody has that ability.”
And with the continued wet weather resulting in poor grazing pastures, in terms of quality and quantity, several farmers in the north west of England are housing cows now.
Mrs Brown says: “For a lot of these guys who are at least a month early, are they going to have enough winter forage?”
Forage quality is a big concern going into winter, agrees Anwen Jones, Lallemand’s regional business manager for Wales. She advises farmers to plan ahead in an a empt
to manage feed prices and mitigate future challenges.
She says: “ e weather has been poor across the country, and in particular in South Wales, farmers have been forced to feed a lot of forage through spring and summer, which has come out of winter supplies.
Stocks
“Going forward this means forage stocks could be tight. Wholecrop tonnage is massively down on last year and, as we approach the maize harvest in the next few weeks, we are hoping for some sunshine to ripen the cobs.”
Mrs Jones says only a small percentage of farms will have managed to take four very consistent cuts of silage. She adds that forage analysis is showing that many rst
and second cuts have fallen below par compared to last year.
She says: “Maize will be harvested later due to late planting, which has led to issues in maturity and true starch potential.
“We may see greener and we er maize, which will be higher in lactic acid, so I urge care to be taken when rationing winter diets and farmers should consider using an inoculant on their maize to reduce problems.”
Mrs Jones is encouraging farmers to plan diets with a nutritionist as soon as possible, to avoid any unnecessary challenges later down the line.
She says: “Results are showing that there is a high proportion of bre in forage this year, so make sure the correct feeds and additives are being used to utilise what has been harvested.”
Veterinary technical manager at Dugdale Nutrition Debby Brown says forage quality is going to be the biggest challenge heading into winter.
TRANSITION: THE FORGOTTEN STAGE
Rumen protected choline delivers benefits to transition dairy cows and their calves
While focused on supporting the extra maintenance and production demands of transition cows, dairy producers are increasingly seeing the potential for impacting calf health and future milk production, before the calf is even born.
Calves are the future of every operation, and research is showing a strong link between prenatal choline supplementation and calf performance.
“Choline supplementation during transition is a valuable tool not only in the health and productivity of the cow, but also for her calf and its future development,”
says Angharad Loveluck, technical services manager at Trident MicroNutri.
“Deficiency in choline during this period may have a detrimental effect on both cow and calf health, which can often be overlooked,” she warns.
Research at Wageningen University in 2011 found fat metabolism slows during transition, and the build-up of fat in the cow’s liver can lead to the development of diseases such as fatty liver, ketosis and metritis, along with displaced abomasum, hypocalcaemia, retained placenta and mastitis.
“This build-up of fat exacerbates the negative energy balance variation pre and post calving, with long standing effects across lactation, on top of the transition diseases,” says Ms Loveluck
“Using a rumen protected choline (RPC) source will help the liver to metabolise and export the extra fatty acids out of the liver for maintenance and tissue repair, as well as for use in milk production.
This is highlighted by research at Wageningen University (Zom et al. 2011) showing reduced incidences in these metabolic disorders when feeding the concentrated form of RPC, ReaShure XC (Table 1).
Supplementing the cow’s ration with ReaShure XC has also been shown to increase milk yield by 2.10kg/day across lactation (Zenobi, et al. J Dairy Sci. 101:1088 (2018). A further combination of 11 research papers has demonstrated an average yield increase across lactation of 2.2 litres per day.
Research undertaken in conjunction with Balchem and University of Florida is also highlighting the benefits in improved calf health and growth from those calves exposed to choline before birth
“Calf performance has now been shown to be related to maternal prenatal choline supplementation, as seen in research conducted at the University of Florida,” explains Ms Loveluck
Calves born from cows fed ReaShure XC 21 days pre-partum were born lighter, improving calving ease, but had a higher average daily gain (ADG), allowing for a heavier weight at first calving. (Zenobi et al 2018).
“Heifer calves had reduced mortality rate, and calves fed colostrum from ReaShure XC supplemented cows showed improved passive immunity. BENEFITS DAYS (Before/After)
Use of ReaShure XC at 30g/head/ day is a vital part of improving herd health, milk yield and health replacements for the farm, increasing benefits in reducing metabolic disorders.
A feeding cost of 42p/h/day for 21 days pre-calving, spread across a 305-day lactation, equates to an additional cost of just 3p/h/ day*, while returning an average 1.5 litre increase in yield per day. That represents a ROI of 1:16.5 on milk production alone.
(* Based on milk price at 35p/l)
(Zenobi, et al. J Dairy Sci. 101:1088 (2018)
NUTRITION
The ongoing pressure to remove soya products from dairy cow rations is encouraging producers to look at alternative protein sources. Dairy Farmer reports.
Weighing up alternative protein source options
The exclusion of soya products from dairy cow diets has a proven history of success, with Marks & Spencer and Waitrose suppliers having used alternatives for several years to comply with their nil-soya contracts. And as dairy cow nutritionist Christine Pedersen, a consultant with The Dairy Group, says, some milk buyers looking to reduce the carbon footprint of their dairy products are now offering financial incentives for lower carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) milk.
As soya has a high carbon footprint, there may be a financial case for producers to reduce or remove it from rations. However, Mrs Pedersen says decisions will depend on the potential rewards and the price of soya products against the alternatives.
It is often more difficult and costly to replace soya hulls in rations, compared with soya bean meal, she says. She adds: “Soya hulls contribute digestible fibre to rations and are often more competitively priced than the other options. They are a popular ingredient in concentrate
feeds, and compounders may find it challenging to maintain competitive pricing for high-fibre/nil-soya compounds without their inclusion.”
The main alternative to soya hulls, which contain 61% neutral detergent fibre (NDF), is sugar beet pulp, which has a figure of 32%.
Mrs Pedersen says: “Sugar beet pulp has only about half the fibre content of soya hulls. Therefore, twice the amount will have to be added to achieve the same result. The product is significantly more expensive by comparison.
“Palm kernel meal can fulfil a similar role in the ration to soya hulls in terms of providing digestible fibre, but it also has a high carbon footprint. It contains 68% NDF fibre, while wheat feed pellets are another alternative at 36%.”
Four popular protein source alternatives to soyabean meal in total mixed rations are rapeseed meal, wheat and maize distillers’ grains, and feed grade urea, says Mrs Pedersen.
“Rapeseed meal is often a cost-effective choice, but depending on the inclusion rate, it may be advisable to also include some other protein sources like wheat or maize distillers’ grains to avoid feeding large quantities of a single product. This will help to spread the risk of variability within individual feeds.”
Feed grade urea
Feed grade urea is different from the other alternatives, she says. She adds: “It is a source of non-protein nitrogen, with the N element used by the rumen bugs as the building blocks for the microbial protein that is produced. It can offer a good solution and is required in much smaller quantities than the other alternatives.
“It is delivered in bagged form on a pallet, and therefore comes with a much lower storage requirement. It is a popular choice in mixed diets and is usually added at a typical rate of 100-300g/head/day.
“Hydration of calves with OsmoFit is easy and key to maintaining health, performance and growth.”
“High-protein soyabean meal has a carbon footprint of more than 5,000kg CO2e per tonne, compared with other protein feeds such as wheat or maize distillers’ grains at about 600kg/t CO2e, and rapeseed meal at 920kg/t CO2e,” she says.
“The small quantities involved with feed grade urea mean that it is essential to ensure that it is thoroughly mixed with the other ration ingredients. There is a limit to the daily allowance per cow, as it can be toxic if ingested in large amounts.
High-protein soyabean meal has a carbon footprint of more than 5,000kg CO2e per tonne CHRISTINE PEDERSON
Dr. Laura Tennant
Young Animal Feed Technical Adviser
Trouw
As soya has a high carbon footprint, there may be a financial case for producers to reduce or remove it from rations.
“It should not be fed to young calves and it is important to make the distinction between feed grade urea and fertiliser urea, as the la er is unsuitable for livestock feeding.”
e potential for soya removal should be considered in tandem with recent research, which has revealed a shi in the recommended targets for dietary protein content, says Mrs Pedersen.
Protein recommendations
“Target protein levels have been reviewed for dairy cow diets, and while milking cow rations may have previously been formulated to 17-18% protein, new recommendations are to aim for 16%,” she says.
“In the future, protein recommendations are likely to be lowered further still if protected amino acids can be fed cost e ectively and meet animal requirements. Another factor is the growing focus on improving protein percentages in homegrown forages, including grass silage.”
e drive to remove soya products from dairy cow diets is likely to be maintained, says Mrs Pedersen.
She adds: “Many dairy companies are looking to reduce their carbon footprint. e issue is also being scrutinised by producers themselves and some have made the decision to remove soya products from diets, irrespective of nancial incentives, due to their own personal concerns about deforestation.
“In some cases, it will be more costly to replace soya. However, if bonus payments are being o ered for feeding nil-soya diets, they will help to o set the extra expense and could even increase pro tability, depending on the terms of the milk contract.
“My advice is to compare the relative feed value of di erent ingredients and select the most cost-e ective options, while meeting milk contract requirements and bene ting from incentives.”
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PICTURE
NUTRITION
As more samples are analysed, a clear picture is emerging about grass silage quality and, while the headline gures are acceptable, the devil is in the detail.
e dataset of rst and second cut grass silages from Trouw Nutrition GB con rms the impact of the growing season on feed values.
However, the company emphasises that with regular analysis and careful balancing, it will still be possible to devise cost-e ective rations.
Interpreting the results of more than 1,000 rst cuts and 500 second cuts analysed at the company’s laboratory in Ashbourne, ruminant advisor, Nacia Bonnick says the data gives a clear insight into what will be needed to exploit grass silages.
Second cuts are drier than rst, re ecting be er growing and harvesting conditions compared to the wet spring which a ected rst cuts.
While second cuts will be palatable, increased lignin and reduced rapidly fermentable carbohydrates, mean these silages will need careful balancing.
Preserved
She said: “Compared to the earlier samples received, the main rst cuts are slightly lower in dry ma er with lower D-values and energy content. However, lower lactic acid and volatile fa y acid contents indicate that silages are well preserved.”
Ms Bonnick advises that looking at the average analysis with dry matters in the mid-30%, ME content at around 11 MJ/kgDM and 13-15% crude protein, it might be assumed that silages would feed adequately if not se ing the world alight.
However, she stresses that looking deeper into the analyses pinpoints areas that will need addressing when diets are formulated. She says: “What the analyses highlight is how silages will perform in the rumen. Nutritionists will need to look closely at the levels and balance of total and rapidly fermentable carbohydrates and protein. Any imbalances will a ect how the rumen microbes use the forages and ultim-
The wet weather through the year means that farmers need to look closely at their silage to maximise production.
Details vital with this year’s silage
ately how well cows will perform.
“ e results show lower levels of rapidly fermentable carbohydrates, but total carbohydrates are increased due to the elevated neutral detergent bre content. Combined with a high bre index, this will reduce nutrient supply in the rumen.”
Ms Bonnick says it will be crucial to ensure silages are regularly analysed and then supplemented with purchased feeds that supply what the cow needs to fully utilise forages.
She says: “ is may mean more regular ne-tuning of diets throughout the winter and challenging all supplementary feeds, buying on effective nutrition rather than price.”
Ms Bonnick says the combination of lower total fermentable carbohydrate and higher total fermentable protein levels means rst cuts will need careful balancing with supplemental carbohydrates to balance the higher total fermentable protein and ensure optimal microbial protein production and e ciency.
Conversely, second cut is higher in total fermentable carbohydrate and lower in total fermentable protein, meaning they are be er balanced than rst. Consequently, balancing should be slightly easier.
She explains that ensuring optimal microbial protein production is vital as this is the most valuable source of protein for cows and will ensure protein is not wasted which will allow overall crude protein in the diet to be reduced.
“Acid load and bre index values mean both rst and second cut silages look safe to feed and should promote reasonable levels of bu erfat without the need for huge amounts of additional bu er.
“Given the higher bre index in both cuts, especially rst, it will be vitally important to ensure rapidly fermentable carbohydrates are added in to the diet to optimise rumen function alongside rapidly fermentable protein to maximise
microbial protein production.”
She advises keeping a close check on dry ma er as uctuations can signi cantly a ect ration potential.
“If the dry ma er of the clamp di ers from the dry ma er used to calculate the diet, the nutrients supplied will di er signi cantly. For a cow targeted to receive 12kg silage DM, a 3% reduction in silage dry ma er will cut energy supply by the equivalent of one litre of milk meaning the ration will need rebalancing.”
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1 CLAMP MANAGEMENT
Aim to feed a consistent quality mixed ration every day.
If you have two clamps of different silage cuts, open both and feed them together. Feed top to bottom of each clamp so there is the same mix of silage in every feed, while at the same time moving across the face in less than 3-4 days, taking partial grabs if needed, to prevent silage quality deteriorating. Using a condition-specific inoculant increases the shelf-life and palatability of silage.
2 RATION PRESENTATION
Stimulate cows to access the ration formulated for them throughout the day.
Feeding between milkings and not at milking increases feeding bouts and can improve feed efficiency by as much as 7%. Feeding twice a day increases the time spent feeding, reduces sorting and leads to higher milk fat. Pushing feed up regularly cuts down on cows waiting to feed, increasing lying times and rumination.
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Dyfrid (left) and Llyr Griffiths (right) are exploring if sunflowers can displace some of the purchased protein in their cows’ TMR.
A Welsh dairy farm is companion cropping maize with sunflowers to reduce its purchased protein costs. Debbie James reports.
Sunflower protein proves financially attractive
Dyfrig and Elin Gri ths and their son, Llyr, produce milk from 500 pedigree Holsteins at Tafarn y Bugail, near Cardigan, growing most of the feed that goes into the total mixed ration (TMR).
ey grow 67 hectares (165 acres) of maize, 202ha (500 acres) of grass silage, 30ha (75 acres) of barley and 32ha (80 acres) of hay on the 516ha (1,275 acres) they farm.
e herd, which yields an annual average of 9,200 litres a cow, is grazed through the summer but the high yielders are housed at night to give greater control of feed consistency and intakes.
Zero grazing on the shoulders of the season helps to increase the volume of milk that can be produced from forage.
Protein
e principal protein source in the TMR is a rumen-protected rapeseed expeller.
As protein is one of the most expensive components in the ration, reducing overall reliance on this
Farm facts
rAll-year-round calving
r24/48 swingover parlour
rMilk supplied to Freshways
rFour full-time staff
purchased input is a nancially a ractive option for the business.
Sun owers are naturally high in crude protein and could displace some of that purchased product.
Intercropped
is year, to explore if this could work without compromising production, 8ha (20 acres) of the maize crop has been intercropped with sun owers, supported by the Farming Connect Try Out Fund, an initiative that funds individuals and groups of farmers and growers to experiment with ideas and bring them to life.
A mix of 80% maize and 20% sun ower was drilled, a ratio selected because a higher percentage of sun owers could lead to shading.
Speaking at an on-farm event organised by Farming Connect, the farm’s agronomist, Lawrence
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NUTRITION
Couzens, said one of the biggest challenges with bi-cropping was weed control as it restricts herbicide use.
“ ere is only the option of one pre-emergence spray and then you have to close the gate,’’ he said.
e weeds in the crop at Tafarn y Bugail were outpaced by both crops.
“ e sun owers are very competitive once they get up and away, as long as they are not swamped by weeds earlier on they will swamp out the weeds themselves,’’ said Mr Couzens.
“But it can be a double-edged sword because if they grow quicker than the maize they can shade the maize, so that is why we have gone for a ratio of two rows of sun owers to every four of maize.’’
Diseases
ere are two main diseases that sun owers are susceptible to: botrytis and sclerotinia.
Botrytis is a head rot induced by warm, wet conditions, while sclerotinia rots the plant stem.
Mr Couzens advised that if botrytis occurs in a sun ower crop, glyphosate can be applied to dry down the crop to speed harvest, but this is not an option in a maize bi-crop.
He said: “In this situation the only option is to harvest as early as possible. Sclerotinia is generally more manageable.’’
Slug, rabbit and pigeon damage can be a problem at emergence, he added.
“Aphids can be an issue as the plant grows but they do not seem to a ect the yield.’’
Although the crop at Tafarn y Bugail has yet to be harvested, the sun owers are expected to produce a good yield. Data from Canada, where pure stands of sun owers are grown, shows yields of around 47 tonnes/ha (19t/acre).
“A lot of that would be water, so the later that they can be harvested the be er, to get the dry ma er level up,’’ said Mr Couzens.
Maize analyses at around 8% protein, but including sun owers in the mix should increase the protein level overall to 11-12%.
at protein is mainly rumen degradable protein, there to target a lower crude protein diet and reduce total inputs. A good-quality bypass protein will also need to be fed, advised dairy nutritionist Iwan Vaughan, who formulates the ration at Tafarn y Bugail.
Sunflowers are competitive once they get up and away, as long as they are not swamped by weeds earlier on
LAWRENCE COUZENS
He said: “Maize and sun owers combine quite well because if you can bring protein in as an rumen degradable protein plus starch from the maize you are utilising more in the rumen, driving rumen fermentation and microbial protein synthesis.’’
Crop analysis
It is important to get the crop analysed, he added.
“As long as you have an analysis the nutritionist can work around it but the cow will soon tell you if she is happy or not, she is the rst judge.
“In terms of percentage, you probably would not want to go
above 20-30% of this forage within the total forage in the diet because sun owers contain a lot of oil.’’
Sun owers are high in bre, too, and provide a good balance to multicut silage.
Mr Vaughan added: “If you are on a ve-cut system where you have lush green grass that is high in protein and energy but low in neutral detergent bre, you need the bre.
“If you have stalky grass on a two-cut system, you would want to reduce bre from other sources like straw if you are feeding maize and sun owers. It all depends what else is going into the diet.’’
Energy
Although the crop at Tafarn y Bugail has yet to be harvested, the sunflowers are expected to produce a good yield.
While protein is expensive, Mr Vaughan said energy in the clamp is potentially more valuable to a dairy farm and therefore needs to be considered when bi-cropping.
“I would rather have a 12ME silage in the clamp which is 14% protein rather than a 9ME silage which is 18% protein. I can make that work and it is easier to buy in protein than energy.’’
Sun owers are mainly grown on the continent for their oil, and varieties have been bred for that climate and purpose rather than as a livestock feed.
e high oil content, although bene cial to bu erfat levels in milk production, can cause issues.
Mr Couzens added: “It is about ge ing the balance right because if you have too much oil in the ration, it upsets the cow’s gut – 80% maize and 20% sun owers gives about the right mix.”
Grass and maize crops could have nutrient deficiencies this autumn and winter, due to the wet spring, so farmers should consider getting forage sampled ahead of feeding out. Dairy Farmer reports.
Get ahead of nutrient deficiencies this autumn
The prolonged wet weather into May has washed nutrients out of the soil, and therefore reduced nutrient availability and uptake by crops, says Beth Parry, technical product development manager at Wynnstay. “We are starting to see that impact in the growing crops,” she says.
“For example, maize that is still in the ground is struggling; it is looking pale and needs some additional nutrients, and the same goes for grass.
“We can assume that in the silage cuts which have been already taken, some of the nutrients would have already been washed out of the soil, so the silage may be lower in some minerals and vitamins.”
Growing crops might be struggling depending on when fertiliser was applied prior to cutting, says Mrs Parry. “For some, the weather window was only there to get out with fertiliser or slurry just before silaging –so levels of contamination and nitrates might be high.”
Compaction has also played a part. “With a lot of rain falling onto the soil in the winter and spring, combined with stock grazing, there has been a lot of compaction. is interferes with nutrient availability and creates a long-term impact on the growth and quality of silage.”
is highlights the importance of testing forages before winter housing and feeding, she adds. “So far, from rst cut analysis, we are seeing a lot of variation – there are some really
poor samples and some of reasonable quality.
“People tend to look at grazed grass and silage grass as two separate things, but they are all exposed to the same weather.”
e amount of potential nutrients lost in the wet weather does depend on soil type. “On lighter, free draining soil, forages have the potential to be quite short, due to leaching of the nutrients.
“With heavier soil, fertiliser and slurry applications may have been closer to the cu ing date, when the weather allowed, so there may be a potential oversupply, which may a ect fermentation of the silage.”
De ciencies can manifest themselves in poorer fertility and lower milk yields. “Look out for de ciencies in trace elements too, like selenium, zinc and copper,” says Mrs Parry.
“It is worth being mindful of magnesium de ciency, too, which is possible with drastic changes in the weather like an autumn ush of grass.”
Magnesium can help li milk bu erfat and reduce the risk of grass staggers. “It is best supplemented in feed, as magnesium oxide; if that is not an option it is possible to supplement through the water as magnesium chloride, but that is unpalatable. One option is the product
So far, from first cut analysis, we are seeing some really poor samples
BETH PARRY
pHix-up, a highly bioavailable form of magnesium oxide and a rumen bu er, so helps prevent any potential acidosis risk from lush grass in autumn,” she notes. When taking forage samples, the sooner it can be done, the
A clamp face sample is always better than a core sample, as a core sample is very small compared to the rest of the silage in the clamp.
be er. “A clamp face sample is always be er than a core sample, as a core sample is very small compared to the rest of the silage in the clamp,” says Mrs Parry. “A clamp face sample is taken across the whole face and is much more representative.”
Producers should sample at least three to four weeks ahead of opening the clamp. “ e mineral level of the silage is not going to change when it is in the clamp, but it takes time to analyse the samples and create an appropriate supplementation pack.”
Forage mineral audit
Wynnstay o ers a forage mineral audit which involves sampling silage, analysing the mineral level, and pu ing this alongside individual farm needs in terms of animal health and milk requirements. It then creates a supplementation package.
“A tailored supplementary mineral and vitamin pack is im-
portant, particularly if the soil or water is high in some antagonists,” says Mrs Parry. “We want to ensure we are not oversupplying or undersupplying anything that is going to be expensive or detrimental to the health of the animals.
“It is important to plan and prepare now, so that the cows do not end up de cient halfway through the winter.”
Until the middle of October Wynnstay are running a campaign where all minerals under one tonne will be discounted by £25/t. Products can be delivered up to mid-December.
Trace element deficiencies
JCopper: Usually manifests as poor growth rates, coat discolouration, diarrhoea and anaemia after prolonged or severe periods of deficiency. It can be supplemented orally via feed or bolus.
JSelenium and Vitamin E: This can be seen congenitally and in the form of a stillbirth or weak calf. Skeletal muscles can be impacted, leading to sudden stiffness and an inability to stand. Affected stock may show signs of respiratory distress and sudden death. Treatment is usually given by injection.
JCobalt: A deficiency usually presents in poor appetite and growth, as well as anaemia. It can be treated with a vitamin B12 injection.
JIodine: The classic signs of iodine deficiency are thyroid enlargement, poor growth rates,
milk production and retained placenta. Calves born to dams with a deficiency may be stillborn. Iodine can be added to concentrate rations and boluses can provide slow-release iodine.
JZinc: A deficiency can present as skin lesions, poor growth and immune system, hair loss and failure to thrive. Zinc supplements can be added as feed or offered as mineral blocks.
JPhosphorous: Cattle may have a reduced appetite which can lead to reduced growth, poor body condition, susceptibility to infection and lowered milk production. They may also have an appetite for non-food substances, known as ‘pica’. Supplements can be offered as mineral blocks or added to feed.
Beth Parry
NUTRITION
Now is the time for farmers to consider feeding strategy for the winter ahead to cost e ectively boost production and margins.
Dr Kerensa Hawkey, nutritionist and technical projects manager for Mole Valley Farmers, says the exact approach will vary from farm-to-farm, but the key is to understand objectives and match them with the forage available.
“Sit down with your nutritionist and work out the best feeding strategy for your farm based on your speci c production aims,” she says.
“ is should involve an in-depth review of your diets, feed costs, milk production, milk price, milk contract targets, forage quality and margin aspirations, to formulate an e cient, cost-e ective plan.”
is could mean pushing for extra marginal litres or increasing margin per litre. Dr Hawkey says increasing milk price, coupled with lower commodity prices means pushing for production could be a ractive. e milk price to feed price ratio is currently above the ve-year average of 1.22, according to AHDB.
Dr Hawkey says: “At the current level, it makes sense economically
Planning how best to feed what you have, and undertaking routine silage testing is essential, says Dr Kerensa Hawkey.
Winter feeding to boost margins
to invest in feeding to achieve more litres. However, the answer may not be to feed more compound feed, but instead feed less of a higher specication compound or blend and get cows to eat more forage.”
e decision will stem around the amount of forage a farm has and its quality.
Consequently, assessing forage stocks, planning how best to feed what you have and undertaking routine silage testing is essential.
Dr Hawkey’s feeding strategy tips
rAnalyse silages regularly
Sample silages at least monthly, when clamps are changed or when transitioning between cuts in the same clamp. Assess which forages to feed to which groups of stock.
rCan you increase milk from forage?
If forage stocks and quality are good, can you push milk from forage and increase margin per litre?
Increasing the specification of your compound and feeding less of it could help achieve just that.
In a well-balanced diet, yields can also potentially increase when feeding a
high specification product with quality forage, delivering both yield and margin.
rConsider the energy protein balance
Silage crude protein levels are generally looking good at an average 13.9%.
However, rumen degradable protein (RDP) is low, which may limit microbial protein production and milk yields. When silages are low in RDP, consider feeding feed grade urea, or a protein-based molasses. When energy is lacking, consider protected fats or a higher energy density concentrate. Use metabolic profiling to check energy supply in early lactation.
Dr Hawkey says this is arguably more important this year, considering the huge variability between farms and geographical location because of the challenging weather.
For example, 210 rst cut silage results from Mole Valley Feed Solutions’ customers are averaging a metabolisable energy (ME) of 10.8MJ/kg of dry ma er (DM), with a range from 9.3 to 12.2MJ/kgDM.
“For more than 12kg of forage dry ma er intake, the di erence be-
rReview straw feeding
The neutral detergent fibre content of silages is generally higher this year, while the undegradable fibre is variable.
If silages are on the fibrous side, challenge whether you need to feed straw.
rCan you get cows to eat more?
Assess ration presentation and silage quality to see if it is possible to increase intakes and thus performance.
tween a 10MJ/kg DM and a 12 MJ/ kg DM silage can be up to four litres. “ at equates to £1.60 per cow per day at a milk price of 40ppl or £320 per day across a 200-cow herd,” she says. erefore, it is vital to ration carefully according to silage quality. When faced with a lower ME silage, more compound may be required, whereas in a situation with plentiful, higher ME silage, it may be possible to feed less of a higher speci cation product.
If the dry matter of the diet is more than 45%, think about incorporating water to help intakes. Ensure the diet is accessible to cows by pushing up regularly and consider feeding twice-a-day so cows are presented with a fresh mix, thus encouraging intakes.
rThink about grazing cows Grass quality and digestibilty decline substantially at this time of year, so consider the merits of grazing milking cows and whether it is worth housing and feeding them to increase marginal litres and income.
Fresh grass sampling can be a useful tool to inform decision-making. If cows have to be grazed to fulfil milk contract requirements, is it worth buffer feeding with silage or haylage or increasing the specification of the parlour concentrate?
UK DAIRY DAY REPORT
UK Dairy Day celebrated its 10th anniversary this year, and the panel sessions focused on the theme of ‘opportunities’, with speakers discussing everything from cows to carbon. Katie Jones and Jonathan Wheeler report.
Creating an engaging on-farm culture
Recruitment specialist Heather Wildman told farmers in a panel session that ‘if you love what you are doing, tell your own face’.
She suggested farmers who continually complain about their lot could be exasperating the sector’s labour problems.
She said: “If you look like you are not enjoying it, why would anyone else want to work with you?”
Communicating with workers and delegating e ciently were also important, she said.
“Sta are desperate to know what you want them to do. Verbalise your vision – there are lots of farm-
ers who believe they have the power of telepathy.
“Telepathy does not work –not in a marriage; not in a relationship and not in an employment situation. You need to say things out loud and then make sure they have heard what you said accurately.
“ ey need to know everything they can make an impact on.
“Talk through their day-to-day job; share the good and the bad.”
And the business owner’s a itude tends to rub o on the sta , she added.
“If you do not put a helmet on when you get on the quad bike, then your sta might not either.”
Giving compliments when
deserved was also important, said Ms Wildman.
“Good behaviour and good performance are o en not acknowledged. Equally, poor behaviour is not addressed. e result can be good people ge ing frustrated and moving on.”
Conversation
Cumbrian farmer and British Farming Awards Dairy Farmer of the Year 2023, Patrick MorrisEyton, said ensuring he talked to each team member every couple of days was important.
He said: “I ask if there is anything I can do to help them and we discuss what they can do to
help me and share a vision of where we are going.”
And how owners refer to other people was also important, said Mr Morris-Eyton.
He said: “I do not like the word ‘sta ’. at can make people feed degraded. If you refer to ‘team’ it feels much more level.”
Lancashire dairy farmer Phil Halhead, of Norbreck Genetics, said training and creating an engaging culture were both central to his approach.
at, he said, could include introducing a four-day working
Heather Wildman
Patrick Morris-Eyton
week. And while this policy might require adding more people to the team, Mr Halhead said it would mean the team would be more enthusiastic and productive when they arrived.
Recruitment specialist Paul Harris urged employers to get themselves trained in managing sta rst.
He said: “We do not expect people to manage machinery or livestock without training.
“Yet we think we can manage
people without training at all.”
Recognising the di erent assets and needs of each individual was also key, said Mr Harris.
“Some want to be spoken to directly; others need all the details. Some want to be asked how they are feeling and others are full of ideas.”
He said an employer’s approach to people is o en telling: “If you have the a itude that people are a problem, then people will become your problem.”
Key factors for resilient farms
JThe question of what key factors unite the most resilient dairy farms came under scrutiny in a panel session which focused on costs.
Paul Blundell, of HSBC, suggested the most important factors were scale of operation and commitment.
He said: “It does not just happen. Scale must be combined with strategy and may require significant investment.”
And he suggested farmers should consult widely.
He said: “Relying on a single adviser or accountant is quite a blinkered approach in the modern world.
“If you are not getting good value from them, they are a cost, but if they are doing their job, they should pay for themselves many times over.”
Roy Jackson, of accountants WR Partners, said the most resilient businesses were those which continually invested.
He said: “They have up-to-date equipment and have the data to make good decisions. They also focus on the key aspects which drive profitability.”
Focus
Matt Ryan, of Oxbury Bank, said farmers should concentrate on what they could control and accept that they could not influence things such as milk price.
He said: “Focus on your own production costs, and on a percow profit – some of the best farms are achieving £1,000/ cow. And there is a high correlation between resilience and high in-calf rates.”
Paul Harris
Phil Halhead
Cashing in on carbon
If you had one piece of advice for farmers on how they can reach and cash in on reaching net zero, what would it be?
That was the burning question asked during a panel session considering the issue of carbon, and it produced a range of answers.
For Prof Liam Sinclair, of Harper Adams University, the key lay in efficiency.
He said: “Get into the top 25%, and preferably the top 5%, of producers for performance and profitability. There is a clear relationship between technical efficiency and reducing carbon emissions.
“If you are making money, you can afford to invest in new slurry stores or to cover them over, and invest in equipment which can help reduce carbon and meet milk processors’ requirements.
“And if you are not making a profit, it does not matter very much because you will not be there in the future.”
Heifers
Heifers play a key role, he added, being responsible for between one-quarter and one-third of the farm’s carbon footprint, while not yet producing milk.
Lyndon Edwards, AHDB sector chair, said he was a cham-
pion of genetic improvement, and added this could reduce carbon emissions by 1% on average and 3% if used really well.
And with that improvement being cumulative, he said this could lead to significant progress.
Mr Edwards explained he grew lucerne to feed his organic dairy herd.
He said: “I have never found a plant which roots as deeply as lucerne, which is putting carbon deep in the soil.”
Lancashire farmer Ed Towers suggested farmers may already have answers at their fingertips. He said: “Look for the opportunities which are already there in your business. Figure out what drives profitability and work on it. That will make your business more efficient as well.”
He said he believed in combining elements of precision farming with the efficient use of resources and the harnessing of some of the tenets of regenerative agriculture.
Prof Liam Sinclair Lyndon Edwards
Ed Towers John Powell
John Powell, head of agricultural sectors team at Defra, urged farmers to measure their carbon footprint so they could measure progress.
Focus
He said the new Labour Government was committed to supporting agriculture; shown by the focus on net zero, and increasing profitability, while improving sustainability and resilience.
Mr Powell said farmers
should look at the range of grants on offer, including for improvement of slurry handling and storage facilities.
He added he was keen for farmers to collaborate to exploit larger scale, more complex opportunities presented by digestion of slurry and carbon capture.
He said: “There are opportunities there to maximise their ability to transform farming practice and achieve net zero production.”
Lely releases sand flush accessory
JLely has introduced a sand flushing system to its robotic manure collectors to make it easier for dairy farmers who bed on sand.
While sand is a commonly used bedding material on UK farms, until now sand has made it difficult for the Collectors to work at their optimum because sediment could build up in the Collector’s tank.
This means farmers must regularly wash the internal body of the machine out manually to remove sediment.
Derrick Davies, proposition manager for feeding and manure at Lely Atlantic, said: “The addition of the sand flushing system will be revolutionary for farmers bedding on sand, significantly reducing emptying requirements.”
Once full, the robot is positioned above a slurry dumping point. Water tanks are fitted inside the unit and front
and rear nozzles spray a small amount of water to ensure the correct viscosity of the manure being collected and provide a cleaner finish, so the floor is not slippery for cows.
When the sand flush kit is used, the tanks are replaced with two smaller vessels to create more space inside the unit.
Once the Discovery is docked at the charging and emptying station, it automatically connects to a water buffer tank.
The rear water bag has been modified to include a pressurerelease valve which flushes sediment from inside the unit. Once pressure drops, the valve closes, allowing the tank to be filled with water for cleaning.
The sand flush accessory can be retrofitted to Discovery Collector C1 and C2 models and is optional for any new machines.
Genomics plays a key role in the future of the herd
The role genomics and other technology can play in improving the performance of a wide range of dairy units was the focus of one discussion panel at UK Dairy Day.
Both Fraser Jones, who runs a fully housed unit in the Welsh borders, and Royal Association of British Dairy Farmers chair Robert Craig, who has three grazing-based units in Cumbria, said they saw genomics playing a key role in their futures.
Mr Jones said he was using genomics to help choose bulls: “We are selecting bulls to help raise fat and protein levels, which would increase total milk solids and milk price.
“We are also looking to achieve health bene ts rather than increase yields; that comes from facilities and management.
“If we can reduce health problems then we could cut things like antibiotic use, which would make the business more sustainable.”
He explained he already had one rotary parlour and was considering installing a second one, as he saw clear bene ts of both them and milking robots in cu ing labour requirements and providing a be er life for the cow.
He said: “[ e cow] will be standing less; back in the sheds and feeding quicker, and laying down longer so she can express her natural behaviour and produce good quality milk.”
He also said cameras which monitor both cows and sta are also important in enabling him to understand what happened in any incident.
Mr Craig said he had been breeding for milk solids for 30 years, and the future lay in ne-tuning and harnessing the tools now available to farmers.
ose tools could reduce labour requirements, which would help solve another of the industry’s persistent problems.
As an example, he has used NMR’s Genocell system, which genotypes every animal in the herd.
Armed with that information he can then obtain a somatic cell count for every animal from a single milk sample taken from the bulk tank, rather than having to take an individual milk sample from every single animal.
Practical steps
And he has taken simple practical steps, such as roo ng over concrete yards to reduce the pressure on slurry storage.
On the subject of milk solids, running Jersey cows provides a simple shortcut, said Mark Taylor, of Yareal Farms, on the Shropshire/
Cheshire border. He said: “While genetics are important, traditional qualities still ma er. You still need a stockman’s eye to ensure the cows you are producing are functional and will work in the parlour.”
And while he said he was interested in adopting new technology he added he was also a li le cautious. He said: “I will admit to being reluctant to being a guinea pig.”
Carmarthen-based Frances Evans said previous generations of her family had tried to innovate with mixed results.
For her, ne-tuning presents the best options. Ms Evans said: “ ose li le half-litre here and there improvements is where I think we will nd our pro t margin.”
Fraser Jones
Robert Craig
Mark Taylor
Frances Evans
Both Fraser Jones and Robert Craig, who run different dairy systems said genomics play a key role in their herd’s futures.
Moorshard wins National Holstein UK Premier Herd title
JSouthern region herd finalists, R.K. and S.G. Miller and Sons, of the Moorshard herd, Bridgwater, Somerset, have been crowned as national winners of Holstein UK’s Premier Herd Competition. The Millers were presented with the award at UK Dairy Day.
The award recognises the most outstanding Holstein herd in the UK, with the winner of each individual club’s herd competition competing against neighbouring clubs to become one of the seven regional finalists in the National Premier Herd Competition.
The Miller family’s herd was singled out by judge Robert Wills, of the Willsbro herd, for its exceptional management and presentation on a very large scale.
The farm is currently run in a family partnership between Randolph, Marlene and Brian Miller, with 182 hectares (450 acres) being farmed.
Regional finalists
rEastern: Walton Farms, Shuttlewoods herd
rNorthern: Mark and Anne Lee, Crystalclear herd
rNorthern Ireland: W. and A. Patton, Ards herd
rScottish: David and John Brewster, Boclair herd
rSouthern: R.K. and S.G. Miller and Sons, Moorshard herd
rWelsh: Paul, Bessie and Bryn Williams, Waliswood herd
rWestern: A.W. and D.S. MacKellar, Drointon herd
The pedigree herd was established in the 1970s, with showing commencing in the mid-1980s. County and national shows were attended regularly from the mid-1990s until 2018. However, the family have taken a back step from showing.
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The herd grazes and is milked twice a day with additional buffer feed. Out of the 255-head herd, there are 65 cows graded as Excellent and 170 as Very Good, with Shower, Alicia, Amanda, Paradise and Belle being prominent families within the herd.
The herd has previously been placed third in the national round of the Premier Herd Competition and have also been a finalist on six
occasions. Master Breeder status was achieved in 2019, along with six championship titles at the Royal Cornwall Show and five at the Dairy Show. Following in reserve were Andrew and Debbie MacKellar, from the Drointon herd, Staffordshire, and taking the honourable mention honours were Paul, Bessie and Bryn Williams, of the Waliswood herd, Carmarthenshire.
Left to right: Steve Hill (chair of Holstein UK), Nick Helyer (president of Holstein UK), Brian Miller, Randolph Miller, and Robert Wills.
Balancing average first and second cut silages
Careful ration balancing will be crucial to address low energy levels found in rst and second-cut silages.
Massey Feeds analysed more than 500 silage samples with trends showing ‘fairly average’ results, largely caused by higher Neutral Detergent Fibre (NDF) owing to the fact silages were cut later due to poor spring weather.
Speaking at UK Dairy Day, David Wilde, national ruminant technical manager for Massey Feeds, said silages taken two to three weeks late were more mature and had lower nutrient values compared to those taken at the optimum time. is lower bre digestibility
was unavoidable for many farmers, he said.
He said: “Results are fairly average except for one of two things. Due to the weather, many silages were cut later than desired, so we had more mature plants at harvest.
“Added to this, some silages were unavoidably wilted too long, resulting in drier silages and further nutrient losses.
“However, on average, there are good fermentation acid proles and some residual sugars available for the rumen bacteria.
“Ash is moderate and pH is just above four, which means silages are rumen-friendly.”
Mr Wilde explained that as neutral detergent bre (NDF) increases, metabolisable energy decreases.
More than 300 firstcut analyses showed a metabolisable energy average of 10.5 megajoules/kg of dry matter (DM) with 200 second cuts showing a slight energy improvement of 10.7MJ/kg DM.
Proteins were also back on
the year, at around 12.5% compared to 13% in 2023.
“Quite a few samples fell below 11%, re ecting the low protein seen in pre-cut grass analyses,” he said.
“ is could be because limited fertiliser was applied due to the poor weather, or fertiliser might have been washed out or not taken up by the plant.”
But he cautioned there was a huge range, with some silages being of excellent quality and advised farmers to regularly conduct their own analyses through a Forage Analytical Assurance (FAA) accredited laboratory.
Mr Wilde warned that one thing to look out for was the alcohol levels in silages. Last year, extreme highs of more than
David Wilde is warning farmers to be on the lookout for high alcohol levels in silages this year.
David Wilde
If the clamp is not consolidated well, there is a greater chance of higher alcohols
DAVID WILDE
20g/kg DM were witnessed. High alcohol is caused during fermentation, he explained.
“If the clamp is not consolidated well, there is a greater chance of higher alcohols.
“Naturally occurring heterofermentative bacteria can also result in higher alcohol levels.”
He said higher- bre silages can be more di cult to consolidate and result in aerobic
Is there a secret threat in your silage?
JJust because silage looks good in life and on paper, may not mean it is mycotoxin free, farmers attending a seminar at UK Dairy Day heard.
The observation came from Jessica Webster, a final year PhD student at Harper Adams University.
She has studied silage on 37 farms, spread everywhere from Cornwall to Scotland, to assess the risk posed by mycotoxins in the grass.
And she said the levels she found were sometimes surprising.
She said: “The level of penicillic acid in a badly made, uncovered silage heap was
pockets that produce these compounds.
He added: “Depending on the type of alcohol, these may have
2,169 parts per billion, whereas that in a clean-looking, well managed clamp face was 10,541 parts/ billion”.
Key risk factors she found were the fermentation profile of the silage, sward management and extreme weather.
“Higher levels of acetic acid and ethanol in silage were associated with a higher risk of mycotoxins, despite these compounds having antifungal activity,” she explained.
“In fact, these are products of heterofermentative additives that are added to silage with the aim of improving aerobic spoilage.
“Just because visible fungi are not present does not mean there
a negative impact on the rumen bacteria.
“Care will need to be taken when opening the clamp to en-
is no mycotoxin risk. If the grass has experienced drought or flooding it may increase fungi levels by affecting the speed of fermentation.”
She also found evidence that mycotoxin levels tended to be higher in grass-only swards than they were in silage made from multi-species swards and herbal leys.
Once the silage was made, clamp opening and face management were also issues.
So too was top weighting.
She said: “There is an opportunity for aerobic spoilage if the top sheet of the clamp is not efficiently weighed down when the clamp is open.”
sure there is no aerobic deterioration. Ideally, the face should be worked across within three days,” he said.
Genetics has a bigger role to play in lameness incidence than previously thought, said Prof Georgios Oikonomou, who discussed a research project looking at this topic during one of the day’s seminars.
Prof Oikonomou said that a study which collected lameness and mobility data for over 2,300 cows and compared this to genotype information showed that foot lesions were moderately heritable, and genetic selection could make a di erence.
e study also used this same population of cows to see how AHDB’s Lameness Advantage and digital dermatitis genetic evaluations fared.
Prof Oikonomou said: “Based on genotypes, these traits tell us that some cows are positive for lameness and others are negative, but how did that translate to our population of cows?
Selecting for lameness traits will have an impact on lameness incidence.
Breeding for healthier feet
It is a no-brainer – we need to look at Lameness Advantage
PROF GEORGIOS OIKONOMOU
“It was found that an increased number of sole ulcers, bruising and white line disease was present in cows which had a poor Lameness Advantage score, compared to those with a positive score.
“For every two-point reduction in the Lameness Advantage score, the risk of sole ulcers doubled.
“It was also found that a onepoint increase in digital dermatitis genetic index reduced the likelihood of developing digital dermatitis by 61%.
“It is a no-brainer – we need to look at Lameness Advantage, especially if we have problems with lameness within a herd.”
Data
However, he added that the performance of these genetic indexes would only be improved with more data, and he therefore urged farmers and foot trimmers to share their
electronic hoof health data by signing up to the UK Hoof Health Registry. is is a cloud-based system, which means records of trims and lesions are uploaded to the registry on an ongoing basis.
Prof Oikonomou said the data would not be shared with any other organisations, such as milk buyers, and would solely be used to help develop be er genetic evaluations for hoof health.
He said: “If we can get this improved phenotype information into the Lameness Advantage index, then it will make a di erence to lameness incidence in UK herds.”
Trial looks at benefits of transition milk replacer
JA French trial has shown the bene ts of feeding calves transition milk replacer, compared to skim milk replacer, for three weeks a er the initial colostrum feed.
Tom Warren, of Bonanza, said the company had developed a transition milk replacer, Transformula, because of the known bene ts that came with feeding transition milk, which the cow produces to transition the calf’s digestive system or gut into the main sites of digestion for the young calf.
In the French trial, calves were fed either the transition milk replacer or a good-quality skim milk replacer for the rst three weeks of life post-colostrum. It was found that the calves fed the transition milk replacer had
signi cantly greater growth rates – 650g/day compared to 480g/day for the milk replacer-fed calves. It was also found that they were 5.1kg heavier at 30 days old, and had zero cases of diarrhoea compared to over 25% of calves in the standard milk replacer group.
Improved immune system
Mr Warren said: “ is shows that the bene ts stay with them past the rst three weeks; the growth rate stays with them, as does the improved immune system. Feeding a transition milk replacer had a synergistic e ect on the calf.”
He said that, when fed for two or three weeks, the transition milk replacer would cost an extra £3-4 per calf.
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Two cows made history by claiming back-to-back championships in the cattle show classes at this year’s UK Dairy Day. Ellie Layton reports.
History made at 10th anniversary UK Dairy Day
Marcel Egli made the trip from Switzerland to judge this year’s National Holstein Show, where he said he had the ‘hard task’ of judging ‘some of the highest quality cows’.
He added he was looking for a consistent and balanced cow and his final line-up was made up of three Walnutlawn Sidekick daughters.
Making UK Dairy Day history, being the first cow to claim the supreme title for two consecutive years, Evening Sidekick Jennifer was tapped forward by Mr Egli as his overall Holstein winner.
Bred by James Wilson, Carlisle, who runs the Evening herd of 450 pedigree Holsteins, this November 2018-born cow is out of Evening Stanleycup Jennifer and classified VG89. The cow gave 15,000kg in its heifer lactation and is now giving 62 litres daily.
Commenting on the win, Emma
Results
rHolstein (Judge, M. Egli, Switzerland) Supreme, J. Wilson, Evening Sidekick Jennifer; reserve, Blyth Farms, Mag Pandor
rJersey (J. Waller, Yorkshire) Sup., Davis family, Rivermead Verdi Pixie; res., B. and M. Yates, Logan Chrome Caribbean
rAyrshire (I. Collins, Yorkshire) Sup., J. Adamson, Swaites Lois 8; res., L. and C. Window, Hunnington Wren 7
Wilson who paraded Sidekick Jennifer in the ring, said: “The quality at this show is getting better and better every year, so it is an honour to win once, but we are over the moon to have done this twice and hope to see her in the ring again next year too.”
The reserve spot went to a fouryear-old cow, Mag Pandor from the
rBrown Swiss (B. Tomlinson, Leicester) Sup., T. Lochhead, Redar Rhappily Ever After; res., A. Clough, Kedar Aldo Snogging
rDairy Shorthorn (P. Harrison, Northumberland) Sup., I.R.G. Collins, Churchroyd Heather 123; res., S. Dixon and G. Holliday, Shaunlea Geri 25
rGuernsey (I. Collins) Sup., A. and R. Thomas, Kimcote Brogdon Fragrant 8; res., A. and R. Thomas, Kimcote Penney Susan 6
Laird family, who run the 500-head Blythbridge herd in Peeblesshire. The cow is owned in partnership with Ferme Blondin, Canada, after being purchased privately from France last January.
Out of Mag Nacoby, this cow is giving 60 litres daily. Earlier this year it was the inter-breed champion at
the Borderway UK Dairy Expo and the Royal Highland show.
Clydeview Sidekick Matilda, the youngest of the final line up, took the honourable mention spot. From Salvy Esquierdo and Robbie and Margo Scott, Ayr, this second calver, bred by Ewan and Emma Kennedy, is out of Clydeview Dreams Matilda and gave 9,700kg in its first lactation.
Red and White
This year’s Red and White champion made an impression, being part of the final five supreme line-up. Brought out by Jack O’Neill, Redsky Altitude Jazz is part of John Suenson-Taylor’s Grantchester Holstein herd.
The third calver was bought from the Black and White sale in Carlisle and was inter-breed champion at the Royal Cheshire Show earlier this year. Jazz resides with Mr Suenson-Taylor’s 30 Holstein cows at Seaton Farms, Audlem, and is producing 68.5kg daily.
Holstein champion, Evening Sidekick Jennifer, from James Wilson, Carlisle.
Jersey champion, Rivermead Verdi Pixie, from the Davis family, Tiverton.
Another cow to make history, also retaining the breed title following last year’s win, was the Jersey champion, Rivermead Verdi Pixie, from the Davis family, Tiverton. e 2018-born intermediate cow in-milk is sired by Futuredreams Valentinos Verdi and was shown giving 34kg daily. e h calver calved down in March to Victorious.
Taking on the judging task was Willie Taylor, Eden Valley, who said: “ is cow delivered everything I was a er; breed character, power, style all with excellent locomotion when on parade, and is proving to age very gracefully.”
Reserve champion went to Logan Chrome Caribbean, from Brian and Micheal Yates, Castle Douglas. e junior cow in-milk was praised for its fantastic udder and marked as one to watch in the future. e VG89 second calver is giving 37 litres daily. Earlier this year this cow claimed reserve interbreed dairy and breed champion at the Royal Highland Show.
Honourable mention went home with Carlisle breeder, Kerry Sco , Layward Divinely Victorious. e 2020-born, third calver is giving 42 litres daily. e cow placed second in its class at last year’s UK Dairy Day, third as a heifer and this year was reserve champion at the Great Yorkshire Show.
Under the watchful eye of Yorkshire judge, Ian Collins, it was the junior cow, Swaites Lois 8 from
John Adamson, Lanarkshire, which took the top spot in the Ayrshire National Show. e Whitecro Nectar daughter is out of a homebred cow and is classi ed at VG85. Reserve champion was Mid Ascog Patricia 3 from the Lindsey family, Lanarkshire. e VG87 third calver was champion Ayrshire heifer in 2022 and is a Bruchag Starman daughter out of a homebred cow.
Are starlings costing
money?
e senior cow and honourable mention, Hunnington Wren 7 came from L. Windows Walker, Birmingham. e EX94 Rosehill Prestige daughter was runner-up at this show last year and has averaged 8,100 litres in its lifetime.
National Show
Regular show winners, the Lochhead family, Dumfries, stood at the top of the Brown Swiss lines at the
breed’s National Show with Kedar Rhappily Ever After.
This 2020-born daughter of Kedar Calvin Rhapsody EX95 was previously reserve inter-breed champion at the 2019 Dairy Expo and is a previous breed champion and winner of the honourable mention title at UK Dairy Day.
Brown Swiss judge, Blaise Tomlinson, Leicestershire, said his winner was a credit to the breed and was listed as one to watch in the future.
Kedar breeding also featured in reserve with a heifer in-milk, Kedar Aldo Snogging, taking the rosette for J. Wilson and A. Clough, Appleby. The 2022-born Aldo SG daughter is out of Kedar Blooming Smooches.
Honourable mention, Toi Toi My Mums a Hoover from Toi Toi Genetics, Shrewsbury, stood second to the champion in their junior cow class. At the 2023 UK Dairy Expo this cow was the junior breed champion.
The junior cows caught the eye of Northumberland dairy farmer Paul Harrison, who cast his eye over the Dairy Shorthorn classes. His champion, Churchroyd Heather 123 was brought forward by the Collins family, West Yorkshire. This cow is a 2019-born Churchroyd Wildcard daughter, which is classified at 87.
Mr Harrison said: “This cow delivered style, length and rump structure. There was exceptional quality, but it was difficult to split my champion and reserve.”
The reserve champion, Shaunlea Geri 25, stood next to her champion all day, being second in the same class. The Marleycote Tripple Blend daughter, which placed second at the Great Yorkshire Show earlier this year, was exhibited by Shaun Dixon and Grace Holliday, County Durham.
Churchroyd’s heifer in-milk, Churchroyd Heather 141, claimed the honourable mention spot after claiming this year’s Great Yorkshire Show maiden heifer champion.
Kimcote Brogdon Fragrant 8 stood out for Guernsey judge Ian Collins among the ‘outstanding line up because of its phenomenal udder’. Bred and exhibited by A. and R. Thomas, Leicestershire, this
cow stood reserve champion last year and is a daughter of Kimcote Legend Fragrant 4, which itself was champion at UK Dairy Day in 2018.
The Thomas family also took the reserve spot with 2022-born, Kimcote Penney Susan 6. This heifer stood champion at last year’s All Britain All Breeds calf show and is a daughter of Springhill JC Penney and is out of Kimcote Claret Susan 2.
The junior cow in-milk, Trewarnevas Curley Amanda, a Briddlesford Harebells Victor daughter from P. Bottom, Truro, was awarded honourable mention.
Heifer championships
There were 12 heifers competing for the Holstein heifer title, with Logan Latenite Shania Red taking the top spot, topping off a successful day for Brian and Micheal Yates, Castle Douglas. The December 2021-born Avant Grand-Latenite daughter led the South West Scotland Holstein summer herd competition.
Standing in reserve was Boclair Lambda Hope 18, from the partnership of David Brewster, Glasgow, and Greentower Farms, Lanark. The VG87 first calver was shown giving 40 litres.
Honourable mention was Firstlook Jackpot Sara, from James and Stephanie Doherty, Shrewsbury. This heifer was the winning winter milking yearling at the UK Dairy Expo and it has a pedigree boasting five generations of show winners from the UK, Switzerland or Canada.
In the Ayrshire heifer championship, Bigginvale Buttermilk 130 came out on top from the Billings family, Derbyshire. Mr Collins credited the heifer for its clean lines, femininity and quality throughout.
The August 2021-born Blackaddar B B Kellogg daughter, Hunnington Naomi 8 from L. Windows Walker, Birmingham, stood reserve.
While Llanelli breeder, Iwan Thomas was pulled up as honourable mention with Paith Hawaiian Eclipse 2. The December 2022-born Pam Ayrs Hawaiian daughter placed third at the 2023 All Britain All Breeds calf show.
Brown Swiss champion, Kedar Rhappily Ever After, from the Lochhead family, Dumfries.
Dairy Shorthorn champion, Churchroyd Heather 123, from the Collins family, West Yorkshire.
Guernsey champion, Kimcote Brogdon Fragrant 8, from A. and R. Thomas, Leicestershire.
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MACHINERY
With slurry transportation and application an integral part of many dairy systems, James Huyton visits Joskin’s Belgian production facilities to see how its range of tankers are made.
Inside the tanker factory
Farmers are no strangers to innovation and, like in many industries, it o en takes someone working close to the
root of a problem to nd a solution. A li le ingenuity and knowhow can bring about some clever new technology. is has become a formula for
success at Joskin, a brand familiar to many with its roots rmly in the slurry and trailer manufacturing industry.
Like many global manufacturers, the family rm started with humble roots.
Victor Joskin, a farmer’s son, founded the company back in 1968, when he set up his own agricultural contracting business.
Didier Joskin, production director said: “ e business has developed signi cantly over the years. We have grown with the market, with Joskin now exporting to more than 60 countries around the world.
“Even when we were agricultural contractors we always kept stocked plenty of parts to keep
everything working, from that we built a good reputation with local farmers and began to supply parts and repair machines.
“ is grew into an importing business and, later in 1984, we began manufacturing slurry tankers.”
Move
e move into tanker manufacturing turned out to be a well orchestrated one. Located close to the Dutch border, the Belgian manufacturer was well placed to export tankers into the dairyintense Dutch market.
Laws around slurry injection may only just be coming into place in the UK, but more than 35 years ago the Dutch
A joint development with New Holland this Joskin Xtrem 2 tanker features a fully electrically driven pump.
Left to right: Murielle Joskin, communications director; Didier Joskin, production director; and Vinciane Joskin, finance director.
authorities banned splash plate applications of slurry.
Anticipating the change to injection systems and understanding the issues around pumping inhomogenous slurries, Mr Joskin developed and patented the company’s first macerator in 1990, paving the way for the company’s growth across much of Europe.
Today Joskin employs more than 900 people across five sites with plans to develop a sixth site in Luxembourg.
Range
Joskin offers more than 900 options across its tanker range and, on top of that, 120 different tyre options.
Although not every line-up
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in the Joskin range is fully customisable, the Advantage series, for instance, like its name takes advantage of Joskin’s buying power, producing a run of identical tankers.
This in turn creates efficiencies of scale within the factory and more competitive pricing, claims the manufacturer.
A company built on the ethos
of co-operation and communication, founded in the early years as an agricultural contracting business, Joskin continues to manufacture many of its components in-house including all its hydraulic rams, apart from trailer tipper rams which are still outsourced.
To ensure quality and retain a handle on costs, Joskin continues
The firm’s digitally controlled bending machine forms the tank shape.
Once formed, the cylinder is welded and baffles are inserted and tacked in place.
MACHINERY
A series of purpose-built jigs aid the chassis positioning, smaller components are hand marked on and tack welded.
to invest in production each year. is continual investment allowed the company to purchase a 3D scanner and printer.
e manufacturer claims this will give greater exibility to design and print prototype parts for production.
Joskin’s Soumagne production site alone holds 2,400 tonnes of sheet steel at any one time.
Where possible, the manufacturer has made production e ciencies in recent years, this included the introduction of two robotic welders solely in charge of welding trailer bodies.
A production process that previously took three days of manual welding can now be completed in seven hours with one robot.
But as the manufacturer highlights, the investment and time to program each machine is considerable with a single body design taking one week to program into the robotic welder.
Over the years, Joskin has developed its manufacturing sites adding a 1,000t press to the Soumagne line and, more recently, two fully automated positive and negative folding presses, claimed to be unique in the world. Joskin
Where
Once galvanised, ancillary components are fitted, with the firm offering a choice of ADR and BWP axels on machines.
tankers are well known for their galvanised nish, which the manufacturer claims aids machine longevity.
Each tank is dipped in a purpose-built 8,000m square
Final fix and testing, with a choice of trailing shoes and disc injectors fitted.
possible, Joskin use a series of robotic welders to ensure uniformity across all products.
galvanising tank on the rm’s Polish site. Tanks are fabricated at the
Joskin hopes the investment in a 3D scanner, capable of measuring accuracies of one micron, and the 3D printer will aid future component development.
Spawtech production facility in Belgium, with 4-6mm, 420 steel rolled into the cylinder shape and tack welded.
Ba es are then positioned every two metres, with a sixmetre long tank using two bafes.
Joskin developed a new modular design for its Voulmetra tanker range, winning machine
Managing
of the year at SIMA in 2017. e design allowed the manufacturer to o er a greater range and size of rear implements, with the tment of a rear linkage mounted to the chassis itself.
Hot-dip galvanising at 450degC is a complex process.
e steel is rst coated with three layers consisting of a mixture of steel and zinc, followed
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Joskin’s sophisticated parts distribution warehouse uses automated stacking systems to store and distribute components.
by an outer layer of pure zinc. e rst three layers are anchored in the steel.
e outer galvanisation coat is less hard and therefore absorbs the shocks.
Painted components are shotblasted and electrically charged for be er adhesion when spraying with an initial layer of epoxy primer and nal layer coat.
Painted components such as axles and pumps are then ed to the galvanised body.
Joskin has a range of control units to suit the needs of the customer with higher speci cation units o ered with fully IsoBus control units. Prospective buyers can also choose from six vacuum, load pump and centrifugal pump variants.
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J e record-breaking wholesale prices for bulk bu er and cream this autumn should help underpin the producer milk price increases this summer and, depending on how high, these commodity prices, linked with the sustainability at such level, are starting to drive price momentum into other dairy sectors, such as cheese and milk powders. is could all lead to further producer milk price increases for
November and possibly December, especially if milk production continues on a par or lower versus last year heading into winter. At the very least, the surge in fat prices has meant those milk buyers who were previously thinking the September round of prices increases would be the last have had to put their hand in their pocket again and are likely to do so for a couple more months yet.
40ppl getting left behind
JAs far as our liquid standard* is concerned, most liquid milk buyers, with their price increases for October, are leaving the 40ppl level behind as the top prices announced are already at or breaking the 42ppl barrier.
Once again, Muller helped things on their way by increasing its Direct price for October by 1.25ppl to 41.25ppl, as well as increasing its organic price to a competitive 54.75ppl.
This was bolstered by Arla’s September price
increase of 1 euro cent/ kg, which increased its price by 0.85ppl to 41.57ppl and organic to 52ppl. Yew Tree Dairy increased its price by 1ppl to 41.5ppl and its organic by 1.5ppl to 55ppl. Crediton Dairy increased 0.75ppl to 41.75ppl, while First Milk’s BV dairy increased by 0.6ppl to 41.6ppl after revising its September price upwards by 0.15ppl. North of the border, Grahams increase by 2ppl to 40ppl, with its Jersey milk price increasing by the same amount to 48.4ppl.
Milk price analyst
Stephen Bradley on the latest milk industry developments.
Cheesemakers push on
JWith cheese markets beginning to show better returns, cheesemakers continue to increase milk prices, with the latest Arla September price now leading the pack after its 0.89ppl increase for September, taking our manufacturing standard litre up to 43.33ppl. This level represents an increase of 7.23ppl for the year to date.
The company’s organic price increases by the same amount to 54.20ppl. The Arla Direct price for October increases by the same 0.89ppl to 40.13ppl.
Previous pace setter, Barbers Cheesemakers, increased its October price by 0.62ppl to 43.03ppl, while Saputo Dairy UK increased its Davidstow price by 1ppl to 42ppl, and its Wensleydale Creamery price increased by 0.2pp for September to 41.55ppl. South Caernarfon increased by 1.25ppl to 41.75ppl, while Belton Farm upped a penny to 41.05ppl. First Milk increased by 0.6ppl to 42.6ppl, with its Haverfordwest Tesco Cheese Group receiving the same to 44.10ppl.
Cost models head south
JWhile non-aligned milk prices continue to push north, retailer cost of production models, certainly for now, appear to be heading in the opposite direction, reflecting lower production costs.
Muller M&S with its Milk Pledge+ Model triggered a 1.12ppl drop for September to take our liquid price down to 42.98ppl for suppliers in England and Wales who receive the 0.26ppl green
fertiliser payment, while suppliers in Scotland and Northern Ireland who are not eligible for the payment receive 0.26ppl less on 42.72ppl.
Updating monthly, the Muller Sainsbury’s cost tracker continues to ebb and flow with the milk price reducing by 0.04ppl for October to 40.71ppl. This price level represents total net movement for the year to date of 0.23ppl.
*Our liquid standard litre is 4% butterfat and 3.3% protein, for our manufacturing 4.2% butterfat and 3.4% protein and, in both cases, Bactoscans of 30,000/ml and somatic cell counts of 200,000/ml, with Thermodurics of 500/ml, one million litres/ year on EODC (max vehicle accessibility), based on level supply and, therefore, before seasonality, (but includes the winter premiums paid in Northern Ireland), as well as monthly profile adjustments, balancing charges, capital deductions or annual/part annual growth incentive schemes or supplements not directly linked to dairy market price movement.
The ST (Side Throw) new head option
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• 0.5m wide, up to 8m throw
• Spreading to left, right and front
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• Spreads any bale in under one minute
• Self-loading, requires only one tractor / loader
• Improves efficiency, profitability and environment
• Four ST models available: Micro ST, Mini ST, Midi ST and Midi XL ST
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MILK PRICES
‘B’ Price Indicators
UKMFE (gross)
*StoneXMilkprices.com UKMFE (net)
Notes to table
Turbofarmer 30.7
LIFT HEIGHT 6.7 LIFT CAPACITY 3.0 t Turbofarmer 30.7
Compact, manoeuvrable, powerful
Compact, manoeuvrable, powerful
LIFT HEIGHT 6.7 LIFT CAPACITY 3.0 t
The TurboFarmer 30.7 is the ultimate compact telescopic handler at 2m x 2m. Despite its compact dimensions the new TF 30.7 packs a punch when it comes to performance, powered by a 100hp Deutz TCD 4-cylinder Stage V diesel engine this new model offers almost 7 meters of lift height and a 3-ton lift capacity.
The TurboFarmer 30.7 is the ultimate compact telescopic handler at 2m x 2m. Despite its compact dimensions the new TF 30.7 packs a punch when it comes to performance, powered by a 100hp Deutz TCD 4-cylinder Stage V diesel engine this new model offers almost 7 meters of lift height and a 3-ton lift capacity.
The TurboFarmer 30.7 is the ultimate compact telescopic handler at 2m x 2m. Despite its compact dimensions the new TF 30.7 packs a punch when it comes to performance, powered by a 100hp Deutz TCD 4-cylinder Stage V diesel engine this new model offers almost 7 meters of lift height and a 3-ton lift capacity.
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UK milk vol
At the time of Dairy Farmer going to press, we were at, or very near to, the trough. e latest data is for week 36, with last year and other previous years at an all-time low this week.
In 2023, the lowest week of the year saw 262.78 million litres a week produced, with 2022’s low being 264.49m and 2021’s 267.59m. e ve-year average low is 267.14m litres.
e latest weekly information shows UK volumes over the last two weeks have averaged 38.05m litres per day, down 182,000 litres and 0.5% less than last year, and down 0.7% on the long-term average.
Long-term average
GB milk volumes have averaged 31.91m litres per day, down 238,000 litres and 0.75% less than last year, and down 1.3% on the long-term average.
GDT posts good gains for August
JAfter a very good run in August, with the last auction of the month increasing by 5.5% – its biggest increase since March 2021 – the GDT Index for the first auction in September was down a surprising 0.4%, with WMP being the heaviest faller.
But SMP increased by more than 4% and $117 (£89) to cross the $2,750 (£2,103) threshold for the first time since June.
And Arla’s medium heat SMP did better and sold for $2,825 (£2,160), which represents its highest price since November 2023.
The price equates to
€2,550 (£2,150), some €140 (£110) more than the previous auction. But butter dipped slightly to $6,675 (£5,104), which is well below current EU prices. The overall average price settled at $3,833 (£2,931), down $87 (£67) and 2% on a like-for-like basis to the last auction.
The prices equate to a UK farmgate price of 36p, which is down 1.25p on the previous auction. The current UK premium over the GDT is averaging 4.7p over the last three months, and 3.82p over six months, which points to a price range here of between 39.76p and 41.72p.
umes down
EU prices hit record highs
JEU butter and cream prices hit record highs in August and have stayed at a high level so far into September.
Dutch butter has crossed over the €8,000/tonne (£6,751/t) threshold for the first time this week, thanks to a €100 (£84) increase.
But at the same time, German prices dropped back by the same amount to dip below the threshold again.
The average European price is €7,950 (£6,700), which is where the UK price is. Cream is also at a record high, at £3.15/ kg in the UK to as high as £3.30/kg for the export market.
Good demand for cream and a shortage has helped to drive up the butter price. In addition it has been more cost effective for manufacturers to sell cream than to make butter.
Consequently, butter stocks are very tight, and decent demand means buyers have not covered their requirements. An element of panic buying has also helped to drive prices high.
Cheese has followed the fat market up. There is usually a lag on the way up and the way down, but Cheddar on the spot market has soared over the last month, from £3,900 in August to £4,200 now.
SMP
SMP is also lifting, with the European markets and the GDT also helping. Prices in Europe are now at nearly €2,600 (£2,200).
Dutch SMP has increased for the last five consecutive weeks, for example. The last time it did this was back in October 2023.
Cowcare Automated Backing Gate
NEWProducts
This month, we feature a new farm safety initiative, a real-time heat stress tracker and the launch of a new virtual fencing solution.
New forage analysis service
JDM Scientific and NUVetNA have come together to offer a combined independent macronutrient and mineral analysis service.
Samples are submitted to DM Scientific who dry and grind the submissions and then send an aliquot of the samples onto NUVetNA for mineral analysis. Results will be issued separately from both labs with a single invoice sent.
The mineral analysis has a multimineral package and an iodine option, allowing either one or both to be carried out. Analysis outside of the combined service can be carried out by the laboratories individually.
For submission, a sample of 200-300g is required and should be submitted through DM Scientific, with postal bags and sample bags available upon request.
rMore information from info@dmscientific.co.uk, or NUVetNA@nottingham.ac.uk
Got a new product?
JNew products are featured in each issue of Dairy Farmer. Please send details and pictures to Katie Fallon at katie.fallon@ agriconnect.com, or call 07815 003 227.
First Milk demonstrates commitment to farm safety
First Milk has entered a new partnership with AgriGuardian to provide its members with an award-winning farm safety app free of charge.
The app is based on the concept of a guardian (farmer) keeping protected users (often children or the infirm) safe around the farm through a system of alerts.
Farmers can use the app to set up alert zones, highlighting safe zones and danger zones, such as near a slurry pit or where tractors are operating. An alert is triggered if a protected user’s mobile or smartwatch leaves a safe zone or enters a danger zone and continues to sound until acknowledged.
The app provides further safety protection, with a prox-
imity feature warning a guardian when a protected user comes within approximately 40 metres of the guardian’s device, as well as an anchoring feature which sounds an alert if protected users stray more than 40m from the guardian’s device.
Virtual fencing product
JNorwegian virtual fencing company Monil is officially launching its virtual fencing product into the UK market. Used extensively in Norway, New Zealand, the United States and South America, each cow wears a GPS-tracked collar which is linked to an app used to define fences.
The collars play ascending audible cues when an animal
crosses a boundary before delivering a small shock.
An initial training period of about a week is required to teach the animals to respond appropriately to the collar. During this time, the animals learn to react to the audible cues alone and move away from boundaries without triggering a shock.
The system can be successful
rMore information from fionacarruthers@firstmilk. co.uk, or 07496 091 982
in maximising pasture use and taking rotational grazing to the next level.
rMore details can be found on monil.co.uk/pages/offer
First Milk has partnered with AgriGuardian to provide its members with an award-winning farm safety app free of charge.
NEW PRODUCTS
Upgraded youngstock system
JMSD Animal Health UK has announced an update to its SenseHub Dairy Youngstock application plan which makes it fully compatible with all nipple-fed calves from birth.
The SenseHub Dairy Youngstock system uses an electronic eartag to monitor the behavioural patterns of calves from birth to 12 months of age, to identify any signs of potential ill health.
Previously only compatible for pre-weaning, nipple-fed calves housed in single occupancy hutches, or weaned calves in group pens, the latest update extends the system’s remit to
also include pre-weaning, nipplefed calves housed in groups.
As soon as the system detects any irregular patterns that could be indicative of a developing health or welfare issue, the SenseHub smartphone or desktop app highlights the animal to enable earlier intervention. It can be used as a standalone system or in combination with other SenseHub plans and can be funded via a SenseHub GO subscription.
rMore information from 01207 265 840, or sensehubGB@msd.com
Real-time heat stress tracker
JGalebreaker and Phibro Animal Health have developed a free online tool to monitor heat stress in cows. The new Temperature-Humidity Index (THI) tool, THI Live, has been launched to help farmers track and mitigate heat stress risk, enhancing cow comfort and productivity.
The website includes details about the design characteristics of each shed, enabling farmers to understand which factors affect THI levels and what the implications are.
The interactive tool also features a THI calculator where farmers can input their own data to determine whether their cows are experiencing heat stress. The scale ranges from
no heat stress at lower values to severe stress at higher values, impacting cow comfort and productivity.
rMore information from thi-live.com
Tub Grinders
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- Range of models from 5t - 25t / hour output.
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Diet Feeders
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The Regen Dairy Project launched its ‘Let’s Get Serious About Making Dairy Regenerative’ report at the recent Regenerative Agriculture Summit Europe. Dairy Farmer reports.
Getting serious about regenerative dairy
With the ‘hidden’ costs of global agricultural production exceeding 10% of global GDP and environmental costs equating to nearly $2.9 trillion (£2.2tn), the report recognises the global dairy industry, and its 278 million dairy cows, is a significant contributor to these hidden costs.
But the report authors said it does not have to be this way.
Commenting on its launch, Oistein Thorsen, chief executive of FAI Farms, said: “We set out to find out from farmers how promoting biodiversity, soil health and climate resilience could be made an integral part of future dairy business models.
“What we heard was inspiring and actionable and has formed the backbone of this report’s roadmap towards regenerative dairy.
“We believe regenerative dairying can play a significant role in tackling important environmental challenges, as well as combating critical issues facing humanity, such as human health, environmental degradation, animal welfare and water use. And all while producing the nutritious food needed to feed
a growing global population and helping farmers stay profitable.”
With little research done on regenerative dairy to date or a clear vision on the transition required by all those in the supply chain and at scale, the Regen Dairy Project is defining a clear roadmap towards a positive food system for people, animals and the planet.
The report considers current global food systems and their associated problems, focusing on dairy as a sector willing and able to change.
Having taken a farmer-centric approach to understanding regenerative dairy, the report outlines recommendations for transition and suggested actions for all those involved – including often overlooked stakeholders, such as banks and lenders, media and wider society.
Mr Thorsen said: “This report is not about telling farmers what to do. Achieving change in a food system is complex, requiring input and action from everyone.
“We are all responsible for educating ourselves on what regenerative agriculture is and the benefits it provides, and for many this could include a shift in mindset. We are excited to see what can be achieved.”
About the Regen Dairy Project
rThe Regen Dairy Project is a collaboration led by FAI Farms and Farmwel and supported by global food companies including Unilever, Woolworths South Africa, Arla Foods, Ben and Jerry’s and Barry Callebaut
rDeveloped with regenerative dairy farmers, it is focused
on engaging dairy farmers and food businesses around a practical vision for a productive and profitable global dairy sector, restoring its relationship with nature and actively working to reverse global warming and biodiversity degradation
Recommendations
JThe report has come up with a number of recommendations for transitioning to a regenerative dairy future:
1
Focus on outcomes –regenerative dairy farmers promote circular, whole system, context specific approaches to farming, focused on delivering healthy soils and functional, diverse ecosystems; healthy animals and people; and a resilient circular business
2 Reward regenerative outcomes – the report authors believe that in order to affect change at scale, the industry must shift to reward regenerative outcomes; in an outcome-based scheme, a buyer of goods is purchasing products from farms which may have adopted a variation of practices that lead to improved outcomes
on their farms, independent of which practice change may have led to said outcomes
3
Apply a whole system approach to buying –agri-food companies and dairy co-operatives in particular, can support whole farm approaches through moving away from milk-only contracts with dairy farms and buying a range of produce from them
4
Revisit the metrics of a successful food system –currently the success of our food system is measured by kg of product or protein produced; the report authors say there are other options to consider which provide more holistic benefits to people, animals and the planet, including land area, food versus feed competition and nutrition
The report considers current global food systems and their associated problems, focusing on dairy as a sector willing and able to change.
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GOODEvans ‘The cheque which arrives in December used to bring with it a lot of comfort’
Roger Evans on the latest dairy farmer producer numbers and his thoughts on the disappearance of the Single Farm Payment.
The big story since I last wrote has to be the decline in the number of dairy farmers. Just to put it into some sort of perspective, when we started First Milk I think we had 3,500 members. Politicians might pay lip service to ‘food security’, but until there are empty shelves in the supermarkets, lip service is all we will get.
There was a letter in the farming press urging dairy farmers to stick together. Wish I had thought of that.
Kingshay report
There has been a report from Kingshay. This is an organisation that I have the greatest respect for. So much better than the levy board, but most of us couldn’t support the two.
The Kingshay report identifies the top 25% as being okay. But there will always be a top 25%, no matter where you draw the line and if you are in the top 25% now and you make the sort of investments that society demands of you, you could quite easily end up below the line.
So, 440 dairy farmers have voted with their feet and have given up milk production and if you look at the auctioneers diaries there are plenty more looking to join them.
But that is only what is visible, cow numbers are fairly static, which suggests that many cows are ending up in other herds, which in turn suggests that the milk producers that have chosen to carry on, are looking to the advantages of scale
as they go forward. It doesn’t seem long ago that the average herd size was less than 150, but now it’s well over 200.
Some older farmers would like to see the return of the marketing boards, but they had a culture of wasteful big business and their main focus was to empty the milk tankers so that they were ready to go out the next day. Simplistically the idea of the co-ops was to add value to the milk in those tankers and to share that value out with the members. There were plenty of critics of what the co-ops were trying to do, but those critics found it much easier to find fault rather than to create something really good.
Today the co-op flag is ably carried by the likes of Arla and Frist Milk and if you think that what we have now is better than what we had before, then there are a lot of ex-dairy farmers who don’t agree with you.
Single Farm Payment
For a long time I have been banging on about the disappearance of the Single Farm Payment that we all received in December. You can’t take that sort of money out of an industry and it not have a negative effect. It might not have been the reason that 440 dairy farmers decided to quit, but I bet it was a factor.
Before I had a red card on the land we used to rent, I used to spend all the Single Farm Payment money to pay all my bills up to date. If I was
“ Until there are empty shelves in the supermarkets, lip service is all we will get from politicians
up to date with my bills I always had enough money to pay my rent in March.
That cheque, that arrived in December, used to bring with it a lot of comfort. It comforted the bank manager because it made your cash flow look better. It comforted your suppliers because they knew it was due and they would get paid. And it comforted us, the recipients, because we could go around at Christmas not being overdrawn.
Just in, the story of a large farming organisation that is looking to drop growing 1,500 acres of arable crops in favour of growing wild
flowers. If you multiply the effect of that nationally I dread to think what will happen. The beef and sheep industries are under threat from cheap imports from the southern hemisphere and they have a shorter cycle than dairy farming.
Quitting or slowing down
If they choose to quit or even slow down in the same percentage that dairy farmers are doing we will not have to wait long for those empty supermarket shelves to become a reality.
Riding the dairy prof
There are no guarantees of profit in business, but for dairy farmers, fluctuating incomes are a particular challenge that has to be managed. Cedric Porter reports.
Dairy farmers have been clinging onto an income rollercoaster over the last few years. Figures from Defra show a gradual increase in average business income between 2018 and 2020, before a surge in 2021/22 and 2022/23. But that was followed by an equally dramatic plunge in 2023/24.
In 2020/21, the average dairy farm business income was £92,500. e next year it was up 51% to £140,200, with another 63% jump in 2022/23. However, income tumbled by 78% to only £50,000 in 2023/24 – the lowest level it had been in seven years.
e golden year of 2022/23 was when the dairying stars aligned. Milk prices hit all-time highs of more than 50ppl, while many farmers bene ted from having bought-forward essential inputs – such as feed, fertiliser and fuel – that were immune from the price spikes caused by Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
But the reverse was true a year
later; bought-forward inputs then re ected that in ation, with spot prices also still high, while milk prices plunged to 35ppl.
Fortunately, this year is shaping to be a bit be er than last. According to predictions in the long-running Andersons Friesian Farm model, the business surplus of its notional English 220-cow herd might increase from 1.4ppl in 2023/24 to 6.1ppl in 2024/25.
Support payments
It was support payments that saved incomes in 2023/24. Without them, the farm would only have just broken even.
Direct payments continue to fall in England, but Andersons calculates that the adoption of Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) schemes will add 1.5ppl to income in 2024/25, while there will still be 1.0ppl in Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) support.
e combination of higher milk prices and lower costs is also responsible for the improvement
in income. Andersons predicts that a business surplus of 6.5ppl will be sustained in 2025/26 as milk prices continue to improve.
Mike Houghton, partner and dairy specialist at Andersons, says: “I am seeing an improvement, and budgets should look healthier in March 2025 than they did in March 2024. But cash ow is very tight following the drop in milk prices last year, negative seasonality and the payment of, in many cases, large tax bills.
“Cost of production seems to have eased a li le, with lower feed, fuel and fertiliser prices, but it is still in the region of 40-42ppl, which is
Average UK dairy farm business income in £/farm
5-7ppl more than before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Meanwhile, labour and interest costs are higher, which is certainly having an impact.
“At current milk prices, many producers are only just breaking even and really need 43-45ppl to be secure and looking to invest.”
Performance
He says there is still a large – and widening – gap between the best and worst performing herds. e best are characterised by being technically e cient, aware of every cost, with performance regularly reviewed.
“ e best businesses manage risks by booking in feed, fertilisers and energy so that there are no unexpected shocks. ey also have the ability to up production when there is a price incentive to do so,” he says.
Mr Houghton says lesser performing herds o en struggle with debt, especially so with recent rises in base rates. ey are also technically ine cient without much control, and can be output-driven rather than pro t-driven.
ere are opportunities for dairy farmers to improve pro tability from new support regimes, especially in England, says Mr Houghton.
“Unlike the BPS system which delivered set payments, SFI is
The best performing herds are technically efficient, aware of every cost, with performance regularly reviewed.
PICTURE : Marcello Garbagnoli
itability rollercoaster
much more exible, allowing you to choose the best scheme for the farm and giving you the opportunity to change a er a year if it is not working out, while pre-payments help with cash ow,” he says.
He admits that the requirement to invest in new slurry storage is a big burden that is prompting some producers to quit dairying, but he adds that the receipt of a 60-70% grant is allowing some to install a state-of-the art system that makes slurry handling more e cient and provides manure that cuts down on bought-in fertiliser bills.
Some dairy farmers have been more impacted by the volatile milk market than others, according to Kathy Ferris, an adviser at accountants Old Mill.
She says: “Producers on an Arla contract saw a 10ppl drop in prices
during the 2023/24 milk year. However, for those on cost of production contracts such as Muller/Sainsbury’s, while they did not reach the same peak as the Arla suppliers, they have not crashed to the same extent and are showing an average year-onyear reduction of closer to 4ppl.
“In fact, Waitrose and Marks & Spencer farms have largely sustained pro ts at the high levels seen in 2022/23. With the sustained high interest rates, while costs have stabilised they have largely done so at a higher level than previously seen. Stronger cull cow prices have helped counter some of the milk price drop, however cash remains incredibly tight for many.”
Tax bills
She adds that by the time the tax bills came due from the success
of 2022/23, the milk price had crashed and any cash reserves had been used up. Many were forced to return to the bank and ask for additional overdra facilities to pay the outstanding tax.
Unincorporated clients were hit particularly hard, with many paying tax at 42%. is was more evenly spread for limited companies generating super pro ts that were paying tax at a rate of 19%, which has since increased to 25% a er April 1, 2023.
Ms Ferris says: “As would have been expected, regardless of trading entity, many farms tightened their belts, only reinvesting as absolutely needed, and have consequently seen a reversal in their capital allowances. is has le some with similar tax bills to the prior year, but without the pro ts which in turn create cash to o set against them.”
A continued challenge for many producers is bovine TB, which is impacting on cull cow values and disrupting production.
Proposal
e proposal by Labour to not continue with the targeted badger cull leaves many wondering if they will ever be clear of bTB, says Ms Ferris. However, there are still opportunities for producers.
She says: “Producers need to work to maximise their existing contracts in terms of seasonality and constituents. Another option would be for them to diversify.
“Some of our most sustainable clients have become so through vertical integration, processing milk to help counter the large cost increases. ey have become price-se ers and not [price]-takers.”
Retaining skilled and dedicated employees is key to a farm’s success and sustainability, so what practical strategies can farm owners and managers implement to retain staff? Dairy Farmer reports.
Strategies on retaining staff
Sta turnover is not just an inconvenience; it directly impacts productivity, morale and bo om lines.
Farm owners should focus on a racting the right talent and keeping them engaged, motivated and performing to a high standard, says Paul Harris, chief executive at sta specialist REAL Success.
Offering development opportunities
JProviding employees with opportunities to grow and develop is crucial for retention.
Employees who see a clear path to advancement are more likely to remain loyal to the employer, says Mr Harris. Farm owners can:
rIdentify individual goals: Work with employees to identify professional goals and how these can align with the farm’s objectives. “This is often best achieved through annual personal reviews, where you
can discuss this openly and clearly.”
rTraining and education: Invest in training programmes and educational opportunities which enhance employees’ skills relevant to their current and future roles on the farm.
rMentorship programmes: Establish mentorship programmes where experienced staff can share knowledge and guidance with newer employees, fostering a sense of belonging and community.
Supportive and safe work environment
JA positive, safe and supportive work environment is critical for retaining staff, says Mr Harris.
This includes:
rRecognition and rewards: Implement a system to recognise and reward hard work and achievements; simple gestures of appreciation can go a long way in boosting employee morale.
rWork-life balance: Encourage a healthy work-life balance
by offering flexible working arrangements and respecting employees’ time off.
rSafe and healthy work conditions: Ensuring all employees work in safe and healthy conditions is fundamental; maintaining a clean and functioning toilet, a decent staff room and a positive approach to health and safety are critical to retaining staff, he adds.
Effective staff meetings
JStaff meetings are not just for disseminating information, but are crucial for team building and engagement.
To make meetings more effective, farm owners should:
rSchedule regular meetings: Establish a consistent schedule for staff meetings to ensure everyone stays informed and aligned with farm goals.
Staff turnover directly impacts productivity, morale and bottom lines.
‘Personalised’
communication
JOpen communication is vital for a successful team and Mr Harris says farm owners should prioritise creating an environment where employees feel heard, valued and understood. This can be achieved by:
rRegular check-ins: Implementing regular one-on-one check-ins with employees to discuss their concerns, aspirations and feedback on farm operations.
rTransparent decision-making: Involving employees in decisionmaking processes, especially those directly affecting their
work; transparency in explaining business decisions enhances trust and commitment.
rUnderstanding personality styles: A ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach does not work; different staff members need to be spoken to differently, says Mr Harris. “Some prefer a direct style, while others prefer a warmer, more friendly approach. Some require clarity and detail, while others prefer creativity and a relaxed approach to achieving results. Use profiling systems to establish your team’s preferred communication style.”
rEncourage participation: Create an inclusive atmosphere where all employees feel comfortable sharing their ideas and concerns, says Mr Harris. “Recognising and acting on employee input can significantly boost morale and retention.”
rFocus on problem-solving: Utilise meetings to address challenges collectively, encouraging a culture of teamwork and collaborative problem-solving.
SLURRY ACIDIFICATION
• Locks in available Nitrogen
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• Improved nutrient value
TENSIONED TANK COVERS
PERMASTORE TANKS
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FLOATING TANK COVER
• Reduces Ammonia Emissions
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• Rainwater harvesting
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SLURRY SEPARATOR & GREEN BEDDING
• Up to 38% dry matter
• Long service life Reinforced sieves
• No plug compaction shut down
SLURRY BAG
• Closed self-support tank
• 10 year warranty
• Simple mixing system
• Sizes up to 2500m3
THE DIVERSIFICATION EVENT FOR FARMERS
Farm Business Innovation is thrilled to host Prof. John Gillard OBE
DSc as its Keynote speaker on Thursday 7 November. John is a willow and livestock farmer from Northern Ireland, whose farm has been independently verified as “Beyond” New Zero. Not only is he respected farmer, John is a policy expert and researcher across the agricultural industry. His Keynote address will discuss carbon capture and why it is such a valuable asset for farmers.
Alongside our Keynote speakers, you will be able to hear from experts on topics including rural planning, business diversification, succession planning, nature tourism and effective social media promotion.
Join us at the NEC Birmingham, 6-7 November to hear John clearly break down the subject of carbon and how we can all work together on a journey towards net zero. a
6-7 November 2024 NEC, Birmingham
For your free ticket, scan the QR CODE or visit agrc.im/register
