Farmer Focus: No answer to milk yield drop as rain continues

As farmers, one of the main things we seem to talk about is the weather: too hot; too cold; too wet; too dry.

At Newlands, we have a very high annual rainfall on very heavy ground, which creates issues getting grass off.

As I write, I’m looking out of the window at yet more rain. And, according to the Met Office, we’ve had 40 days of consecutive rain, with no let up in sight.

See also: Managing soils to withstand wet winters and dry summers

About the author

David Luxton

David Luxton farms with his partner Sarah Haworth on her family’s 101ha all-grass farm on the north Devon/Cornwall border. They run a 200-cow housed Holstein Friesian herd averaging close to 11,000 litres, milking through three robots on a guided system. A further 28ha are rented for growing grass and maize

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With this in mind, I think back to the summer when people were praying for rain. All I’ll say is, be careful what you wish for.

Earlier in the month, I made my yearly visit to Stoneleigh Park for Dairy-Tech. I was expecting a very sombre mood, yet I was met with what can only be described as quite a positive one.

Whether that was down to the Global Dairy Trade going up by 6.7% the day before, or the fact we are all on the happy pills already, I don’t know.

That aside, we are about to head into a few tough months for the dairy industry and I feel this storm may take a bit of riding out.

I have already had the conversation with the bank manager about how we are going to navigate this period – as no doubt many of you will have as well.

We’ve had a challenging six months at Newlands, really struggling to get the girls to milk. Forages are good, cows are in good condition and going around the guided system well. Fertility is excellent.

We have recently calved a lot and our days in milk is running in the 140s, so I would expect them to be doing 38-40 litres without breaking a sweat, yet we are struggling to hit 32 litres.

We have taken bloods and sent them for analysis, gone through diets and checked the robots, all to no avail. Any thoughts gratefully received, and watch this space for improvements. 

Off farm, we’ve had our annual holiday at Center Parcs. It’s nice to get away and forget about the farm for a day or two, especially switching off the robot alarms.

And by the time I write again, the Formula One season will be on. I’m hoping seeing Lewis Hamilton on the top step again will at least put a smile on my face, as the milk price definitely won’t.