Farmer Focus: Organic milk price up 25% – but feed is up more
Jonathan Hughes © Tim Scrivener As we move into February, we eagerly count down to turnout when we reduce silage demand.
There are 100 cows calving this February, which will put further pressure on the grazing platform, so we are hopeful of a good spring.
Production is up 6% on the year to 2.15kg milk solids a cow a day, feeding 7kg concentrate a head.
Improved forage quality last year would have improved production, but I feel we managed the transition period better nutritionally.
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Interestingly, the 25% uplift on the organic milk price has been swallowed by the 45% increase in feed price in the past 12 months.
Conventional markets have seen a 47% increase in milk price and a 36% rise in conventional feed costs.
The fodder beet harvest was varied, with good yields in the final 5ha (12 acres), but frosts made storage difficult – annoying in a year when we need forage.
More positively, fertility is looking great 10 weeks into breeding.
We have pregnancy-diagnosed (PD) the first four weeks of breeding; so far we have achieved a 49% three-week in-calf rate, which we predict will equate to a 75% six-week in-calf rate.
This is better than last year’s 56% six-week in-calf rate. The submission rate across both years was 85%, while the conception rate has increased to 56%, a rise of 16%, which we think is due to several alterations.
First, in July, we improved nutrition, feeding a transition diet of 1kg dry matter a head of rapemeal and wholecrop down the feed barrier, in addition to the standing hay in the paddock.
This improved energy and colostrum quality and quantity.
Second, our confidence in the heat detection tags (in their second year) grew, which ensured cows were inseminated at the correct time.
We also changed artificial insemination technicians and we put three members of staff through semen handling and insemination review training.
While pre-mating checks have been made easier using the heat detection tags, the team have done a great job metri-checking (metritis scoring) cows three weeks after calving, with iodine washouts used for any dirty cows.
Finally, we have the first vet visit seven days before planned start of mating (PSM), then seven days after PSM, and then 23 days after PSM to catch any non-cycling cows.