EU milk quotas will be abolished in a year and the momentous event will restructure the face of European dairy farming. Bruce Jobson visited Ireland to report on planned expansion at Woodtown Jerseys after 2015
The Tyrrell family typify the enthusiasm of Irish dairy producers and the country’s ideological approach to milk production post-2015. The family are seeking to increase herd numbers from 200 milking Jerseys to an initial 300 and possibly at a later stage, 400 dairy cows.
It’s a daunting task by any standards but one that Ben, a third-generation dairy farmer, and his Australian wife Leah, appear to relish.
Ben said: “We are gearing toward a new era and have to move forward and grasp the opportunity. We are 12 months away from a major shift in policy – the abolition of quotas is a game changer.
“The investment programme we aim to initiate is a logical step-by-step process for the business and will cost in the region of 250,000 in new housing facilities, internal fittings and bulk tanks. However, we will use the existing 24-point parlour and have adequate slurry storage capacity.
“The current cow kennels were installed in the mid-1970s and although the buildings are very functional, we aim to build a large free-stall unit for 280 milking cows on a greenfield site. The current facilities, which we will maintain, can be used for a variety of animals such as dry cows and heifers as well as an overflow facility, if we expand toward 400 milking cows.”
The family have been farming at Woodtownrell Abbott in Kildalkey, County Meath since 1917, and Ben runs the farm with his father Richard, and two other staff. The pedigree herd was established by Ben’s grandfather, Garrett, who imported 30 cattle from Jersey during the mid-50s.
The Woodtown herd is the oldest and largest herd of pedigree Jersey cows in the Republic and rates 32nd on Economic Breeding Index (EBI) in the whole of Ireland, an index that includes all dairy breeds. Milk is supplied year round to Glanbia, for the manufacture of speciality drink Bailey’s Irish cream, during the winter months, and milk powder in summer.
The Jersey herd is currently averaging 6,000 litres (milk sold per cow) at 10% solids while consuming only 17.5 kgs dry matter (DM)/head/day in winter on a full TMR (Total Mixed Ration) system. In the summer, the herd averages around 16.5Kgs DM/head/ per day. The herd is achieving official milk recordings of 6,500 litres per cow per year at 6% fat and 4% protein but Ben prefers to calculate on litres of milk sold.
According to him the feed conversion efficiency (FCE) is between 1.45 and 1.5. The farm is 108ha and first crop silage averages 10 tonnes per acre with second crop achieving 8 tonnes, although some years, a third cut is taken. Grass growth is dependent on the climatic conditions; with 2012 being extremely wet, 2013 extremely dry and the first three months of 2014 set to be the wettest on record for the UK and Ireland since records began more than 100 years ago. This year, the cows were grazing outdoors during daytime in the first week of March.
The herd is run on traditional lines and current replacement rate is around 15%; calving interval is 382 days with cows targeted to average six lactations. This is achieved by having excellent fertility, good feet and legs and a flat but very persistent, lactation curve, says Ben.
“We use AI and rear about 12 bulls per year which we sell to other Jersey herds as well as for those farmers using cross-breeding programmes. Cows are bred starting 42 days post-calving and heifers freshen at approximately 24-25 months of age. Bulls currently in use include VJ Link; VJ Lure, VJ Husky and VJ Hilario and sexed semen has been used on heifers.
The herd has been predominantly bred from Danish Jersey bloodlines with a breeding policy focused on increasing percentage of protein, aimed at over 4% protein. “The herd is currently 100% Danish blood lines but we may consider using North American sires in the next couple of years. For the moment, I am happy using Danish bulls due to their high constituent levels,” says Ben.
The Tyrrell family have been using a Keenan mixer wagon since the mid-1980s. The current model is a Mech-fiber 340 and feeds approximately 100 cows in a single load. In 2010, the family fitted their Keenan mixer wagon with the latest PACE (Performance Acceleration and Control Enhancement) technology.
The award-winning technology ensures consistency of diet with the same ration requirements being delivered on a daily-basis according to Ben: “The cow’s lactation curve is much more persistent and proteins have not dropped below 4% since we started on PACE.”
He continued: “From a management point of view, the herd can now be easily monitored and weekly margin over feed and manage feeding policy altered accordingly. We are currently achieving a margin over total feed of 9.74 euro-cents per cow per day, and PACE is very useful for calculating margin over feed and cents/litre change throughout the year.”
The herd ration includes maize silage, high-quality grass silage, molasses, wheat, straw, rolled barley, sugar beet pulp, megalac and a protein blend. The herd is buffer fed throughout the summer to maintain peak performance. The cows graze on lush pastures and 40 acres of maize and 90 acres of grass silage in total are grown for winter feed.
Traditional Irish grass-based systems operate on a 90% spring-calving basis, usually starting in mid-February. However, Woodtown’s calving pattern is split between autumn and spring and surplus heifers are sold all year round.
With forthcoming herd expansion, Ben considers the 2015 spring calving heifers will probably be retained and brought into the system, with the autumn calving heifers being sold. This should prevent any quota levy payment being triggered in the run-up to the abolition of quotas for the April 2014-15 period.
Irish farmers are looking to invest in the future and consider the opportunity to expand will help secure their businesses for many years ahead. However, milk producers will have to optimise all their available assets and according to official milk supplier predictions, Ireland will produce between 50-60% more milk annually by 2020.
Herd expansion in England is not as straightforward at this stage, according to Acklington-based dairy farmer and ice-cream producer, Michael Howie, of Morwick Holsteins and Ayrshires. He said: “Farmers in England may be more cautious in their approach to herd expansion. There is not any grant aid available to English dairy farmers and therefore many may be reluctant to heavily invest in light of an uncertain milk price.
“Morwick held a major reduction sale in 2013 and we have since increased cow numbers from 100 to 160. If we are to expand at some stage in the future to 300 cows, a major investment programme in housing facilities, young stock sheds, milking parlour and bulk tank facilities would be required.
“Long-term milk price and margin per litre will determine whether English farmers expand production levels post-2015.”
Source: The Journal
