Lower stock levels give lower per cow yields

LOW stocking rates and low yields per cow result in very low average yields per hectare on Irish dairy farms. Therefore, there is tremendous scope for increasing production.

There is a scarcity of good quality dairy heifers, but for most farmers the priority should be to get reasonably good yields from existing cows before spending money increasing cow numbers.

More than half our dairy farmers have milk yields per cow of less than 900 gallons, which is probably 25% less than their genetic potential, even with moderate levels of concentrate feeding.