Latest news with #HolsteinFriesian
Agriland
4 days ago
- Business
- Agriland
Dairy Focus: Keeping breeding simple but effective in Co. Tipperary
At a recent Teagasc/Dairygold farm walk in Co. Tipperary, dairy farmer Mark Lonergan highlighted his breeding performance and how conception rates have been going so far, four weeks into the breeding season. Lonergan is milking 107 cows this year after reducing his cow numbers to bring down his stocking rate so he can match growth rates with demand during the mid-season, cutting down on silage and meal costs. The farm was also up at 250kg organic nitrogen (N)/ha and with an additional 8ac of land being rented and the reduction of cow numbers, the stocking rate last year sat at 206kg N/ha, leaving the farm comfortably stocked. Grassland management and breeding quality replacements was something that Lonergan had clearly prided himself on, as it was evident on the day how shrewd he was at keeping quality grass in front of cows which in turn helps achieve better conception rates. The herd of cows are primarily Holstein Friesian with a hint of Jersey in amongst the herd, as Lonergan used a couple of Jersey straws a couple of years ago. Performance For a primarily black-and-white herd of cows, Lonergan's percentages are very impressive as the cows produced 535kg of milk solids (MS)/cow, averaging 16.81L/cow/day with 4.64% fat and 3.81% protein. This high quality milk accumulated with a somatic cell count (SCC) of 138,000 cells/ml earned him an average milk price of 55.3c/L which is 4.2c/L over the Dairygold average. This milk price was highlighted in detail, as farmers often glance over how much above or beneath the average they are, but the significance of a few cent over was a major topic of discussion on the day. From 2018 to 2024, on average, Lonergan was over the average milk price by 3.3c/L which would have accumulated to €164,759 extra over the average Dairygold milk price throughout the seven years. With an aim of producing an extra 30kg/MS/cow this year with less volume, the projected cumulative value over the eight years is €184,759, which highlights how much a few cents over the average price can accumulate to over a number of years. Currently cows are producing 26L/cow/day at 4.34% fat and 3.68% protein, equating to 2.15kg MS/cow/day off 18kg of grass DM and 2kg of an 11% crude protein (CP) nut. Mark Lonergan's cows out grazing The farm grew 12.6t of grass last year and Lonergan fed 1.4t of meal/cow last year due to the poor grass growing last year as he usually tries feed between 700-800kg of meal cow each year. This growth and production was driven through applying 185kg N/ha -of which 98% was protected urea – applying 63t of lime. All slurry was spread through low emission slurry spreading (LESS), and 35% of the milking platform was in grass-white clover swards. 58% of the soil on the farm has a pH between 6.2 and 6.7, with 79% in index three or four for phosphorus (P) and 78% index three or four for potassium. Lonergan still goes with the 'little but often' approach for lime, as Teagasc dairy specialist, Stuart Childs highlighted that 0.5t/ha of lime will be washed away each year. For clover paddocks, Lonergan hopes to cut back on N application in the next number of weeks, as he is still applying 16-17 units of N/ac on low quantity clover paddocks and just soiled water on higher clover content paddocks. The farmer reseeds about 10% of the farm each year in which all his reseeds include clover and said that he used to over-sow clover but the results were 'hit and miss'. These efficient measures of turning grass into milk solids means that the farm's carbon footprint sits at 0.88kg CO 2 eq per kg of fat and protein corrected milk and nitrogen use efficiency of 29% and a N surplus of 184kg N/ha. Breeding Lonergan expressed that he has been breeding for percentages over the last couple of years while going for a higher maintenance figure, which currently sits at €14. Over the last seven years, the herd's fat % PTA went from 0.13 to 0.18 while the protein % PTA went from 0.08 to 0.13. The bulls that Lonergan has been using over the last few year are generally around 0kg of milk or plus or minus 100kg of milk with 0.2% protein and 0.30% fat. His herd has an average economic breeding index (EBI) of €253 with the 2026 calves predicted to be €292 and the weighted average of his bull team this year is €332. The bull team average 31.3kg of milk solids with -25kg of milk and 0.36% fat and 0.22% protein. Lonergan's collecting yard and drafting system coming from the parlour The calving interval last year was 371 days and Lonergan achieved an 89% six-week calving rate, with all of his heifers calving down within 26 months. Lonergan uses all dairy artificial insemination (AI) in the first 3-3.5 weeks with no over complications as straws are not matched up to each individual cow due to the similarity in bulls used. All the heifers were inseminated on May 8 after a fixed time AI programme and all received sexed semen straws. Lonergan achieved a 67% conception rate with sexed semen on heifers last year and 65% conception rate on cows last year. The Co. Tipperary farmer said he would never go back after using fixed timed AI on heifers for the last couple of years as he said they will all calve around February 9, before the peak of calving season which takes the pressure off. Breeding season for the cows starts on May 1 and only six cows were selected for sexed semen this year. Any cow that comes into heat in the first three weeks will get a conventional dairy straw as this year with over 90% submitted after three weeks. On the farm this year, 47 heifer calves were born, of which Lonergan kept 23 and sold 24, as he wants to ensure that he has an 18% replacement rate in two year's time. The first round of repeats will all receive conventional dairy straws and then Lonergan will use Aberdeen Angus for the rest of the breeding season. Lonergan is happy the way his breeding season works as it is not over complicated and he has repeat customers for Friesian bull calves and his surplus heifer calves. He is waiting for the calves' genomic results to pick the best calves for himself and sells the rest. Lonergan discussing farm performance with Teagasc dairy adviser, Darragh Kelly It is evident that the cows in the herd are well-fed as energy intakes are always maximised through grass utilisation and a small bit of meal which helps with fertility and conception. However, Lonergan highlighted that the Smaxtec bolus has helped immensely with his heat detection and conception rates. He is in his thrid year of having the Smaxtec bolus, which gives data straight from the reticulum, providing information on inner body temperature, rumination, water intake, heat detection, and calving detection, amongst other data. He has found the bolus a great aid in getting cows served at the right times and not missing heats, as well as detecting cows that are sick or have mastitis early before it becomes a problem. Lonergan runs a simple breeding season and overall system which proves very effective, as through doing the basics to a very high standard, he is reaping the rewards through milk production, grass utilisation and fertility performance.
Agriland
6 days ago
- General
- Agriland
Dingle farm producing 750kg MS/cow to host Kerry Club open day
The Kerry Holstein Friesian Breeder's Club open day will be held on Ronan Sugrue's farm on Sunday, June 1, in Burnham, Dingle from 12:30p.m. to 3:30p.m. Ronan is a fourth generation farmer and has been milking cows since 2014, currently milking 90 pedigree Holstein Friesian cows with a pedigree classification of 87.7 on Dingle harbour. Getting into milking cows, Ronan decided to go Pedigree Holstein Friesian. He felt a higher feed system and higher producing cow would suit him better as the milking platform is limited at 66ac. The weather in his part of the world does not allow for early grazing and it also does not allow for keeping cows out late into the back-end of the year. So, either way, no matter what cow he had, he would have to be buffer feeding and feeding extra meal, so a cow that would respond better to buffer feeding and feeding indoors is the type he felt would suit his system best. Since taking over the farm at 23 years of age, and converting from sucklers to dairy, Ronan has put up a 14-unit Dairymaster swing over parlour, 100 new cubicles, with plenty of slurry storage, and most recently, a new calf shed. Ronan is urging everyone to call out to his farm this Sunday for the open day to see the cows, heifers, and calves and to have a look around the yard, with plenty of food and drink there for everyone on the day. Farm system Ronan is also a breeding adviser with World Wide Sires, so has a keen interest in what type of genetics he brings onto his farm. All the bulls he uses on the farm are America Holsteins, as he hones in on the total performance index (TPI) of the bulls with a particular focus on conformation. He also strives for a bull that will give his replacements 'a decent bit of milk without compromising on components' while selecting traits on longevity. Ronan will use 120 sexed semen straws during the breeding season, which for him starts around the first week of April as he likes to have cows and particularly heifers calving down in early January. The farmer has a high replacement rate as he carries 60 followers altogether each year, 30 heifer calves, and another 30 bulling heifers. Ronan feeds about 2.5t/cow and makes a lot of silage to buffer feed his cows as he has 100ac of land rented to make silage. He runs a multi-cut system, where he cuts silage every six to seven weeks during the spring into the summer months, accumulating four cuts of silage each year. Ronan's cows grazing away Each cut will receive 40 units of nitrogen (N) in chemical form and an additional 2,000gal/ac of slurry will also be spread. The four-cut system along with the extra meal seems to paying itself back as the cows are producing 9,620L/cow at 4.34% fat and 3.51% protein, which equates to over 750kg of milk solids (MS)/cow. Kerry Club open day The Kerry Holstein Friesian Breeders Club have an annual stock judging event and open day, and Ronan is delighted to host it on his farm this year. He said: 'Anyone can attend, it's not just for members of the club – everyone is welcome to come down and have a look around and get involved in stock judging'. In total, 18 animals will be on display for stock judging, consisting of three groups of different classes of stock from first calvers to junior cows and to senior cows. Competitors are then going to rank the stock from one to six and the master judge on the day will pick his order, after which the closest competitors to the master judge's pick will win in their respective categories. There will be three age categories on the day: 12-18 years, 18-26 years and a senior category, with prizes for winners going out on the day. The top three winners in each category will go on to represent the Kerry Friesian Breeder's Club in the All-Ireland Inter-club stock judging at the Irish Holstein Friesian Association (IHFA) open day. The Kerry Holstein Friesian Breeders Club officially launched its annual herds competition last week, which celebrates the club's 50th anniversary this year. The competition is open to pedigree herds. Entries should be sent to Geraldine Harty, herds competition coordinator, Ballylongane, Ballyheigue, Co. Kerry, (087) 816 8281.
Agriland
25-05-2025
- General
- Agriland
Focus: German dairy farm staying connected to consumers
By Chris McCullough Making daily videos about his dairy farm in Germany is no easy task, but it is one that Amos Venema carries out with a passion, in order to keep consumers connected to how milk is produced. Amos uses a number of social media outlets, such as X and Instagram, as well as MyKuhTube, to interact with the public, educating them on where their food comes from. With a reach of over two million people per month, Amos says the goal of his videos is to allow consumers to approach him with openness and curiosity and take the time to understand how farming works. He said: 'Appreciation begins with understanding. Talking to one another is always better than talking about one another.' Amos Venema farms 130ha, most of which is in grassland German dairy farm The 55-year-old farmer runs the dairy farm with his brother Jan in the East Frisia region of northern Germany. Dating back to its formation in 1865, the farm extends to 130ha and runs 150 milking cows. Amos said: 'I started working on our traditional family farm in 1989 after finishing college. My younger brother Jan joined us on the farm in 2010. Around 8ha of corn silage is grown on the farm to feed the cows 'Today we farm in partnership with 150 milking cows on 130ha, 122 of which are used for grassland and eight for corn silage production. 'We achieve about 14t of dry matter (DM) per hectare from the grassland and 15t/ha from the corn silage. Our average rainfall in this region is around 850L/m²/per year. Most of our land is just about 1m below sea level,' he added. Cows are fed a TMR in the winter time topped up with concentrates in the parlour All the cows are Holstein Friesian and are milked twice per day, at 4:30a.m and 4:00p.m. The cows yield around 9,000kg of GMO-free milk per cow per year at 4.4% butterfat and 3.4% protein. Milk is sold to the DMK co-op at an average price for 2024 of 47c/L. A 16-point swing over herringbone parlour from Lemmer Fullwood is used to milk the cows Amos said: 'Our top 25% of cows are bred with hornless AI [artificial insemination] bulls, usually via sexed semen, with bulls such as Skalla PP, Member PP, Keane PP, Solist PP, Advokat PP, and Signum PP. 'Over 50% of the cows are bred to a beef bull, usually Belgian Blue and the remainder with plainer dairy bulls. 'For us, it is important to have cows with good longevity and a good health index. We do not prefer cows with a very high milk yield, because these types of animals often need a lot of maize in their diet, which is an extra cost as we need to purchase it in. We prefer cows with a low lactation curve,' he added. This year the farm will reach the animal welfare standards of HF3 or QM++. The cows graze outside about 180 days per year, the heifers graze about 200 days per year. The cows are Holstein Friesian, bred for longevity rather than high milk production The brothers get an extra 2c bonus for the higher standard of QM++ milk. German farm operation During the grazing season the cows receive a high energy content ration in the barn. In the winter time the ration contains even levels of protein and energy. Both rations include grass silage, maize, hay, beet pulp, rape, and grain. Contractors are hired to carry out the field work, mostly silage production Amos and Jan are the only labour on the farm carrying out the day-to-day tasks, while local contractors carry out all the fieldwork. If any of the brothers are travelling or are sick, they hire workers from a farmers' organisation. 'We use a 16-point swing over herringbone parlour from Lemmer Fullwood fitted with cow management sensors and tools from Afimilk,' Amos explained. 'All aspects of herd management are controlled by software from Afimilk, and the cows wear pedometers to generate data from their behaviour.' The milking cows are fed a total mixed ration (TMR) in the barn using a Sgariboldi Gulliver self-propelled machine with a horizontal paddle system. A self-propelled Sgariboldi Gulliver mixer wagon is used to feed the cows On top of that, each cow receives 3kg of concentrate in the milking parlour, while the best performing cows that are yielding over 25kg of milk per day are able to get more, depending on their milking average, of up to 7kg of concentrates at the feeder stations in the barn. Future In terms of looking to the future, Amos said they do not want to expand the herd, because labour at an affordable price is becoming increasingly hard to find. Amos said: 'We just rented the neighbour's farm which means we will invest in modernising the whole set-up in the barns. We are not planning to expand because to get good farm workers for a payable price is a major problem. 'Looking ahead, I can see how the carbon footprint of a farm will have a major effect on farmers as we will be forced to spend money to cut our emissions, as per regulations. Animal welfare and environment regulations will be other challenges that Amos expects to face in the future. The Venema brothers run their dairy farm in the East Frisia region of northern Germany 'Already, on our farm we have around 80% of our fields participating in special environmental programmes and we are paid extra for them,' he continued. 'Two years ago, we calculated our carbon footprint and since then we have reduced our footprint by 300/kg of milk produced by reducing our electric power consumption for the milk cooling. 'For 150 cows we now need around 43,000kWh per year, and that is down from 55,000kWh for the same amount of milk two years ago. 'Another challenge we face on this farm regards wild birds migration. During the winter time from September almost until the end of May we have lots of wild geese, up to 150,000 of them, on our fields that destroy about 60% of our first and fourth cuts of silage,' he said.
Otago Daily Times
20-05-2025
- General
- Otago Daily Times
‘Proud half-farm owners' look ahead
Photos: Shawn McAvinue Southland sharemilker Nan de Haan is proud to own a dairy farm, which is "hitting its stride". Mr de Haan and his wife Marissa and sons Lewis, 4, and Colin, 2 months, are in their fifth season 50:50 sharemilking at Awarua Wetlands, about 20km east of Invercargill. When they started, the dairy farm had a major facelift including a new milking shed, fences, lanes, feed pad, effluent system, house and extensive regrassing. The grass was performing, the herd was fertile and milk production was humming, Mr de Haan said. This season, farm owners Greg and Sonya Herbert would sell them their half share of the property. "We are going to be proud half-farm owners," Mr de Haan said. Herd manager Rommel Dy has worked for the de Haans for the past eight seasons. Winy and Maarten van Rossum own the other half of the farm. The de Haans were contract milking when they began establishing their herd for an average price of $1400 each. "I got them from here, there and everywhere," Mr de Haan said. A major focus when selecting foundation heifers and cows was their production worth, an index estimating a cow's lifetime production ability. Breeds in his herd included Jersey, Holstein Friesian and Norwegian Red. The herd was analysed before mating to identify qualities cows needed and qualities bull semen could bring. "There are no bad cows and no bad bulls — there are only wrong combinations," he said. Bulls had been selected to produce heifer calves with traits better than their dam including stronger feet, more capacious rib cages and udders hanging higher from the ground. "This is how I hope to get this group of liquorice allsorts to be a more coherent herd," he said. Mating starts on November 1 and the herd begins calving in early August. Calves stay on until early December and then go to a grazier in Fortrose, on the western edge of the Catlins. The heifers stay in Fortrose for two winters, returning home mid-July to a bed of woodchips near the feed pad. All of the cows were wintered on farm. After the herd was dried off this season, about 225 cows would be wintered on grass and baleage. "It is a simple system — pretty much just feed them until they've finished it," he said. Sheep and beef farmer Ray McCrostie (left) questions his neighbour, dairy farmer Nan de Haan at a DairyNZ field day this month. About another 75 cows, usually the early calvers, would be wintered on straw and silage in the old milking shed. "I sometimes put the late calvers in there before I dry them off to stretch my season out and then swap them with my earliest calvers." Baleage and silage was made on farm and bought in. His silage feeding plan was to "feed it until the cows are happy" rather than measuring it and feeding out a certain amount. A new feed management practice was drilling about 150kg of oat seed in late July in paddocks to winter cows. If conditions were favourable, two cuts of oats were available by late November and then the paddock was ploughed and regrassed. This season, the herd began eating supplementary feed from a pad earlier this month. People on a feed pad listen to Mr de Haan speak about his sharemilking business. As autumn had been favourable, the cows would spend about half the amount of time on the pad as last autumn. A wet and cold spring last year meant the cows spent most of the season on the feed pad. Milk production was about 4% down on last season. The drop was due to a wet autumn last year, prompting an earlier dry off than usual. If autumn was favourable, some cows were milked for up to two weeks into winter. The herd was now being milked twice a day and the frequency would reduce to once a day at the end of this month, he said. Now cows were being given palm kernel and distiller's dried grains in the milking shed. Cows of 50:50 sharemilkers Nan and Marissa de Haan on Awarua Wetlands. Grain features in the mix earlier in the season. "Cows need energy to milk," he said. On average, 591kg of milksolids was produced per cow in the 2023-24 season. The herd had the potential to produce more than 600kg of milksolids "with similar profitability, if not sharper". "We have not peaked yet." More milk could be produced from more precise feed management, he said. The farm had forgiving sandy soil and a temperate, summer safe climate, which helped grow grass.
Agriland
01-05-2025
- Business
- Agriland
River Blackwater Catchment Series: 480 cows with water quality at helm
Agriland Media Group is delighted to collaborate with Dairygold to bring you the River Blackwater Catchment Series. Dairygold milk supplier, Kevin Twomey is milking 480 cows in Ballyhooley, Co. Cork alongside the River Blackwater valley, on 450 acres of land. The milking platform is stocked at 2.7 cows/ha, with cows out at grass by night since the latter stages of February. The main driver of Kevin's system is maximising days at grass while minimising meal and extra supplementation fed. Genetics and herd performance For the last couple of years, Kevin has introduced Jersey genetics to his herd of high economic breeding index (EBI) Holstein Friesians, to further build on the great fertility and production traits brought by the Holstein genetics. For the coming breeding season, Kevin will return to using high EBI Holstein Friesian bulls, to ensure a more balanced cow going forward. The herd has an average EBI of €257 (top 2% in the country), with a milk sub-index of €74, fertility sub-index of €117, and maintenance sub-index of €21. The average EBI of the 2025 spring-born calves was €299. Even in a challenging year like 2024, the cows performed very well in Kevin's system, delivering over 450kg of milk solids/cow at 4.53% fat and 3.83% protein. The gathering yard leading into the rotary in Kevin's yard The cubicle shed and open top cubicles on the farm Kevin's aim is to produce a cow that can deliver high milk solids, with good health traits and a maintenance of between €15 and €25. This breeding protocol will also help Kevin deliver on his sustainability targets, reducing his Nutrient Balance figure, as his cows can effectively convert grass to milk solids without much extra costs. River Blackwater Catchment The River Blackwater runs right through Kevin's farm. Therefore, implementing effective nutrient management and protective measures is key for the Co. Cork farmer in maintaining and improving the water quality status in the river. Kevin believes that 'everyone has a role to play in this', as there are a lot of cows and a lot of tillage in the areas surrounding the River Blackwater. He feels that it should not just be down to individual farmers to take up these practices and measures and said: 'We need all farmers involved along the way'. Kevin partakes in the Agricultural Sustainability Support and Advisory Programme (ASSAP) with Dairygold and has qualified for European Innovation Partnership (EIP) funding, through the 'Farming for Water' initiative, which he describes as 'easy to draw down, as it is easy to understand it'. Kevin is currently taking the following action on his farm through the EIP funding: Measure Min Max Unit Payment rate 1 Rainwater Management plan 1 1 /plan €250 2 Farmer Training Course 1 1 /course €156 4 Nitrogen Surplus 4 4 /plan €250 23 Water Bars 1 6 /unit €213 24 Sediment Traps 1 6 /unit/year €120 30 Bovine exclusion from water bodies 10m 1000m /m €2.77 39 Host Farmer Payment 1 5 /farmer €180 40 Contractor Mobilisation Fee 1 1 /applicant €200 42 Farmyard bucket and brush 1 1 50% of cost to max of €2,000 €2,000 43 Slurry Testing 1 4 /farmer €70 Nutrient management Kevin's farm is a light soil type, where retaining nitrogen (N) in the soil can be a challenge. Maximising the utilisation of this nitrogen is crucial for driving returns in production, grass growth, calf weight gain, and milk sales, which Kevin can achieve by applying fertiliser at the right rates, at the right times, and in the right places. This careful balance between nutrient inputs and outputs clearly demonstrates how farming with water quality in mind can be both environmentally and economically sustainable, even in an intensive, high-performing system. The cow going out to grass after milking Kevin has a nitrogen balance of 187kg of N/ha and a phosphorus balance of 4.5kg of P/ha, and is consistently working towards improving these figures. He is improving them though implementing numerous practices, including the following: Getting soil fertility right by correcting soil pH and maintaining optimal P and K indexes; Effectively utilising low emission slurry spreading (LESS); Limiting his N usage; Timing his N applications to get the full value of nutrients, as going out too early or in the wrong conditions with slurry or chemical fertiliser wastes a lot of the nutrients and limits the grass growth response; Investing in slurry storage, both for slurry and soiled water, to give him a better window to hold slurry and improve utilisation by applying it at the right times. The cows out grazing after milking Kevin noted the 67% good to high quality status in the River Blackwater, which has its catchment in a dense agricultural area, according to a catchment report produced by the EPA in 2024. The Dairygold supplier believes it is in everyone's interest to improve water quality and is reaching out to fellow farmers, saying: 'Do a small bit more to get the moderate quality status waters into a good quality status.'
