DAIRY FARMERS - TAKE A BOW

• The EPA has issued a positive report on water quality from 2019 to 2024. I quote from the recent Dairy Sustainability Ireland Newsletter, which is positive. The highlights are as follows:
• Overall status:
  • Over half (52%) of all surface waters (rivers, lakes, transitional and coastal waters) are in satisfactory ecological health.
  • Over 82% of all surface waters are in good chemical status as per their definition.
  • Best status by water body type:
    • Coastal waters show the best ecological health, with the highest percentage, 82%, of water in the high or good ecological status.
    • Lakes are also performing well, with 68% in high or good ecological status.
• Groundwater status: The quality of groundwater is very good and stable.
  • High compliance: 92% of all groundwater bodies met both their good chemical and quantitative (amount of water present) status objectives, accounting for 95% of the country by area.
  • Chemical status: 93% of groundwater bodies met their good chemical status objective.
  • Quantitative status: 99% of groundwater bodies met this target objective.

Areas of improvement and positive trends

• Rivers (nutrient concentrations)
  • Phosphorous concentration improvement: River sites in the high or good quality condition stood at 72.5%. This was an improvement of:
    • 2.5% compared with the period 2019-2021; and
    • Almost 10% since the 2016-2018 period.
  • Nitrogen reduction (reversal of trends):
    • 39% of monitored river sites showed reductions in nitrogen concentrations during the 2019-2024 period.
    • This was a reversal of the trends which were increasing during 2016-2021.
  • Stable nitrogen levels: An additional 55% of river sites showed stable nitrogen concentrations.
  • Geographic improvement: The reduction in river nitrogen concentrations were mostly in the south, south east and east of the country.
• Lakes
  • Stable phosphorous levels: Out of 223 monitored lakes, 215 (94%) had a stable trend, with total phosphorous concentrations remaining relatively unchanged.
  • Specific lake improvement: Farnham Lough, Co. Cavan showed a strong decreasing trend in phosphorous concentration.
• Effectiveness of measures and action areas
  • Groundwater body improvement: Nine groundwater bodies improved to good status since the last assessment.
  • Targeted action areas: While overall ecological status in priority areas for action has not yet improved, there is evidence that phosphorous concentrations have improved in these areas. This is a welcomed as a first step.
  • High improvement by pasture type: Water bodies categorised as being ‘at risk’ showed notable improvement, 15.5%, in ecological status when the significant pressure was urban wastewater.
  • Historic recovery success: The report highlights the Blackwater catchment in Co. Cork as an example of successful past efforts, where substantial reductions in nutrient losses led to a significant ecological improvement in the downstream estuary in the mid-2010s. This demonstrates that ecological recovery in Ireland’s river system is achievable within a decade.
  • I quote this report, because I want you to remember this information so that you can share these facts with people who say that dairy farmers are polluters. Facts don’t lie.
• I quote directly from the aforementioned newsletter, because I want you to remember this information, so that you can debate strongly with people who accuse farmers of polluting the country and making no effort to improve things.
  • Most farmers are unable to quote facts when featured in the media.
  • They talk in generalities… “we are doing our best”; “others are to blame”; “we don’t get enough grants”; “we are better than most countries in the EU”, etc.
• Research has enabled farmers to take action in a number of ways:
  1. Reduce CO2 emissions by:
     • Participating in the BEEP scheme.
     • Low emission slurry spreading.
     • Maximising dairy EBI.
     • Using all protected urea.
• Nutrients, such as nitrogen and phosphorous, are the major issues associated with water quality:
  • Efficient recover of nitrogen so that we lose less of it to the atmosphere and groundwater.
    • Farmers are now well aware of limitations to the quantities of N advised, the timing restrictions and the restrictions associated with adjacent water source,
    • Clover and multi-species must now be an integral part of every farmers grassland management plan.
    • Phosphorous losses are reduced by adhering to soil test results and spreading on advised dates.
    • Slurry application restrictions must be adhered to. Unfortunately, some abuse this rule.
• A lot done but more to do.
  • This report is all about making progress and indicates that the ‘new’ practices applied by farmers are beginning to show positive results.
  • Most farmers are making huge efforts, but, unfortunately, some few ‘cowboys’ are spoiling the reputation of most and putting the selling of our dairy products at risk. The solution – call them out!

1. Increase carbon sequestration on farms by:
   • Agro-forestry.
   • Growing more grass with lower nitrogen input.
   • Improving soil fertility.
   • Improved hedgerow management by sowing more hedges/trees and trimming hedges as per Teagasc’s recommendations.

CLOVER LESSONS WE HAVE LEARNED

After my October Management Hints, I got this correspondence from Denis O’Donovan, west Cork – there is no substitute for a farmer’s experience who has adopted a new practice. Denis tells us:

• Grass clover paddocks that got no bag nitrogen have given the same grass yields here as paddocks next to them getting 300kg of bag N per hectare.
• You can’t carry a cover greater than 600kg DM/ha on paddocks you want to protect clover on through the winter.
• Clover pastures are more vulnerable to poaching, and we have seriously reduced the yield of pasture in a damaged paddock the following year if we ever poach in late autumn or early spring.
• Early slurry in January or February works well.
• We use 2kg of red clover and 2kg of white clover per acre when reseeding. The red clover won’t last too long with tight grazing, but it will give an extra 50 units of N in the first year.
• Choose the clover varieties from the Department recommended list.
• We have gotten away with using just 0:7:30 at reseeding.
• Burning off with glyphosate four days after grazing the paddock (just as it is greening up) has worked well for us. We let the spray work for seven to eight days, then two to three runs of a disc harrow and then sowed with a one pass, and rolled twice after sowing. This has worked well for us.
• We use a post emergence spray (DB plus) early, then the seedling dock leaves are no bigger than a €2 coin.
• We graze the new reseed early when covers are less than 800kg DM, once you can’t pull up the seedlings easily.
• Clover loves plenty of slurry.
• Clover needs sulphur, we give it a half bag of SOP in early May each year.
• DO NOT apply bag nitrogen to it, even when it looks yellow and hungry.
• Don’t use grass colour as the criteria for the paddock growth, use the growth rate figures, it is usually growing as badly or as well as the high nitrogen paddock next to it.
• Hybrid grass and clover mixtures are working really well here but they must be near the yard where they will be seen nearly every day as they grow so fast. We have grazed them every 14-16 days.
• Bloat: Cows need access to straw before and after milking from August onwards and vegetable oil in the water at a rate of 60ml per cow per day. We include yeast in the ration year-round, and I think this may help with getting fewer bloat cases.
• Farmers should now plan to sow at least 10% of the farm with clover next year.

HOUSE COWS WHEN AT TARGET GRASS COVERS

Because grass will be invaluable next spring to minimise meal feeding levels, you must now stop grazing when the farm cover is 600-850kg DM/ha. The former for 2.5 cows/ha and latter for 3.5 cows/ha with a range in between.

• Every day you delay closing in the autumn reduces spring available grass by 12kg DM.
  • Whereas every day you delay grazing in spring only increases yield by 8kg DM.
  • This is the most important decision and action you will take in November, so try to get it correct.
• As grass grows less than 1-3kg DM/ha/day over the winter, and if you need an opening cover of 900-1,100 (last year proved we can deal with covers of up to 1,100). Therefore, you must close up, as per Table 1.
  • To close at these covers you may have to leave one or two paddocks with covers of 1,500-1,600.
  • If you don’t know what I am talking about, contact your adviser immediately or your discussion group. A grass training workshop can help.
• Farm covers over 2,000 lose quality very fast, therefore, where that has arisen get extra stock in to eat off.
• Over 60-70% of the grazing area must be grazed off and closed by November 1.
  • For heavy soils it should be 80-95%.
  • The paddocks being grazed in November will not be grazed until March 20 to early April.
  • If that has not been achieved and a higher proportion remains you must get in extra stock to get that proportion eaten off as soon as possible.
• Keep grass in the diet for as long as possible because of the extra €2.20 per cow per day profit.
• Clover swards must be closed with not more than 500kg DM on them.
• Every farmer should be using the autumn rotation planner to guide grass allocation per day, but grass measurement must also be done so as to STOP grazing when target closing covers are arrived at.

Table 1: Target November and closing grass covers per cow and

average farm cover (AFC).

MASTITIS PREVENTION – AVOID THE FINANCIAL LOSSES

• With milk price in 2026 predicted to be a lot lower than in 2025 we should not entertain any preventable loss of income. Table 2 highlights the possible financial losses per 100-cow herd.
• Prevention is the motto as the cure rate during lactation is very low.

TABLE 2: Effect of SCC on milk yield and losses per 100 cows.

• As the cure rate of mastitis/SCC is 50-70% with dry cow treatment, this is one cost that cannot be avoided.
• The big difference from the past to now is that your vet will be heavily involved in assessing the appropriate drying off drug/procedure for your herd.
  • This is because society wants farmers to be more careful/considerate when using antibiotics and anthelmintics so that their overuse is minimised. This, it is hoped, will ensure that there will be no human or animal bugs resistant to antibiotics.
• Therefore, there will be more teat sealers used on cows with low levels of mastitis, and you will need a prescription from your vet to use the usual dry cow antibiotic.
  • Vet advice will ensure you use the best teat sealer and appropriate dry cow antibiotic – talk to him/her early in the month.
  • It would be advisable to do a milk recording in early November to identify cows with low SCC who are suitable for teat sealing, but cow history will play a bigger role.
• Dry off cows:
  • That are within 56 days of calving.
  • That have a daily milk yield of 7L (0.7kg MS) or less per day.
  • That have SCC levels of over 300,000.
  • That are first calvers that have milked for 270 days.
  • That are thin – be particularly concerned about high yielders, who ‘milk off their backs’.
• Drying off cows is not an easy task and much care, time and planning must be set aside for the job.
• The following suggestions should be taken on board:
  • Treat all quarters of each cow the same.
  • California Mastitis Test (CMT) cows prior to drying off to identify problem quarters. In problem quarters, administer one lactating cow tube every 12 hours for three milkings prior to drying off. All milk should be discarded during this procedure.
  • Dry cow antibiotic tubes and/or teat sealant should be administered after the final milking.
  • Milk out the quarter fully before infusing the dry cow antibiotic/sealant.
  • Disinfect the teat end – vigorously, rub the teat end for 10-15 seconds with cotton wool soaked in methylated spirits.
  • Do not contaminate the nozzle of the antibiotic tube before insertion into the teat canal.
  • Infuse the contents of the antibiotic tube into the quarter – hold teat-end firmly between thumb and forefinger and with other hand, gently massage the antibiotic upwards into the teat.
  • Teat spray (post milking teat disinfectant) treated quarters immediately after infusion at a rate of 20cc/cow.
  • Record cow number, date and product details of all dry cow treatments.
  • Mark the cow (leg band or spray paint on udder) so that cows that have received dry cow antibiotic therapy can be readily recognised.
  • Do not leave cows in yards or soiled areas in the period immediately after dry cow therapy application.
  • Maintain dry cows separate from the milking herd and put dry cows in clean, dry paddocks (particularly for the first two weeks after drying off) to reduce teat exposure to environmental mastitis bacteria.
  • The cow is at a greater risk of new infection for the first three weeks after drying off.
  • Keep a close eye on cows to identify new infections.
• Some farmers are teat sealing heifers now. If this is being done because you have heifers calving down with mastitis, then it must be done extremely carefully and is a tough job.
  • A roll-over crate makes the job easier.
  • Teat sealing cows or heifers is a job that must be done with extreme hygiene care – if not, animal deaths will result within a week.
• You should cull cows that:
  • Had three or more clinical cases this year and had two to three high SCC readings during the year. It is a waste of money treating these cows as they will continue to spread infection to other cows next year.
  • Have just two or three teat – these have no part to play in profitable farming.
• Because of the high price for cull cows, this is a great year to cull cows.

HEALTH AND PARASITE CONTROL

• Because parasites reduce animal performance, we must deal with them.
  • Weanlings must be dosed at housing for type II ostertagia (stomach worms).
• You never know when fluke hits, so if in doubt get a dung sample tested through your vet.
  • Remember, all fluke doses have a milk withholding period, so it is best not done until drying off.
• All animals will need to be treated for lice at housing.
• Lameness must be addressed and prevented by:
  • Having good and adequate facilities, but overcrowding, poor ventilation, with bad surfaces and poor nutrition management are real issues.
  • Getting Farm Relief Services to examine the whole herd and deal with lame cows. This has real merit – experts know what they are doing!
  • Providing a footbath for three consecutive days every month.
• Consult your vet on dosing/vaccination management now to alleviate these tasks in spring.

REPLACEMENT HEIFER CARE

• Weigh your weanling (called R1s) and your in-calf heifers (R2s) now to see how they compare with the targets, based on breed type (Table 3).

Table 3: The target weights for replacements – November 1.

• Animals under target should get extra meal.
• With good silage, for every 10kg R1s are under target, they need 40kg of extra meal. For every 10kg R2s are under target, they need an extra 60kg meal over a period to bring them to target.
• Heifers suffer on most farms at this time of year.
  • They are left to run around, cleaning up bad pastures, either at home or particularly on out-farm blocks.
  • There are only 90-120 days to calving.
  • At an expected weight gain of 0.75kg per day, you need 100 days to put on 75kg.
  • Remember the last three to four weeks before calving does not count for weight gain as the animal’s intake is very low and she diverts most feed into calf growth.
  • Mix the in-calf heifers with the first calvers at housing to minimise stress now and particularly after calving when stress can have a detrimental effect on her subsequent weight gain and conception rates.
• Use Tables 2 and 3 to plan your meal-feeding strategy for your weanlings.
  • Meals will give the following weight gains:

    � 1kg and 2kg of meal will give 0.25kg and 0.4kg gain per day, respectively.

    � R1s should be fed to gain at least 0.5kg per head per day. Some will have to gain more to catch up.

• At grass next spring they should gain 0.75kg (60 days of March and April X 0.75 = 45kg). From this information you can decide what management treatment animals of various weights require.

Table 4: Meal requirements for weanling heifers on silage.

It is obvious from above that:

1. Silage must be analysed (contract readers must also). Table 5 lists the % P required in meal for the various silages.

2. A weighing scales is essential to manage heifer target weights. Discussion groups should buy one together.

• With good management, weanlings that are 20% under target would achieve target mating weights; therefore, feed extra.
• All this information is essential to bring to the attention of contract calf rearer’s so that subsequent hassle doesn’t arise.
• We have had cases where the owner of the animals has been very trusting of the rearer’s ability, based on past history, and hasn’t monitored silage quality and animal target weights. There is only one loser in that situation!

Table 5: Protein levels (%) in meal required to supplement silage of different % proteins.

• Manage replacement health care as above.
  • Many farmers give the leptospirosis vaccine now or earlier to R1s to minimise spring work.
  • Teat seal R2s if there is any risk/history of mastitis in R2s calving down.

IMPORTANT BRIEF MESSAGES

• Soil test now to save on excess P application but use lime and potash to improve efficiency of applied nitrogen and phosphorous and grass growth next year.
  • Apply 2t lime per acre when in doubt.
  • Remember: increasing pH from 5.9 to 6.3 will increase grass yield by nearly 0.5t DM/ha, while increasing from 5.9 to 6.8 will increase yield by over 1t DM/ha.
  • It supports better clover establishment, fewer weeds and weed grasses.
• Do silage analysis now for feeding value and mineral status. This will enable you to supplement with meal if necessary and feed the correct minerals.
• Meal feeding (Table 6) will depend on silage quality and the condition of the animals being addressed:
  • Milking cows (2-4kg, 16-17% P), if grass is tight and silage is poor.
  • Small weanlings (1-2kg 14% P ration).
  • Small in-calf heifers (1-2kg 14% P ration).
  • Autumn calvers; feed 3-8kg, depending on grass supply.

Table 6: Recommendations for dry cow feeding (10-12 weeks dry period).

• Cows must be condition scored (BCS) now so as to have them in BCS of 3-3.5 at calving.

Quotation for the month

Kerryman, John Roche, recently appointed chief science adviser to the New Zealand prime minister, gave the following quotation in relation to his personal experience developing a dairy farm business just before the global financial crisis: “The school of life has very hefty tuition charges.”