Spring calving tips for winter milk producers
Revealing research carried out by Teagasc using monitor farm performances has found that while cows in winter producing herds with a long calving interval produced more milk on a seasonal basis, their lifetime performance was less than those with the short calving interval.
George Ramsbottom, Teagasc Specialist Services, Grange, says farmers should pay more attention to fertility and EBI in winter milk herds.
Of the analysis on winter milk herds, he says, “The results for most of the parameters analysed show that the winter milk herds are falling short of the breeding targets set for dairy farms.”
“This performance is resulting in a spread-out calving pattern in the next season and a high percentage of empty cows carried over into the spring calving section of the herds”.
Advising farmers of the findings in “Today’s Farm” for specialist Teagasc clients, he confirms the findings of Dick Esslemont from Reading University in analysing UK data which found that as the calving interval increased, milk production declined, even in high yielding herds, due to the gradual decline in daily milk yield, and because the number of days dry increased as the calving pattern increased.
Mr Ramsbottom said that while cows with a shorter calving interval may be shown as producing less milk per 305 day lactation, they produce more milk over their lifetime, because the number of days dry are fewer.
In economic terms, the results showed that the cows with the shorter calving interval may be recorded as having lower milk yield per lactation based on 305 days, over their lifetime in economic terms they were superior for the producer because they producer €500/head more profit.
He added that both EBI and fertility were important to the winter milk producers and good heat detection is critical.
