The Dairy Edge

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The benefits of white clover inclusion Jul 29, 2019

Show notes

Grassland researcher Brian McCarthy and PhD researcher Brid McClearn join Emma-Louise Coffey to discuss the benefits of white clover inclusion at Clonakilty Agricultural College.

The grass plus white clover treatment grew 1.2 tonnes more grass compared with the grass only sward. Clover content varied from 36% in year 1 to 14% in year 4, which is a driver of grass production and fed quality.

Cows in the grass plus white clover treatment produced 50 kg milk solids compared with grass only treatment. Brid explains this occurs due to increased intake and greater forage quality.

Brian gives his management tips for managing clover in swards emphasising the importance of prevention rather than treatment.

Furthermore, bloat oil during dry weather and small allocations at the start of grazing cycle to avoid gorging in wet weather.

Notwithstanding increasing costs of the grass plus clover swards including feed in spring, labour associated with supplementary feeding and fencing, machinery expenses and treatment with bloat oil, there was an additional €305 with the inclusion of white clover

For more information:
https://www.teagasc.ie/media/website/publications/2019/Clonakilty-Update-The-effect-of-perennial-ryegrass-ploidy-and-white-clover-inclusion-on-animal,-sward-and-farm.pdf

And for more from the Dairy Edge podcast go to:
https://www.teagasc.ie/animals/dairy/the-dairy-edge-podcast/

The move to chlorine-free on farm Jul 24, 2019

Show notes

Milk quality expert, David Gleeson, joins Emma-Louise Coffey to discuss the move to chlorine-free cleaning products on Irish dairy farms.

David explains that while chlorine levels measured in the form of TCM and chlorides are low currently in Irish dairy products, the use of chlorine will be eliminated for cleaning on farm and in processing plants.

Teagasc have developed alternative cleaning protocols to chlorine-based products and encourages farmers to consult with their milk quality advisor and Teagasc advisor to select the most suitable protocol for their farm.

David acknowledges that alternative protocols will require more hot water and acid leading to higher costs cleaning routines.

For more information on milking routines:
https://www.teagasc.ie/media/website/animals/dairy/research-farms/Non-chlorine-cleaning-protocol-april-18.pdf

Bonus Ep: Advice from Grass10's Fergus Bogue at the Moorepark Open Day Jul 19, 2019

Show notes

Fergus Bogue of the Grass10 Team spoke to Emma-Louise Coffey from the Grass Demo at Teagasc's recent Open Day at Moorepark to discuss grass quality and stem levels on Irish farms.

Fergus also explained what the Grass Demo was about and how farmers would get to see what kind of covers their cows should be grazing and what they graze down to.

For more information:
https://www.teagasc.ie/crops/grassland/grass10/

The High Return-Low Difficulty model to help with your decision making Jul 15, 2019

Show notes

Management Consultant Nollaig Heffernan joins Emma-Louise Coffey to emphasise the importance of planning around decision making for your farm.

Nollaig explains that good planning and decision making will help achieve your personal goals, leads to more profitability on farm investment and makes your farm a more attractive place to work for family and employees.

Nollaig introduces a LEAN tool, the PICK Model, to help with decision making. The PICK Model considers the Return on Investment and the Level of Difficulty for any task or project you are considering for your farm. Are you willing to invest your time and your money in these tasks/projects?

Ideally all decisions will lead to high return and require low difficulty. Often there are projects that are either low return or high difficulty. Nollaig explains that we must look at these situations and identify how we can improve the circumstances.

For more from the Dairy Edge podcast go to:
https://www.teagasc.ie/animals/dairy/the-dairy-edge-podcast/

How dairy expansion has impacted the Irish economy Jul 08, 2019

Show notes

Economist Ciaran Fitzgerald joins Emma-Louise Coffey to discuss how dairy expansion has impacted the Irish economy.

Ciaran recounts commonly reported expansion figures such as milk output and value of exports but takes a more in depth look at the economic impact on the Irish economy and in particular on rural Ireland.

Over 60,000 people are employed in dairy industry, including 19,000 employed directly on dairy farms.

Interestingly, Ciaran looked at the money spent in the Irish Economy relative to the value of exports for specific industries. For each €1 in exports of Irish dairy products, a huge €0.91 is spent in the Irish economy. This compared with just €0.10 for multinational exports and €0.60 for Irish indigenous companies.

Ciaran acknowledges the increasing value of Irish milk due to high value product profile including infant formula and sports nutrition changing from traditional focus such as cheddar cheese.

He also maintains that the Irish dairy industry will continue to target such value added markets which will somewhat mitigate the effects of BREXIT on the Irish dairy industry.

New cost-effective methods of slurry spreading Jun 30, 2019

Show notes

William Burchill joins Emma-Louise Coffey to discuss new cost-effective methods of slurry spreading.

William reminds us of the value of slurry, which is the equivalent to 6 units of Nitrogen, 5 units of Phosphorus and 30 units of Potassium.

Interestingly, slurry from dairy cows, that is often mixed with dairy washings from collecting yards are diluted and offer the half rate of Phosphorus and Potassium.

Explaining the reasons behind new slurry spreading methods, the context is in our aims to reduce both Greenhouse Gas and Ammonia emissions. Benefits to the farmer includes reducing environmental footprint, reduced contamination of grass, greater nutrient availability and flexibility in what paddocks where slurry can be spread.

Use of contractors with low emission slurry tanks is more expensive in the region of €10-25/hr while the purchase of a low emission slurry tank can be €13,000-15,000 more expensive compared with conventional slurry tanks.

William is confident however, that effective use of low emission methods will compensate for additional costs.

Analysis of the growth and expansion of the national dairy herd Jun 24, 2019

Show notes

Moorepark researchers Brendan Horan and Laurence Shalloo join Emma-Louise Coffey to critically review the growth and expansion of the national dairy herd.

Brendan addressed the environmental impact of expansion highlighting the benefit of grass-based systems and explains the low environment footprint relative to both European and international milk producing competitors. The net environmental footprint of the dairy industry has increased while the output per unit milk has reduced.

Looking at the target net profit of €2,500 per ha, Laurence explains there is a roadmap set out with targets in all aspects of the dairy business to achieve this; farmers must get the basics right, grass utilisation and 6 week calving rate are key drivers of profitability in a simple grass-based system. The top 10% of dairy farmers in the country are averaging €2,200 per ha while the average farmer is averaging €1,200 per ha over a number of years.
He also reviews the debt levels on Irish dairy farms, explaining that at €900 per cow, we are very lowly borrowed in comparison with other countries, despite €1.5 billion euro of investment in recent years.
Both Brendan and Laurence acknowledge the remarkable achievements of dairy farmers, creating a prosperous €4 billion industry.

Why you should include white clover in grazing swards Jun 17, 2019

Show notes

Deirdre gives an overview of the benefits and challenges of white clover in intensive grass-based systems of milk production.

She explains the ability of white clover to fix Nitrogen - in a systems study, Nitrogen was reduced by 100 kg Nitrogen/ha with no reduction in grass production in grass + white clover swards compared with grass only swards.

Furthermore, improved animal performance is evident with an increase of 33 kg MS per cow observed in grass + white clover swards compared with grass only swards. This is driven by clover being a higher quality feed and cows achieving higher intake.

When considering the challenges of white clover inclusion, Deirdre explains the primary concerns for dairy farms include bloat and low spring growth. Deirdre lists strategies to reduce the risk of bloat including vigilant grassland management and use of bloat oil.

Spring growth is a greater challenge with white clover growing from 8®C compared with grass growing from 5 ®C. To overcome this, a budget of 1 high quality bale per cow for the 1st grazing rotation.

For more information:
https://www.teagasc.ie/media/website/publications/2018/Managing-grass-clover-swards-in-an-intensive-grass-based-system.pdf

Results of the 2018 Teagasc National Farm Survey Jun 10, 2019

Show notes

Agricultural Economist Emma Dillon joins Emma-Louise Coffey with the results of the Teagasc National Farm Survey highlighting that although incomes declines by 30% in 2018 compared with 2017, incomes remained substantial at €61,000.

Emma explains there were many factors at play, namely 2017 dairy income being at a record high, high production costs in 2018 including additional feed and workload.

She compared the dairy sector with other farming enterprises and explains that the dairy sector remains dominant. Dairy farmers continue to make the most profit, accounting for 17% of farms included in the national farm survey but 50% of the total income. Furthermore, dairy farmers have a low reliance on direct payments, accounting for 34% of total income in 2018.

For more information:
https://www.teagasc.ie/media/website/publications/2019/National-Farm-Survey-Preliminary-Results-2018.pdf

The current grassland situation on farm and a look at future growth rate predictions Jun 05, 2019

Show notes

Micheal O’Leary from PastureBase Ireland and Grassland Researcher Elodie Ruelle join Emma-Louise Coffey to discuss the current grassland situation on farm and look at future growth rate predictions.

Micheal starts by explaining the current grassland situation, including high growth rates of on average 77 kg DM/ha exceeding farm demand of 60 kg DM/ha. The additional feed is driving farm cover/cow to over 200 kg DM/ha, compared with target of 160-180 kg DM/ha.

The considerable amount of rain that has fallen in recent days combined with predictions of continued high growth re-assures Micheal that farmers can be proactive in removing heavy covers to prevent a reduction in milk production.

Micheal's tips are:

1. Graze maximum cover of 1,500 kg DM/ha

2. Measure twice weekly during peak grass growth and remove heavy paddocks (Spread soiled water or compound fertiliser after spreading)

3. Target farm cover of 160-180 kg DM/ha and an 18-21 day rotation

Elodie Ruelle explains the model that she has created for grass growth which accounts for weather conditions (past and predicted), soil type, Nitrogen levels and Biomass. The grass growth predictions are made across 40 farms in Ireland. Accuracy is high as the farms are measuring at least weekly and recording Nitrogen usage on a weekly basis. Elodie's predications appear in the weekly Grass 10 bulletin.

Finally, Micheal reflects on Grassland for 2019 reporting the excellent year to date including at least 1 additional grazing across farms on PastureBase Ireland this year compared with 2018 with production up 1 tonne/ha.

For more information:
https://www.teagasc.ie/crops/grassland/grass10/grass10-newsletter/

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