Development of an efficient milk production profile of the Irish dairy Industry

End of project reportFluctuation around milk price will be the biggest factor that the dairy industry will experience over the next number of years. This fluctuation is being driven by fluctuation on the world dairy markets. In the past, when intervention was a much bigger feature of the CAP regime, the fluctuation in world markets had little effect on the EU price. This was because the Intervention system bought product from the market when prices were depressed and placed products on the world market when the price rose. This in effect meant that the CAP regime was having a regulatory effect on the world market as well as the EU markets. An example of the type of fluctuation observed on the world market can be gleamed from the Fonterra milk price in 2006-2007 ($4.50/kg (MS) milk solid) versus 2007-2008 ($7.90/kg MS). This corresponds to a 76% increase in price in 1 year. For the Dairy Industry in Ireland to prosper under these conditions all sectors will be required to be as efficient as possible from the farm, processing and marketing sectors. This report deals with; (1) Milk payment (2) Optimum milk production systems and (3) Seasonality of milk supply. (1) Milk payment systems in Ireland currently do not adequately reward high solids quality milk. Virtually all milk payment systems include a positive constant which reward the production of volume rather than the production of protein and fat kilograms. The A+B-C system of milk payment would adequately reward the production of protein and fat while at the same time correcting for the volume related processing costs. (2) Optimum systems of milk production will be built around the maximization of grass utilization in the future. Grazed grass is the cheapest feed that can be fed to dairy cows. Stocking rates nationally are 1.74cows/Ha around the milking platform and therefore when dairy farms are expanding they should do so by increasing stocking rate. The inclusion of supplementary feeds will reduce profitability for the vast majority of dairy farmers and could only possibly lead to increases in profitability when coupled increases in stocking rate. (3) Grass based systems while substantially reducing costs at farm level result in a seasonal milk supply profile. This results in a reduced capacity utilization of the milk processing facilities as well as restricted product port folio. However the production of Winter milk will lead to significant cost increases at farm level and should only be encouraged if the specific product produced would be sufficient to cover the additional costs associated with over winter production. Within spring calving systems milk payment systems should be used to encourage an efficient milk supply profile with a mean compact calving date of mid February.Teagasc acknowledges with gratitude the support of Dairy Levy Funds and EU Structural Funds (FEOGA) in financing the research programme

Evaluation and development of animal breeding in Ireland

End of project reportThe primary objectives of this study were: 1) to annually evaluate the pertinence of the Irish dairy cattle breeding index, the Economic Breeding Index (EBI) and where necessary modify, 2) to evaluate the potential of do-it-yourself milk recording as an alternative to current supervised methods of milk recording, and 3) to estimate the level and rate of accumulation of inbreeding in Irish dairy and beef cattle, to quantify its effects on traits of economic importance, and to develop remedial measures to minimise the future accumulation of inbreeding in Ireland

Evaluation of on-farm labour saving strategies for optimisation of herd size that could be managed by one operator

End of project reportAlternative milking frequencies Once a day (OAD) milking throughout lactation of a herd (over 2 years, incorporating 24% heifers) resulted in loss in milk solids (MS) production of 17% per cow. Milking cows OAD in their 1st lactation does not adversely impact on milk production in the second lactation, when changed to twice a day (TAD) milking but may lead to a higher mastitis incidence. Changeover in milking frequency in mid lactation resulted in a similar yield of MS per cow for TAD milking for the full lactation (474 kg) and the TAD OAD group (TAD for the first 110 days and OAD for the remainder of the lactation) (469 kg). Thirteen times weekly milking in late lactation (omitting the Sunday evening milking) compared to twice daily milking every day had no effect on milk yield or composition and maximum SCC observed during the trial was 270x103 cells/ml. Once daily milking did not adversely affect the processability of milk. Once daily milking did not significantly increase milk SCC levels. Alternative calf rearing systems The improved efficiency increased herd size may be due to less use of buckets for calf feeding together with more frequent use of teat feeding from a container, automatic feeders and ad libitum feeding A study on OAD calf feeding (whole milk) demonstrated that calves can be reared with a OAD milk feeding system and weaned early (42 days) without adversely affecting performance There was no difference in the live-weight gain of calves on once daily feeding, twice daily feeding or once daily feeding going outdoors after 28 days Calf liveweight gain was greater with once daily feeding with milk replacer compared to once daily feeding with whole milk or once daily feeding with milk replacer going outdoors after 28 days Economic analysis of alternative milking systems When deciding on the type, size and level of technology in the milking parlour, the trade-off between labour requirement and cost and the initial capital investment requirement should be key in making the decision

Effect of exposure to Neospora caninum, Salmonella, and Leptospira interrogans serovar Hardjo on the economic performance of Irish dairy herds

peer-reviewedThe objective of the current study was to quantify the effects of exposure to Salmonella, Neospora caninum, and Leptospira interrogans serovar Hardjo (L. hardjo) on dairy farm profitability and to simulate the effect of vaccination for Salmonella and L. hardjo on dairy farm profitability. The production effects associated with exposure to each of these pathogens in study herds were defined under 3 categories: (1) milk production effects, (2) reproduction effects (including culling), and (3) mortality effects. The production effects associated with exposure to Salmonella, N. caninum, and L. hardjo were incorporated into the Moorepark Dairy Systems Model. In the analysis, herds negative for exposure to Salmonella, N. caninum, and L. hardjo were assumed baseline herds, with all results presented relative to this base. In simulations examining the effect of vaccination for Salmonella and L. hardjo on farm profitability, vaccinated herds (vaccination costs included) were considered as baseline herds and results were presented relative to this base. Total annual profits in unvaccinated herds were reduced by €77.31, €94.71, and €112.11 per cow at milk prices of €0.24, €0.29, and €0.34/L, respectively, as a result of exposure to Salmonella. In the current study, herds positive for exposure to Salmonella recorded a 316-kg reduction in milk yield, whereas no association was detected between exposure to N. caninum or L. hardjo and milk production. Exposure to both N. caninum and L. hardjo was associated with compromised reproductive performance. Herds positive for exposure to N. caninum and Salmonella had greater rates of adult cow mortality and calf mortality, respectively. Vaccination for both Salmonella and L. hardjo was associated with improved performance in study herds. Exposure to N. caninum resulted in a reduction in annual farm profits of €11.55, €12, and €12.44 per cow at each milk price, whereas exposure to L. hardjo resulted in a reduction in annual farm profits of €13.83, €13.78, and €13.72 per cow at each milk price. Herds that tested positive for exposure to Salmonella and L. hardjo were compared with herds vaccinated for the respective pathogens. Herds vaccinated for Salmonella generated €67.09, €84.48, and €101.89 per cow more profit at each milk price compared with herds positive for exposure. Similarly, herds vaccinated for L. hardjo generated €9.74, €9.69, and €9.63 per cow more profit compared with unvaccinated exposed herds. However, herds that tested negative for exposure to Salmonella and L. hardjo generated additional profits of €10.22 and €4.09 per cow, respectively, compared with vaccinated baseline herds

Application of data envelopment analysis to measure technical efficiency on a sample of Irish dairy farms

peer-reviewedThe aim of this study was to determine the levels of technical efficiency on a sample of Irish dairy farms utilizing Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) and to identify key management and production factors that differ between producers indentified as efficient and inefficient. DEA was used in this study to generate technical efficiency scores under assumptions of both constant returns to scale (CRS) and variable returns to scale (VRS). The average technical efficiency score was 0.785 under CRS and 0.833 under VRS. Key production characteristics of efficient and inefficient producers were compared using an analysis of variance. More technically efficient producers used less input per unit of output, had higher production per cow and per hectare and had a longer grazing season, a higher milk quality standard, were more likely to have participated in milk recording and had greater land quality compared to the inefficient producers

Seasonality in the Irish dairy processing industry

The dairy landscape in the Republic of Ireland is characterized by pastoral spring-calving systems and a bell-shaped milk production curve. This seasonality at producer level initiates various implications at processor level, such as poor utilization of plant capacity off-peak season, a requirement for seasonal labour management and limited product options in autumn and winter months due to the properties of late-lactation milk. An optimization model was developed to analyze the impact of production seasonality and quota removal on the Irish dairy processing industry in terms of maximum processor gross surplus, the optimum product mix and the marginal values of the milk solids fat, protein and lactose. Processor gross surplus was specified as a function of product sales revenue, less variable costs of collecting and processing raw milk and general overhead (fixed) costs. 5 scenarios with differing milk intake curves were examined whereby a flatter intake curve incurred less monthly variation in the marginal producer milk price, capacity utilization and product mix as well as a higher surplus as compared to more seasonal patterns. However, an isolated consideration of financial indicators at processor level disregards key characteristics of Irish grass-based seasonal milk production and producer-processor interdependencies. It was therefore concluded that a broader modelling approach integrating both the producer and the processor perspectives is desirable for more holistic analysis of sector-wide implications.Dairy processing, seasonality, milk quota abolition, processor profit, product mix, Farm Management, Livestock Production/Industries,

Adding value to cull cow beef

End of project reportThis project addressed the prospects of increasing the value of cull cow beef and examined the potential of a number of different management and dietary strategies. In Ireland, the national cow herd contributes 350,000 animals to total beef production annually, which represents 22% of all cattle slaughtered (DAF, 2007). A dominant feature of beef production in Ireland is the disposal of cows from the dairy and beef industries, the time of year at which culling occurs influences the number of cows available for slaughter. Suitability of a cow for slaughter is generally not a consideration for dairy or beef farmers

Comparison of modelling techniques for milk-production forecasting

peer-reviewedThe objective of this study was to assess the suitability of 3 different modeling techniques for the prediction of total daily herd milk yield from a herd of 140 lactating pasture-based dairy cows over varying forecast horizons. A nonlinear auto-regressive model with exogenous input, a static artificial neural network, and a multiple linear regression model were developed using 3 yr of historical milk-production data. The models predicted the total daily herd milk yield over a full season using a 305-d forecast horizon and 50-, 30-, and 10-d moving piecewise horizons to test the accuracy of the models over long- and short-term periods. All 3 models predicted the daily production levels for a full lactation of 305 d with a percentage root mean square error (RMSE) of ≤12.03%. However, the nonlinear auto-regressive model with exogenous input was capable of increasing its prediction accuracy as the horizon was shortened from 305 to 50, 30, and 10 d [RMSE (%) = 8.59, 8.1, 6.77, 5.84], whereas the static artificial neural network [RMSE (%) = 12.03, 12.15, 11.74, 10.7] and the multiple linear regression model [RMSE (%) = 10.62, 10.68, 10.62, 10.54] were not able to reduce their forecast error over the same horizons to the same extent. For this particular application the nonlinear auto-regressive model with exogenous input can be presented as a more accurate alternative to conventional regression modeling techniques, especially for short-term milk-yield predictions