A Comparison of Three Systems of Milk Production With Different Land Use Strategies

Under the Luxemburg agreement FAPRI-Ireland (Breen & Hennessey 2003) projects that milk price will decrease by 5.0 to 5.5 c/l because of reductions in support for butter and skimmed milk powder. These changes mean that many dairy farmers need to reappraise their systems of milk production and consider necessary adjustments that will ensure viability in the longer term. The objective of this study was to model three different systems of milk production in scenarios where quota, cow numbers or land was restricted

Optimising Financial Return from Grazing in Temperate Pastures

Key Points The increased interest in pasture-based systems of milk production in recent years has been largely generated through lower product prices and rising costs of production. Pasture based systems of milk production decrease unit production costs, through lower feed and labour expenses, and reduced capital investment. Systems utilising grazed pasture will be optimised in regions where pasture production potential is high, variability in seasonal pasture supply and quality is low, manufacturing milk accounts for a large proportion of total production, and where large areas of land are available at relatively low cost. Pasture based systems may allow greater global sustainability (through reduced use of fuel, herbicides and pesticides), increased product quality, improved animal welfare and increased labour efficiency

The Partial Replacement of Perennial Ryegrass Silage with Ensiled Biorefined Perennial Ryegrass Press Cake, and its Impact on Productivity of Late Lactation Dairy Cows

Although necessary to maintain milk production in late lactation when grass is scarce, dependency on imported concentrate has negative environmental credentials; diversifying native feeds i.e., perennial ryegrass, using biorefinery, to produce high quality by-products may be a solution (Sanders et al., 2020). To validate these suggestions, a study was undertaken on dairy cows during the winter period; 60% of a perennial ryegrass silage diet was replaced with perennial ryegrass (PRG) press cake in treatment cows (GSPC; n=20), while a perennial ryegrass silage diet was offered to control cows (GS; n=20). Cows substituted with press cake produced 9.1 and 10.5 % more milk solids (kg), and fat and protein corrected milk (kg), respectively, compared to their GS herd mates (P \u3c 0.05). The GSPC cows also produced 6.5% more methane than GS cows (P\u3c0.05). This was primarily driven by a higher group average dry matter intake in GSPC cows (15.6 kg) compared with GS cows (15.1 kg). Although cows offered press cake had a higher group average dry matter intake, they were not significantly heavier than cows offered a silage based diet, and they tended (P=0.05) to have a lower body condition score (BCS). Cows substituted with press cake produced 3.8% more methane per kg dry matter intake and 13.0% more methane per kg body weight (P=0.01), respectively. Feeding PRG press cake to late lactation dairy cows did not improve environmental credentials, as there was a greater methane output compared to cows offered a grass silage based diet. Although PRG press cake significantly improved milk solids yield, when methane was expressed per kg milk solids output was similar for treatment and control cows

Economic impact of different strategies to use sex-sorted sperm for reproductive management in seasonal-calving, pasture-based dairy herds

peer reviewedTo maximize efficiency, profitability, and societal acceptance of modern dairy production, it is important to minimize the production of male dairy calves with poor beef merit. One solution involves using sex-sorted sperm (SS) to generate dairy replacements and breeding all other cows to an easy-calving, short-gestation bull with good beef merit. We used the Pasture Based Herd Dynamic Milk Model to investigate the effect of herd fertility and use of SS on farm net profit in a herd of 100 cows. This was completed by simulating herds with differing fertility performance (good, average, poor), and differing farm reproductive management [conventional semen (CONV) or SS with varying pregnancy per artificial insemination (P/AI) relative to CONV (i.e., relative P/AI 100%, 85%, and 70%)]. As an additional consideration, the method of allocating SS to cows was also examined. The first option used SS on random heifers and cows (S). The second option used SS on heifers and targeted high-fertility cows (SSel). The final option was similar to SSel, but used a fixed-time artificial insemination (AI) protocol to facilitate AI on the farm mating start date (SSync). For CONV, dairy breed semen was used for AI until 50 animals were pregnant (50% chance of a female calf), whereas for S, SSel, or SSync the target number of animals successfully conceiving with SS was set at 28 (based on assumed 90% chance of a female calf from pregnancies derived from SS). Beef breed semen was used on all other dams. The results indicated that the biggest effect on farm net profit was not based on whether or not SS was used, but instead was most affected by the overall fertility performance of the herd. Total farm profit decreased by 10% between the good and average fertility herds, and decreased by a further 12% between the average and poor fertility herds. In almost all situations, when the relative P/AI with SS was 85%, use of SS led to an overall increase of the farm net profit. There was an economic benefit of using either SSel or SSync compared with S for the average and poor fertility herds but not for the good fertility herd, highlighting an interaction between SS P/AI and overall herd fertility as well as management practices. If the relative P/AI with SS was <70%, the use of SS led to a decrease in profitability in all simulations except for SSync, highlighting the importance of a good management strategy for use of SS. The findings in this study indicated that SS has significant potential to help facilitate greater integration between the dairy and beef production sectors, as well as increase farm profitability when used appropriately

Economic assessment of Holstein-Friesian dairy cows of divergent Economic Breeding Index evaluated under seasonal calving pasture-based management

peer-reviewedThe objective of this study was to investigate the economic performance of 2 genetic groups (GG) of Holstein-Friesian dairy cows of divergent Economic Breeding Index (EBI), evaluated within 3 contrasting spring-calving pasture-based feeding treatments (FT). The study was a simulated economic appraisal, using the Moorepark Dairy Systems Model, a stochastic budgetary simulation model integrating biological data obtained from a 4-yr experiment conducted from 2013 to 2016. The 2 divergent GG were (1) high EBI representative of the top 5% nationally (elite) and (2) EBI representative of the national average (NA). The 3 FT were reflective of slight restriction to generous feeding. The elite GG had the lowest replacement rate, and therefore had lower replacement costs and an older and more productive parity structure. The elite GG consistently had higher sales of milk (on average +3% or +18,370 kg of milk) and milk solids (milk fat plus protein yield; +8.7% or +4,520 kg) compared with the NA GG across the 3 FT scenarios. Milk income was consequently greater for elite versus NA (on average +9.5% or +€21,489) cows. Livestock sales were greater (on average +13.2% or +€4,715) for NA compared with elite cows. Baseline net farm profit and net profit/ha at a base milk price of 29.5 cents per liter (3.3% protein and 3.6% fat) were on average €31,156, and €772 greater for elite compared with NA cows across the 3 FT. Greater profitability achieved with elite cows in each of the FT investigated demonstrated the adaptability of high-EBI cows across different levels of feeding intensities in seasonal pasture-based feeding systems. Sensitivity analysis of varying milk price and concentrate cost did not result in a reranking of GG for farm profit. This study clearly demonstrates the power of a suitably constructed genetic-selection index together with a well-considered breeding program to deliver genetics capable of favorable change to farm physical performance and profit over a relatively short duration