Labour saving benefits from ten-in-seven milking
Flexible milking systems may help to alleviate the problem of labour shortage on dairy farms, Dr. Emer Kennedy, Teagasc Research Officer, tells us more.
Flexible milking systems are those where the number of milkings per week, or the daily milking time, differ from a conventional twice-a-day milking system.
Milking once-a-day (OAD) is one option. Milking can occur at any time during the day, however it must be at the same time each day. Other options are milking three times in two days (three in two), which can provide increased flexibility for farmers without the milk production losses experienced with OAD. In this scenario, milking interval can be, for example, 10-19-19 hours or 12-18-18.
A third option is to milk 10 times in one week (10 in seven). This provides improved flexibility and minimises milk production losses compared to OAD, while employing a more structured and socially appealing milking routine.
Fewer than half of farmers in New Zealand now milk twice-a-day for the full lactation. Last year, a new study at Teagasc Moorepark investigated i) milking 10 in seven for the full lactation, ii) milking TAD for the first half of lactation, switching to 10 in seven for the second half of lactation (i.e. from 4 July; 20 weeks into lactation) and compared their performance, to iii) cows milked twice-a-day for the full lactation.
Initial results show that milking 10 in seven for the full lactation reduced milk yield by 10% and milk solids by 11%. Interestingly, when cows switched from TAD to 10 in seven halfway through the lactation their production was the same as cows milked TAD for their full lactation. A 10 in seven milking regime for the second half of lactation delivered labour saving, as well as savings in water and electricity.
Emer featured recently in a Let’s Talk Dairy webinar, where she discussed milking 10 times in the second half of lactation. Watch the webinar recording below:
Moorepark Dairy Open Day
Further information on this research will be available at the Moorepark Dairy Open Day, which takes place on Tuesday, July 4th. To find out more about this event, click here.
Also read: Moorepark '23: Meeting challenges to secure a sustainable future
Also read: Laurence Shalloo on the challenges and opportunities facing the dairy industry
Also read: Higher milk solids yields from grass-white clover swards at Moorepark
Also read: Multispecies swards and methane emissions on Curtin's Farm
This article was adapted from the May/June issue of Today's Farm.