Dairy success is in the teamwork
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Topics: livestokc, nmr gold cup, geoff spence
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summary geoff spence open day
The key to dairy success is in the team, as Jeremy Hunt found out
Profitable dairy cow management is all about team-work – and if there was ever a team that was getting it right it’s the one that’s running Geoff Spence’s Miresdale Holstein herd in North Yorkshire.
As winner of the NMR/RABDF 2009 Gold Cup, Mr Spence and his team hosted the association’s open day where it was clear to the huge crowd that poured into Lowfields Farm, Brompton, Northallerton, that every aspect of managing this 370-cow herd is undertaken to the highest possible standard.
The last decade has seen the herd emerge as a flagship business in the way it has embraced and responded to management advice – with every facet meticulously monitored to create a highly respected and profitable dairy enterprise. The herd now has a 10,000 litre average and achieves enviable breeding targets by adopting a strict health routine focusing on cow fertility.
At the event the vet input into the herd’s management was highlighted by Mark Glover of Kebir House Vet Group, which has been working with the herd for many years.
The farm’s fertility programme was testament to the value of a rigid vet strategy. “Latest figures show most dairy farms are losing 4p a litre as a direct result of poor fertility, which is why reproductive management is so important,” said Mr Glover.
The Miresdale herd receives a routine weekly vet visit at 8am every Thursday morning. The previous evening Mr Spence is sent a list of the animals his vets believe need attention.
“This is a routine that is very much a part of the strict approach we believe is necessary to keep on top of fertility problems, “said Mr Glover.
Vets are on the look out for metritis and endometritis in cows following calving. “Research has shown these diseases are responsible for fertility problems so we closely monitor any cows that have had any difficulty calving or any that have produced twins or retained cleansings. All these cows are monitored weekly until they’ve shown a normal breeding cycle.
“Any cows that haven’t been seen in oestrus 40 days after calving are scanned and those with active corpus lutea are injected with prostaglandin to induce heat; those that are an-oestrus are treated with an eight-day CIDR-prostaglandin regime. Pregnancy diagnosis is undertaken with a scanner from 28 days.
“These are just some of the protocols under way here but the results speak for themselves. We now have an average calving to first service interval of 48 days. Last year 97% of animals were served by the 80th day after calving. Heat detection rates show that 52% of cows are re-served with 25 days of the previous service and last year our average conception rate was 32%.”
Mr Glover said the calving to conception interval was 100-105 days with 93% of the animals served becoming pregnant. “The value of this level of vet monitoring can best be judged by the output being achieved from the herd. Last year on this 210-acre farm, 3.8m litres of milk were produced, 80 newly calved cows were sold to other farms as well as 39 maiden heifers and 12 young bulls.”
Paul Dennison of Strutt and Parker has been involved with the farm’s management for the last six years but said that while the last decade had seen the farm’s milk output increase by threefold, the future held even more challenges.
“It’s clear the current acreage is a limiting factor on further expansion but that doesn’t mean it won’t happen. A lot of feed has to be bought-in and the amount will inevitably increase, but we have to buy right and we have to buy forward. It’s a constant challenge. Feed costs last year were almost 11p a litre; that may sound a lot but running this number of cows on such a small acreage demands that level of feed input. Variable costs were 14.5p a litre and this year’s target is a margin of 8p a litre,” said Mr Dennison.
Dry matter intake and maintaining rumen health are also key issues, explained Michael Marsden, KW Alternative Feeds. The aim is to produce 25-28% dry matter grass silage of “high” D-value and medium-chop in length, to mix with fermented whole-crop cereal silage.
“This is the foundation of achieving the correct rumen function to deal with the other elements of the diet, be they moist feeds or liquid feeds.”
BOX
For more information on fertility, alternative feeds and also to find out who will be crowned NMR/RABDF Gold Cup champion visit this year’s Dairy Event and Livestock Show at the NEC, Birmingham on 7 and 8 September.