Dairy Newsletter - September 2024

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In this month's edition:

• Top five tips for September
  • Review your winter feed budget
    With the majority of silage crops now harvested, it’s important to review what winter feed is available.
  • Correct somatic cell count
    Use milk recording to make informed decisions around managing somatic cell count (SCC). 
  • Lameness – take preventive action
    Wetter weather tends to lead to poorer roadway conditions, which in turn can lead to higher incidences of lameness.
  • Keeping cows clean
    Clip cow tails to ensure they stay clean, help maintain excellent milk quality, and reduce the risk of mastitis infection.
  • Winter housing
    Wash and disinfect livestock housing in advance of the winter period – place particular emphasis on calf housing. 
• Manage grass to extend grazing
  From early September there is still 20-25% of the total grass growing season remaining for 2024. Therefore, it’s important to meet your grazing objectives for the remainder of the year, which are: to build grass supply in order to extend the grazing season into early November; and, to ensure the farm is closed with sufficient grass supply for spring 2025.
• Control thermoduric bacteria
  Thermoduric bacteria naturally occur in the cow’s environment in soil, faeces, animal feed and bedding. These bacteria survive the pasteurisation process, and therefore cause issues in relation to milk processing and can limit the shelf life of pasteurised milk. Increased emphasis should be placed on the correct management practices in order to control thermoduric levels.
• Maintain focus on cost control
  Feed and fertiliser costs have driven much of the year-on-year increase in dairy costs. However, our analysis of profit monitor figures for 2023 showed that high- and low-margin farms differ across a range of categories.
• Health & Safety - PTO shaft cover grant
  The National Farm Safety Measure 2024 provides a financial contribution to participating farmers for up to four PTO shaft covers. Closing date for applications is November 1, 2024. The grant aid will be at a rate of 60% subject to a maximum eligible cost of €100 per PTO shaft cover. For further information talk to your advisor or go to: http://www.gov.ie/farmsafety