Tirlán Farm Focus Dec 22 Edition FINAL

FARM FOCUS

Issue 81 – December 2022

2022 has been a year like no other in the history of our great Co-op and it’s hard to believe that a whole year has passed since our resounding Special General Meeting (SGM) vote to become a vibrant, farmer-owned, €3 billion international organisation.

This time last year, we looked forward to creating a Co-op for a New Era. That New Era has seen our 4,500 family farm Milk Suppliers paid record high milk prices month on month. Our quality grain suppliers were also rewarded with record grain prices for 2022.

Our new identity was launched at the end of August and our new name, Tirlán, was warmly welcomed and is being embedded across our organisation including our 11 world-class processing facilities, our 52 Tirlán FarmLife retail branches including our 14 Tirlán CountryLife garden centres and our new Tirlán collaborative hub in the heart of Kilkenny city.

We welcomed the new Taoiseach, Leo Varadkar, and Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Charlie McConalogue, to Belview in June for the turning of the sod for our €200 million Kilkenny Cheese project. Construction is progressing well.

Minister Pippa Hackett celebrated with us as we hit our Operation Biodiversity target of delivering 100,000 trees and hedgerows in half the original timeframe. We’ve since increased this target to 450,000 by 2025. We also welcomed Cogeca President, Ramon Armengol, to Kilkenny this year where he visited the Walton family farm to see our Innovative, Award-winning, Twenty20 Beef Club programme in operation.

Following on from the launch of our Living Proof sustainability strategy in 2021, this year

saw the launch of the Sustainable Farming Academy and the Sustainability Action Payment for all Milk Suppliers. I would like to remind those who have not already done so, to declare their actions now to ensure this bonus payment continues to flow in 2023. To declare your action, go to the Tirlán FarmLife website or contact your local Milk Supply Manager for support.

Another highlight in 2022 was the announcement of our plan to extend the acreage grown to gluten-free oats. We continue to invest in our plant based ingredients.

In accordance with shareholder approval we completed the spinout of plc shares worth approximately €140 million to our Co-op members.

We’ve had much to celebrate this year, in spite of the challenges posed by rising inflation, the fall-out from the war in Ukraine and the lingering impact of the global pandemic. As a Co-op, we announced a significant donation of nutritional powders

for Ukraine. We also confirmed that we would not source fertiliser from Russia.

As the holiday season approaches, we would like to say a special thanks to those engaged in year-round milk production for their tireless efforts on these dark mornings and evenings. I am reminded of the work of our Agri staff who ensure strong supplies of feed and all the necessities at this time and I note that this period is an exceptionally busy time for our consumer category with a quarter of annual cream volume sold in the week before Christmas.

I will end by wishing you and yours the very best for the holiday season and the New Year. Please stay safe and watch out for others. I think we’ll all enjoy an opportunity to recharge as we prepare for another exciting year in 2023.

Jim Bergin CEO, Tirlán

Tirlán CEO, Jim Bergin, Chairman, John Murphy, and newly-appointed Chief ESG Officer, Lisa Koep, present Paula Rudkins, Kilkenny Children’s Service Manager Enable Ireland, O’Neill Centre Kilkenny with a donation of over €4,500 collected at the Co-op’s recent Council dinner.

CARING FOR OUR ENVIRONMENT

DECLARE YOUR SEVEN SUSTAINABILITY ACTIONS NOW

Tirlán milk suppliers are reminded to declare their sustainability actions now on their Tirlán FarmLife account to ensure they continue to receive their 0.5c/ltr in 2023.

Those who have not already done so are encouraged to take action now, to log in to their account on www.tirlanfarmlife.com and declare what on-farm sustainability actions they have taken this year. This will ensure farm families will continue to receive the Sustainability Action Payment next year, which is worth on average €3,000 to a Tirlán milk supplier.

To declare your seven out of 18 Actions:

1. Log on to your account on tirlanfarmlife.com

2. Click on “My Account” and then click on the “Sustainability Action Payment” tab located in the drop down menu. This is located within the “Milk Supply” section along the left hand side of your screen.

3. Here you will be presented with a list of all 18 Sustainability Actions.

4. Select the sustainability actions which you have completed by ticking the box to the right of the desired action.

5. Once all actions are selected scroll to the bottom of the list, tick the “I confirm” box and then the “Submit Selections” box.

6. After submitting your selections you will be presented with a progress bar which represents how on track you are to receiving your full payment.

7. If you wish to add additional sustainability actions before year end, simply click the “Edit Selections” button to the right of the progress bar and follow the steps again.

Declare actions and secure payment for 2023

The Sustainable Action Payment is designed to assist our farm families in reducing carbon footprint, enhancing water quality and biodiversity and improving air quality and soil health, in line with Tirlán Co-op’s Living Proof sustainability strategy.

The actions outlined are closely aligned with the climate action measures identified in Teagasc’s emissions reduction Marginal Abatement Cost Curve (MACC) climate plan.

Any Supplier who has difficulty declaring their actions or wants support is urged to contact their Milk Supply Manager for assistance.

WATCH HERE: How to declare sustainability actions on www.tirlanfarmlife.com

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ BrQ5JhuHTw

FARMER INFORMATION MEETINGS

Tirlán is hosting a series of Farmer Information Meetings for Co-op shareholders and suppliers from mid-January.

The regional Information Meetings with senior Tirlán management and board members are important and provide shareholders and suppliers with an opportunity to engage with senior Co-op representatives. One online meeting has also been organised to facilitate those unable to travel.

The imminent Information Meetings have been scheduled earlier in the new year to avoid spring calving and have been moved to daytime following consultation with suppliers. Each Meeting will include short presentations and an open Q&A as well as short, informative video inserts.

The Meetings will also allow for a review of business developments in 2022, a landmark year for the 100% farmer-owned co-operative. The sessions will also include a Market Outlook for 2023 as well as trade stands featuring key employees from the Co-op Shares Office, FarmGen, Beef Twenty20 Club and other relevant farmer facing areas.

The meetings are as follows:

Venue

Dungarvan (Park Hotel)

Day Date Date

Wednesday 11 January 11am

Kilkenny (Newpark) Thursday 12 January 11am

Portlaoise (Killeshin) Monday 16 January 11am

Navan (Ardboyne) Tuesday 17 January 11am

ONLINE (Link to follow via text) Tuesday 17 January 7.30pm

Enniscorthy (Riverside) Wednesday 18 January 11am

FARMGEN BECOMES THE LARGEST SINGULAR USER OF TAMS FUNDING FOR SOLAR PV

Interest in Tirlán’s enhanced Solar PV FarmGen Programme has increased significantly since it was launched in August 2022 and hundreds of farm families say they want to invest in the wider selection of fully-financed, turnkey solar-powered energy solutions it offers.

The newly-announced Standalone Solar PV funding under the Targeted Agricultural Modernisation Scheme (Tams) is due to come into effect in early 2023. For installations costing up to €90,000 it provides a grant at a rate of 60% of the cost incurred for solar panel installations on agricultural buildings and farmhouses.

This development is also expected to boost FarmGen and Tirlán’s work on family farms with milk and grain suppliers to drive both on-farm efficiency and Tirlán’s Living Proof ambitions, Damien Sutton, FarmGen Programme Manager, said.

“FarmGen has overcome the challenges posed by grant funding and Covid19 to become the largest singular user of Tams Funding for Solar PV. The imminent launch of the 2023 TAMS programme is expected to further boost interest,” he said.

Investing in a FarmGen Solar Pv bundle is also an approved action under Tirlán’s Sustainability Action Payment programme, making it an even more attractive investment and one of seven on-farm actions that leads to a 0.5cpl additional payment for milk suppliers into 2023 and beyond.

A large number of Tirlán’s farm families across 13 counties have already installed FarmGen systems and new partner, PV Generation, brings a wealth of experience to the farming sector and to the programme which is also supported by Finance Ireland.

FarmGen’s bespoke rooftop solutions offer farm families an opportunity to reduce their energy bills in a time of spiralling energy costs. The bespoke systems are designed to power energy intensive processes on farm such as milk cooling, vacuum pumps, water heating and more. Depending on the system type, FarmGen can deliver energy savings of between 20% and over 30% per annum.

Finance Ireland provides FarmGen customers with a flexible and competitively-priced financing option through the FundEquip Scheme, to enable Tirlán farmers improve energy efficiency and grow their business sustainably. 100% financing is available and seasonal payments can be spread over three or five years.

PV Generation supply and install state-of-the-art Solar PV systems on each farm. The system monitors energy generation and consumption in real-time; helping to give farm families a better understanding of when and where energy is consumed, therefore assisting and driving further efficiencies into the future, reducing their energy costs whilst operating in a sustainable manner.

FarmGen is open to all farming sectors and sizes, with customised commercial packages available and options also available for those who wish to install Solar PV in their homes to harness the power of green energy.

Farm families who wish to register their interest can visit www.farmgen.ie

300 CARTONS OF AVONMORE CREAM WILL BE SOLD EVERY MINUTE IN THE WEEK BEFORE CHRISTMAS

A quarter of all top quality Avonmore Cream produced by Tirlán’s dedicated year-round family farm milk suppliers each year will be bought and consumed over the coming days, making it the busiest time of year for the co-operative's winter milk suppliers and its production, logistics, planning and sales teams.

A staggering 300 units of Avonmore cream will be sold every minute as the pre-Christmas shopping spree begins a week out from the big day.

In addition to the traditional Fresh Cream, Fresh Whipped and Light ranges, the festive selection has been extended yet again to include indulgent Caramel Whipped Cream, Brandy Whipped Cream and Baileys Whipped Cream varieties to tempt consumers on the big preChristmas shop.

Earlier this year, Avonmore switched to Tetra Top® cartons for its Fresh Cream range, a move which will save up to 40 tonnes of plastic every year. Avonmore Fresh Cream, Double Cream and Light Cream are now available in Tetra Top® packaging, which contains 62% less plastic than the previous bottles and uses paperboard from responsibly managed forests and other controlled sources where new forest growth replaces harvested trees.

SUSTAINABLE FARMING ACADEMY BURSARY WINNERS ANNOUNCED

Miriam Walker, Director of Consumer Domestic, said:

“We are extremely grateful to our dedicated family farm milk suppliers who produce top quality milk throughout the festive season and to the cross-functional Tirlán teams who ensure stocks are on the shelves and don’t run out.”

Tirlán and Baileys have announced their first bursary winners with students from Kilkenny, Laois and Meath all being supported by Ireland’s first Sustainable Farming Academy.

Jack Murphy from Ballyragget in Kilkenny, James Wheeler from Mountrath in Laois and Laura Colgan from Tubbertynan, Rathmoylon in Meath all receive bursaries to help finance their studies.

The Sustainable Farming Academy was launched last year and as part of the Academy, three bursaries, one per university, were made available for Tirlán Co-op students commencing their degree studies in agricultural science in either UCD, UCC or South East Technology University.

OVER 200 ATTEND BUSINESS INFORMATION DAY

Over 200 Regional Committee members got a unique insight into work at Tirlán’s Ballyragget site and the huge variety of projects and innovations underway right across the company as part of the recent Business Information Day.

A number of Committee members commented afterwards that they were “genuinely blown away” by the passion and capability of the Tirlán team members they met on the day, Chairman, John Murphy, said.

“Our Regional Committee members are a crucial part of our vibrant coop. They are our eyes and ears on the ground, in our communities

right across our catchment area. It was important to have a day with them to show them first-hand the huge amount of work that we do, what projects are in the pipeline and what innovation is to come.”

The day included expos from Avonmore Protein and GAIN Momentum, from the Customer Experience/Digital team and presentations from teams from both Ingredients and Consumer sides of the business.

The gathered Committee members also heard about Tirlán’s drive to become even more sustainable into the future and deliver on the commitments made in the Living Proof sustainability strategy.

IDEAL WEATHER FOR TREE AND HEDGEROW PLANTING

This time of year is the perfect weather for tree and hedgerow planting and an ideal opportunity to support Tirlán FarmLife and our ambitious new target of delivering 450,000 native trees and hedgerow plants to enhance the Irish countryside through the Operation Biodiversity programme.

The bundles of trees and hedging plants purchased as part of Operation Biodiversity count as actions towards securing the valuable Sustainability Action Payment which is worth on average €3,000 a year.

Tirlán FarmLife has committed to deliver excellent value, including low-cost bundles, along with providing horticultural expertise to help guide on selection of trees and hedging, and planting through our CountryLife garden centres. Sales have been very steady with almost 35,000 units sold in the past few weeks alone.

The Operation Biodiversity value bundles include a hedging mix of native Irish hedgerow plants specially selected by Tirlán FarmLife horticulturalists. Each bundle includes Blackthorn, Whitethorn, Hazel and Alder and covers approximate 12 metres of hedging.

The specially-selected, rich species tree bundle includes a mix of Birch, Alder, Oak and Mountain Ash trees. Both packages are available through the Tirlán FarmLife network of branches and Tirlán CountryLife garden centres.

For more, log on to www.tirlanfarmlife.com or visit one of our network of 52 FarmLife branches and 14 CountryLife garden centres

PRESCRIPTION REQUIREMENT FOR ANTIPARASITIC ANIMAL REMEDIES DEFERRED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE.

The prescription requirement for anti-parasitic animal remedies that was due to come into effect on December 1, 2022 has been deferred.

The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) has announced that the requirement for a veterinary prescription for antiparasitic medicines will not come into effect until legislation is in place for the relevant parts of the Veterinary Medicinal Products, Medicated Feed and Fertiliser Regulation Bill.

The new veterinary medicine legislation includes an obligation for a veterinary prescription to be in place before anti-parasitic treatments for cattle, sheep, goats, pigs, poultry or horses can be purchased.

This obligation, which has now been deferred until further notice, will require a veterinarian to assess the need for those treatments.

Maintaining effectiveness of anti-parasitic veterinary medicines is of vital importance for our grass-based dairy and beef production systems.

Tirlán will continue to be a trusted supplier of anti-parasitic animal treatments. Tirlán representatives can be contacted to discuss the availability of vaccines and anti-parasitic treatments.

AVOID RESIDUE POSITIVES FROM ANTIPARASITIC TREATMENTS IN AUTUMN AND SPRING

parasites. Anthelmintics are antiparasitic products specifically targeting internal parasites such as gut worms, lungworm and fluke.

Originally published in 2018, the GUIDE TO RESPONSIBLE USE OF ANTIPARASITICS IN DAIRY ANIMALS has been updated and is now available on tirlanfarmlife.com

Milk contaminated with antibiotics, anthelmintics or other chemical residues is not fit for human consumption. Antiparasitics are medicine products designed to control

Farmers must pay close attention to what products they give to particular groups of animals. This is especially true for young dairy animals, particularly pregnant heifers.

Milk from individual farms supplied to Tirlán is sampled throughout the year to verify it is free from anthelmintic residues. This leaflet aims

to be a handy reference guide. But caution is urged to check the withdrawal periods with your vet before any administration to any animals, as they may change over time. Particular care must be given when dosing pregnant animals – ensuring calving dates are taken fully into account when deciding when to administer Anthelmintics. Milk must be withheld from the bulk tank for the appropriate withdrawal time following treatment. All positive incidents are notified to DAFM.

Tirlán has updated the guidance note for Responsible Use of Antiparasitics in dairy animals.

The only method of disbudding of calves that is legally permissible in Ireland is disbudding by thermal cauterization of animals up to 28 days old. It is illegal to disbud or dehorn calves over 14 days old without using a local anaesthetic. Tirlán’s recommendation, and international best practice, is that local anaesthetic and an anti-inflammatory (NSAID) pain killer, obtained from your local vet, should be administered to all calves undergoing disbudding. Caustic dehorning paste must not be used.

When using a calf crate, make sure the calf is well restrained, without causing distress or hampering the calf’s breathing. If a calf crate is not available, have a second person restrain the calf throughout the disbudding procedure.

Use local anaesthetic and anti-inflammatory pain relief when disbudding calves of any age ANIMAL HEALTH CALENDAR – REMINDERS:

Parasite control

Use this year’s Herd Disease Screening results and dosing history to determine if dry cows need treatment for stomach worms and whether to use a clear wormer or white drench. Remember to include additional lice treatments if using white drenches for stomach worm treatment.

Liver Fluke

Use the Herd Disease Screening data to determine the herd’s exposure to liver fluke and the need for fluke dosing. Plan the necessary fluke control during winter housing.

Dry cows

Maintain dry cow Body Condition Score at 3 – 3.25 and supplement with quality dry cow mineral to avoid difficult calvings and reduce the risk of retained cleanings, milk fever and ketosis after calving. For cows in the right body condition, the tail head ligament is still visible, but the pin bones are not angular and are covered with a good pinch of fat. The hook ligament is well covered and barely discernable. Hook bones are smooth to rounded, the spine is smooth and the last 2 ribs are just about visible.

Lameness

Use regular footbathing during the winter

to keep on top of infectious causes of lameness such as Mortellaro and foul-inthe-foot.

Milk Recording

Start thinking about the milk recording plan for 2023. To implement Selective Dry Cow Therapy, ideally 6 milk recordings throughout the year will be required to have accurate individual cow data at the end of lactation. The first milk recording should take place within 60 days from the start of calving to have insight into dry cow mastitis management. The last milk recording should take place no more than 30 days prior to drying off to avoid unknowingly drying off a high cell count cow without an antibiotic tube.

DECEMBER SEASONALITY PAYMENT

2022 Seasonality Premium Payment on this year’s seasonality bonus payment consists of 4.0 cpl for eligible milk in December 2022, 4.0 cpl for eligible milk supplied in January and 3.0 cpl for eligible milk supplied in February 2023 (all figures are inclusive of VAT).

Eligibility for the 2022 Seasonality Scheme is open to Creamery Milk Suppliers for all milk supplied. Additionally, then Autumn Calving Scheme and/or Liquid Milk

suppliers are also eligible for Seasonality premium payment on volumes which are not already subject to premium payments.

To receive seasonal payment premium, milk supplied needs to achieve the following criteria:

• ≥4.35% lactose;

• Average SCC < 350,000 cells/ml;

• Average TBC < 50,000 cfu/ml (results

used for month-end calculation for the payment period);

• Milk collections with a TBC result greater than 1,000,000 cfu/ml, no Seasonality premium will be paid on these collection volumes.

Please liaise with your local Milk Supply Manager for individual queries or advice on how to ensure you achieve the seasonality payment.

A vital tool in reducing the dependency on antibiotics to control diseases in Irish dairy herds is the increased uptake of vaccines to prevent diseases in the first place. However, fitting more vaccines into the calendar between all the other important dates, chores and events on farm may seem like an impossible task.

The winter time, especially in spring-calving herds, may very well be the ideal time to plan some of these vaccines, both from a labour and animal health point of view. Most vaccination schedules are now based on 12 month booster intervals, so it doesn’t really matter what time of the year the vaccine is given to offer year-round animal health benefits.

For those vaccines that require a 6 month booster interval, this can still be scheduled as one of the winter vaccines, without getting in the way of the important early weeks of the spring breeding season. There is no harm in vaccinating cows early to, for example, bring the traditional annual booster from March or April forward into December or January.

Vaccinating cows in late lactation or during the dry period will find these cows in better condition, with lower stress levels and a more balanced metabolic and mineral status compared to cows in the first 2 – 3 months after calving. This aids in achieving an optimal immune response to vaccines, resulting in better animal health outcomes and improved colostrum quality.

Which vaccines can be used as part of a winter vaccination programme?

In general, any vaccine which has a 12 month proven duration of immunity can be given as the annual booster during the winter months. Vaccines against Lepto, BVD, IBR, Salmonella, Lungworm and Clostridial disease all qualify for this approach.

For some of these vaccines, giving the cows’ booster during the later stages of pregnancy can contribute to improved calf health by either lowering the infectious load in the calves’ environment (in the case of the Salmonella vaccine) or by boosting the level of protective immunoglobulins in the

PRE-CALVING VACCINATIONS FOR SPRING CALVING COWS ANTIBIOTICS

colostrum fed to the calf (in the case of the Clostridial disease vaccines).

Giving cows an annual booster against Clostridial disease 8 to 2 weeks before calving can provide protection for the calf against certain causes of bloat and tetanus for up to 12 weeks of age, if colostrum management is optimal.

Another example of a cow vaccine designed to prevent disease in calves is the scour vaccine. The scour vaccine (Bovillis Rotavec Corona) is specifically designed to boost colostrum quality to protect the calf against the early onset of scour during the first two weeks after calving.

For this to be successful, the vaccine needs to be given to pregnant animals 12 to 3 weeks before calving and colostrum needs to be fed to calves in adequate volume (at least 3 litres) quickly after birth (within 2 hours) with continued feeding of small amounts of colostrum or transition milk over the next 7 days offering continued protection.

Take a moment this time of year to review your herd’s vaccination plan and identify any diseases that may be more efficiently controlled by vaccinating the entire herd this winter.

• Keeping antibiotics out of dairy products is vital. That’s why all loads are screened on arrival at factory sites, and individual supplier testing also occurs at the laboratory.

• A positive load will delay a driver, and the supplier involved will incur significant cost. There will also be a follow up visit from DAFM as all positive occurrences are required to be reported to DAFM.

• Always mark cows before treating them. You avoid forgetting to mark them this way.

• Use whiteboard and plenty of marking spray or tape to ensure everyone is aware of which cows are out of the tank.

• Use products exactly in line with the treatment instructions. And follow the withdrawal period guidelines.

• Ensure the cows being dried off are immediately removed from the milking herd when treated with dry cow antibiotics and sealers.

• Watch that you use the correct lactating cow treatments and dry cow treatments. Be careful not to give the wrong type of type to cows.

• Record all animal treatments in your animal remedies records.

• Use an antibiotic test kit to check any cows you are unsure of. These are available from your Milk Supply Manager or direct from TirlanFarmLife.

This is a high risk time for accidental antibiotic contamination.

MILK QUALITY

By Fionnuala Malone

The cold weather has reminded everyone of some of the essentials for dairying through the winter period. Foremost is always to be safe on farm and to keep your premises and milking facilities weatherproof. The first cold snap we have seen certainly bought challenges with freezing pipes, detergent washers and icy yards. So it is a good idea to revisit how winter proof your facilities are. Always ensure that you and all your family are safe working through a cold spell by prioritising yard safety.

Some reminders:

• Ensure safe access for milk collection and deliveries on farm – keep roadways clear and salt all areas that drivers have to walk on.

• Salt yards and areas you will be walking to make sure no one skids and falls on ice.

• Close and fully seal dairy doors. Roller doors and tightly sealing doors are key as is good insulation throughout on pipe work.

• Infra-red lamps and heaters over milking and wash lines and wash lines will help keep these from freezing.

• Check detergent bowls to make sure they are not freezing up.

• Check wash motors for burn out –insulate your washer mechanisms where possible.

• Make sure your yard is fully lit with good lighting. Charge head torches and get some extra batteries for torches for using in the dark cold mornings.

• Fully drain your machine over-night –you can put a saltwater rinse through the lines as the final rinse – and then fully drain the lines.

• Drain clusters, bulk tanks and all pipe work. Leaving clusters hanging down overnight helps drain the last water.

• If freezing weather is severe, using heaters on in the dairy helps to avoid water pipes freezing.

• Store all your essential farm implements in a shed and make them easy to find and use – e.g. shovels, spring, buckets etc.

• Ensure tractors and quads are full of diesel and petrol at night-time and are facing the direction you need then for morning.

• Check your generator is working – before you need it.

• Swap over detergent barrels if your detergent is running low. Store these off the floor, and inside out of the freezing weather.

• Avoid chlorate / perchlorate issues by ensuring that only fresh chlorine free detergents are used, and that your teat disinfectant does not contain chloride or chlorine dioxide.

See the below videos for more information on winter milking and deep cleaning and servicing the machine at shut down:

The importance of detergents and good routines for winter milking - bit.ly/3PlKMng

Time to start thinking about getting your milking machine serviced - bit.ly/3HxvLwU

Have you assessed your forage stocks recently?

Teagasc’s Dairy Fodder Survey

Teagasc’s Dairy Fodder Survey conducted in September 2022 indicated that fodder supplies were a concern in the southeast region for 15-20% of farms. This shortfall may have risen since.

Despite grass being plentiful on most farms due to favourable growing conditions in the back-end, grazing conditions were challenging, resulting in herds being housed earlier.

Additionally, pits have been open for the past 6 weeks with some running through silage quicker than anticipated. With herds being dried off, now is the time to re-assess your fodder budget to see where you stand.

Fodder tight on farm?

If fodder is tight or in deficit it is crucial to act now to stretch this fodder rather than anticipate a good spring. Plan to stretch silage during the dry period when the demand is lower through straw and/or concentrate supplementation. Reserve good quality silage for milking cows of at least 72% DMD to reduce the risk of excessive negative energy balance and BCS loss to optimise milk & fertility performance next lactation

Guidelines to restricting silage:

• Firstly, know the quality of your silage. Knowing the dry matter of your silage will allow correct silage allocations, whether it is feeding with a wagon or grab.

• Restricting daily silage allowances is important if using concentrates/straights to stretch fodder supplies and to avoid over conditioned dry cows.

• 3 kg concentrate feeding rate can reduce daily silage feeding by 20-25% in a dairy herd if silage is restricted.

• Provide Straw along the feeding barrier to help satisfy cows .

• Every kg of concentrate fed can replace 4-6 kg of silage (fresh weight), depending on silage dry matter.

• A kilogram of straw saves about 4-6 kg of silage (fresh weight) depending on the silage dry matter.

• Adequate feeding space must be available.

• Do not forget to feed minerals and ensure protein is sufficient in the diets. Straw and cereals have lower levels of minerals and protein than grass silage. Therefore, a higher feeding rate of dry cow minerals and an addition of a protein source may be needed.

For example, if you save 10 kg of silage per head for a month you will save 300 kg of silage. At the end of the winter, this is a valuable asset to have and gives flexibility when it comes to grazing in spring.

Even if you have enough feed for the winter, it’s important to regularly re-assess what you have because no one knows what weather conditions will be like in the spring.

Measure, calculate, plan and start now.

If you require any further support, do not hesitate to contact your local Tirlán FarmLife representative.

DECEMBER SHUT DOWN

By Fionnuala Malone

For many, this is the time for a well-earned seasonal break with cows being dried off in bunches across the country. Some things to remember just before you finish:

• Drying off cows keep good records of when, which cow, which treatment and expected calving date. The better your records, the less likely to make a mistake in spring by leaving cows back into the tank too early before withdrawal periods are completed.

• Use this time to review milk quality. Address anything that needs tightening up.

– Review your SCC – what do you need to tweak to drop SCC next year. Lower SCC will make it easier to milk – less dumped milk, lower treatment costs, less production loss.

– When finishing your last milking and collection – aim to do multiple hot washes, both caustic and acid to fully clean the plant. Use a steriliser such as peracetic acid to sterilise the plant before finishing off.

– Hot water – upgrade your system to ensure your hot water is washing at 75C and dump temperature at 55C.

– Wash trough – measure your wash trough. If you are not using the right amount of water for your washing you wont stay on top of TBC and Thermoduric problems. Replace with a bugger one if you cant easily fit in the right volumes of water.

14 litres per cluster unit to rinse the plant 9 litres per cluster unit to use to mix the detergent wash in

14 litres per cluster unit to rinse the plant

(Can be cold) (Hot 75ºC) (Can be cold) 3 gallons = 14 litres 2 gallons = 9 litres 3 gallons = 14 litres

• Detergents – get rid of any old detergent. Leaving detergent deteriorate over time in the dairy is guaranteed to results in residues turning up in springtime milk.

• If rubberware needs to be changed this is the ideal time to do that.

– Liners should be changed every 2,000 milkings or every six months.

– Other rubberware such as Short milk tubes, diaphragms and trunking all need to be changed every two years as a minimum guideline.

– Silicone recommendations are for longer intervals – but review your results. If you have seen a failure pattern for TBC / Thermoduric results or are seeing your SCC rising change these earlier.

– Water hoses – change the rubber pipes on these as otherwise these will crack over time and allow bacteria to build up.

• Milking machine services should be booked in now, rather than waiting for spring when fitters are at their busiest. Make sure you are using a registered and trained Irish Milk Quality (IMQ formerly IMQCS) milking machine technician.

• Bulk tank – book a service. Review your storage capacity. Have you enough storage for five milkings at peak? If not, now is a good time to purchase a new bulk tank. Cooling milk is one of the highest energy costs on farm. Therefore, a new, efficient, correctly sized bulk tank will help reduce your energy bills on farm.

• Vacuum line – get your vacuum line fully checked out and cleaned over the winter period.

• Plate coolers – pre-cooling milk before the bulk tank is one of the most energy-efficient things you can do on farm. Investing in a suitably sized plate cooler will also help reduce energy costs and achieve faster milk cooling.

• Autowashers – check that the peristaltic pumps are working correctly. Replace the tubing and ensure it is washed out between using different detergents when you change over between drums. Otherwise the detergents will crystalise within the tubes and this will block them.

DAFM ANIMAL HEALTH REGULATIONS

by Fionnuala Malone

DAFM regulation 853/2004 notes that milk must not be sent for processing from TB reactors, either positive or inconclusive. Suppliers are reminded that they must cease including milk from any cow that has gone down in a TB test into the Bulk Tank. This also includes inconclusives. This is to ensure that milk coming into Tirlán complies with this regulation.

DAFM Animal Health Certs are now due and must be on file as soon as possible. Please return pages 1 and 2 ASAP before 1 January 2023 to allow us to process it.

• By signing this, you give a commitment to consumers, DAFM and Tirlán that all milk from unhealthy cows will be excluded from the bulk tank. This gives an assurance from you that the milk is safe to process.

• Please ensure that all sections are correctly signed, dated, and that the date of your signature precedes that of your Vet.

• Please return to The Milk Office, Tirlán, Abbey Quarter, Kilkenny R95 DXR1.

Milk collection cannot take place in 2023 without a fully completed cert being on file. Contact your MSM should you require a new blank cert. All suppliers are being asked to please submit their certificates in a timely fashion to avoid incurring the penalty as detailed in the 2022 Milk Purchasing Policy.

CELLCHECK TOP 500

Congratulations again to all the AHI DAFM CellCheck Top 500 winners across the country. These plaques are awarded to commemorate the 500 suppliers across Ireland with the lowest SCC for 2021.

Carlow

Francis Morris

Joseph Thompson

Kieran Byrne

Liam Sheppard Niall Kelly

Cavan

Damien Gilsenan

John Teevan

Ronan Slowey

Cork

Ballyanthony Farm Ltd.

Catherine O'Keeffe

Gerard Kingston

Ivan & Heather Buttimer

Matthew Eilish & Martin Murphy O'Regan Partnership

Patrick Ahern

Patrick Neville Redmond Walsh William Desmond Dublin

Padraig & Geraldine O'Scanaill (Rathbeale Farm Ltd)

Kildare

Charles Kelly

Elizabeth Beattie

Ernest & Paul Bennett

James Brennan (Chapel Avenue Farm)

Michael Dunne

Seamus Byrne

Thomas Ryan University College Dublin

Kilkenny

Brian Kenneally

Bryan & Gail Daniels (Daniels Farm Ltd)

Eamonn Doyle

Edward & Bridget Condon

Edward & Edward Fitzpatrick (Knockmoylan Farm Ltd)

Edward O'Gorman

Francis & Ann Nolan (F & A Nolan Farm Ltd)

Gerard Edward Doyle

James & Denis Kenny

James & William Walsh

James O'Neill

John Anthony Phelan

John Flood

John Holohan

John Maher

John O'Gorman

John, Emer & Eoghan Wallace

Liam O'Toole

Mark O'Brien

Maurice Treacy

Patrick & Conor Long

Patrick Dwyer

Patrick Walsh

Philip Kenny

PJ McGrath (Brook Dearg Farm Ltd)

Richard Howley Ltd

Rockvilla Dairies Limited

Seaghan O'Neill

Seamus Michael Brennan

Sean Gibbons Farm Ltd

Thomas & Thomas Walter Hennebry (Cloncurry Farm Ltd)

Thomas Tynan

Tom McEvoy (Old Meadow Farm Ltd)

Tomas Mullally Farms

Laois

Angela & Gerard Brickley

Arthur Harvey Jnr

Christopher & Patricia Ryan

Edward Bergin James Walsh

John & Sean Keenan

John Dunne

Mark & Liam Brophy

Michael Williams

Padraig Doran

Paul and Katherina Barry

Phelan Family (The Castle Farm Partnership)

Richard Claxton (Richvale Farm Ltd)

Richard Grehan

Thomas & Julia Fitzpatrick

William White

Louth

Brian McArdle

Sheila & Martin O'Hare

Meath

Declan Walsh

Gerard Kerrigan (Fletcherstown Dairies Ltd)

Gordon Foster (Possextown Farm Ltd)

James Larrissey

Joe Plunkett

John Rahill

Pat Smith (Castlerickard Farm Ltd)

Richard Smith (Jnr)

Thomas Fay

Offaly

Gerard Colgan

Neville, Gavin & Heather Ridgeway (Coolraven Farms Ltd)

Tipperary

Brian & Graeme Haslam

Edward O'Shea

James & Kathleen O'Brien

James McGrath

John & Daniel Fennelly

John Nagle

Kevin Laffan

Kieran Doheny

Patrick Rochford

Paul & Marie Keating

Paul Hahessy

Thomas Delahunty

Waterford

Albert, Ruth & Peter Kingston

Belmont Farm

Catherine O'Brien

Denis Hearne (Hearne Farms)

Eddie Quinn

Edmond & Patrick Curran

Edward Molloy

Gerard, Shane & Bernie Flavin

Jerome Quirke (Milk Leeds Ltd)

John & Mary Byrne

John Halley

John Joseph Walshe

John Kirwan (Jnr)

John Patrick Keating

John Power

Liam & Geraldine Fennell

Mary & Dominic Whelan

Mary & Gerard O'Donovan

Michael Francis Norris

Nicholas C Dunphy

Nicholas O'Connell

Patrick Hallinan

Patrick John Paul Walsh

Patrick Nugent

Patrick, Mary & Denis Fogarty

Peter Walsh

PJ & Mary Hickey (Sleadycastle Farm Ltd)

Steven & Caitriona Fitzgerald (Graigue Agri Ltd)

Thomas & Emma Murphy

Thomas Fogarty

Thomas J Flynn

Thomas Walsh

William Bernard Hallinan

William Buckley William Quinn (Bawnavinogue Farm Ltd)

Westmeath

Peter & William O'Reilly

Wexford

John Doyle Aidan Doyle

Aidan Whitty

Brendan Ferguson (Ballyreilly Farms Ltd)

David Doyle Declan Power (Summerville Farm)

Denis Bushe Denis Doran Donal Doyle

Eamon Tobin (Knocknagapple Farm Ltd)

Frank & James Curtis Harry Deacon Henry Deacon

James & Derry Byrne

James Graham

James Joseph Brennan

James Walsh

John & Mary Rochford

John Barry John Kennedy John Lambert

John Murphy

Kevin & Mary Coade

Laurence Banville

Mark Redmond

Mary Hawe

Michael & Michael A Breen

Michael Joseph Leacy

Michael, James O'Loughlin

Michael, Michael Patrick Doyle

Neil Daly

Nigel Bailey

Noel Moran

Owen Talbot

Patrick & Carmel Banville

Patrick Delaney

Patrick Kavanagh

Peter Kavanagh

Ray Martin

Richard O'Connor (Briary Field Farm)

Rockbarton Farms Ltd

Shane & Aoife O'Rourke

Thomas Byrne

Thomas Peter Delaney Tubberneering Farm Ltd

Wicklow

Declan O'Neill (Hartstown Farm)

John & Joseph Gahan

Paul Kinch Ronan Fanning

REVIEW OF THE TEAGASC TIRLÁN FUTURE

FARM SIGNPOST PROGRAMME FOR 2022

Sandra Hayes, Programme Co-ordinator, began the year completing the Profit monitors with the 11 monitor farms. This year was the first year that the National Farm Survey collected the data and it was jointly used to develop the first Sustainability plans for all 11 farmers. The average net profit per cow for the group was €992 for 2021.

An important component throughout the year is communicating what is happening on the farms as the year progresses and focusing on the key sustainability actions being delivered on each farm. This shows how they are benefiting the farm environmentally, economically and socially.

Sandra Hayes, Teagasc, and TJ Phelan, Tirlán, work closely on a weekly basis to ensure this is communicated across both organisations and to all farmers. Communication is a very important part of the programme and throughout the year a number of the group are involved in media and video campaigns to promote this.

As part of this communication, Tirlan and Teagasc colleagues attended an informative seminar organised as part of the joint Signpost Future Farms collaboration between Tirlan and Teagasc. Over 100 staff members from Tirlán Co-op and Teagasc attended, working collaboratively together to see how we can better support farmers to overcome the sustainability challenges.

A very important aspect of the programme which we hope will deliver benefits for the sector going forward is the measurement of soil carbon sequestration through deep soil analysis. This has been carried out on the 11 farms and it will be re-tested towards the end of the programme to monitor changes over this period.

From February, Sandra collects all the grass data from Pasturebase which has been uploaded by the farmers and all milk data to produce a group report every 2 weeks.

This is an effective form of communicating what the group is doing on a regular basis to all farmers in the Tirlán and Teagasc catchment areas. It includes the different sustainability actions undertaken by the group. Each farmer receives a visit from Sandra every month and on these visits a farm walk is conducted and various measure such as grass measurement, milk production, profitability, biodiversity, climate action changes and sustainability actions are discussed in detail.

March saw Monitor farmers John and Shane Fitzgerald from Portlaw, Co Waterford showcase his farm for HRH Prince Charles, now King! HRH got to speak with Shane, Teagasc advisors, researchers and Tirlán representatives about the changes that have been made on the farm to mitigate against climate change. He was informed about protected Urea, slurry spread via LESS, hedgerow biodiversity, soil health, carbon soil sampling and LIDAR.

Another important aspect is the Airborne LIDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) surveys which can accurately measure the physical characteristics of hedges. These physical characteristics can be converted to carbon holdings for hedgerows. This work was carried out on the farm of Francis Nolan in Kilkenny to date.

Each farm had their slurry tested at the start of the year and this provided valuable information and formed the basis for their nutrient management plans for the year, targeting the slurry where P and K was required as per soil analysis results.

In April two Breeding Farm Walks were held on the farms of Donal Kavanagh near Baltinglass Wicklow and Shay Ryan’s in Wexford. Both were very well attended and farmers got updates form ICBF around sire selection for the breeding season ahead and the importance of using the EBI and DBI to improve economic and environmental credentials.

Joris Somers, from Tirlán informed farmers of the importance of herd health, particularly before, after and during the breeding season and Thomas Ryan Tirlán focused on options farmers could choose to secure the Sustainability payment for their farm business in 2022.

The Future farm group held a number of meetings via zoom during the busy spring when it is harder to have time to meet on farm. The first on farm meeting for the group was on the farm of Declan and Matthew Mullen in Co Meath in April, followed by a visit to Devenish farm in Dowth Co Meath to see how their multi species was performing over the last 4 years as there is a number of the farms incorporating this currently.

The summer time meant more group meetings and in June the group visited Teagasc Solohead and learnt about the importance of red and white clover and how to incorporate it into swards via reseeding programmes for both grazing and silage swards and reducing dependency on chemical fertiliser which is a key objective for the group.

Also in June Francis Nolan held a farm walk focusing on how good planning of farm layout with roadways and paddocks and good use of technology has helped him to be more time efficient.

In August a group meeting took place on the farm of Thomas and David Fennelly, with an update on the Smart hubs programme where electricity and water figures from the 11 farms have been collated and worked into energy efficiency figures for the group. Each farmer was able to compare how or what was making efficient use, for example cooling the milk on farm. Aoife Leader, PhD student provided the group with biodiversity maps and farm leaflets on the level and content of biodiversity on each of the 11 farms. Each monitor farmer worked with Aoife to identify all the habitats, and this was turned into a map which can be used for anyone visiting the farms but also where habitats like new hedges can be located on the farm in the future.

As mentioned, data was collected from the monitor farmers for 2021 by the National Farm Survey. This data forms the basis of the Sustainability report which each individual Signpost farmer received in July 2021. This report tracks the economic, social and environmental sustainability of each of the farms and it is the first time this has been recorded. 2021 forms the baseline figures for this report. The information below gives an overview of the data that results from 2021. Each of the 11 monitor farmers will receive a Sustainability report now for every year they are in the Teagasc Tirlán Signpost monitor programme.

In September a number of the monitor farmers were involved in the Tirlán Fodder Deficit meetings due to the prolonged drought during the summer. The farmers were highlighting the importance of doing up both a grass and fodder budget and taking action to solve any deficiencies. Solutions in the autumn were planned out with both Tirlán and Teagasc advisors at hand to assist farmers.

In October there was a group meeting on Francis Nolan’s farm where guest speaker Damien Sutton of FarmGen talked about solar panels and the energy gains available on farm. Francis had panels installed a few years and they are used to heat water for the milking parlour. A farm walk was held on Steven Fitzgerald’s farm in Aglish, Co. Waterford which focused on ‘Practise Change for Profit’. A key focus on grass, grass clover swards, multi species, soil health and how new farm buildings were saving time and money on the farm. All changes so far have delivered on improved profitability on the farm and all work towards reducing the use of chemical fertiliser and still growing the same amount of grass on the farm. This in turn is important for the environment and improving water quality in what is a nitrates vulnerable zone that Stephen farms in.

Farmland Biodiversity: D Kavanagh

The Importance of Protected Urea: Tirlán Sponsors Best Poster Competition at the UCD Symposium on Achieving Agricultural Climate Targets

By Isabel Power, Ph.D. Student, UCD

Tirlán recently addressed the UCD Symposium on “Achieving our Agricultural Climate Targets: Pathways for Success”, highlighting the progressive sustainability actions farm family suppliers are talking, through their participation in schemes including the ASSAP Programme, the Sustainable Farming Academy, Living Proof Future Farm Programme and the Sustainability Action Payment. Tirlán also sponsored an Academic Poster competition.

The poster outlined my research on Protected Urea uptake in Ireland.

Protected Urea is one of measures identified in the Teagasc Marginal Abatement Cost Curve (MACC), which outlines a range of measures that reduce Greenhouse Gas emissions on Irish farms.

What is Protected Urea? Protected Urea is Urea fertiliser that has been treated with a urease inhibitor, which greatly reduces the rate at which Urea converts to ammonium gas (Forrestal et al. 2020). This nitrogen fertiliser offers the largest emission mitigation potential out of all the MACC Measures.

While sales figures of Urea and Protected Urea have increased in 2022 (DAFM), the uptake for Protected Urea remains low on Irish farms. Adoption rates range between 2-7% for Livestock and Dairying Farms respectively. It is hoped that the number of Nitrogen Fertiliser users who adopt Protected Urea will increase in the coming years, given the following:

• 30% of Ireland’s overall agricultural emissions are coming from nitrous oxide (N2O), the greenhouse gas (GHG) produced by Nitrogen Fertiliser (Teagasc, 2022).

• N2O is the most potent of all the agricultural greenhouse gases, being 268 times more potent than carbon dioxide (Teagasc, 2022).

• Protected Urea has 71% lower nitrous oxide emissions than CAN, and reduces Ammonia loss by 79%, compared with regular Urea (Teagasc).

• Teagasc research shows that grassland treated with Protected Urea do not have lower yields than those treated with CAN or regular Urea (Forrestal et al. 2020).

Therefore, Protected Urea has significant potential in reducing Nitrous Oxide and Ammonia Emissions, without affecting yields, and is recommended by Teagasc as an alternative to CAN and straight Urea, given its lower emissions factors.

Increasing measure uptake

The Academic Poster research illustrates how farmers are adopting Protected Urea on a voluntary basis, indicating a willingness to adopt the measure.

Protected Urea acts as a direct substitute for the current N Fertiliser product (CAN), and requires no significant change to current management practice.

Further, there is potential to encourage more derogation farms to switch to Protected Urea, to reduce their overall emissions.

Ph.D. student Isabel Power will continue to look at adoption and acceptance rates of Teagasc’s MACC measures. Through this research, she aims to identify farmer preparedness to transition to these reduced-emission measures, as well as discovering the support farmers need to make these changes.

Photo: Thomas Ryan (Tirlán) with first year PhD Student Isabel Power and her supervisor, Dr. Edel Kelly (UCD).