New dairy reports shows performance is improving

New targets for dairy producers have been published in the latest Key Performance Indicators report for the UK national dairy herd.

Produced by the Veterinary Epidemiology and Economics Research Unit at the University of Reading and using milk recording information from 500 NMR herds, this latest report quotes more stringent targets for most parameters and especially for somatic cell count and fertility criteria.

Each year a comparison of the 12-month performance of 500 Holstein/Friesian NMR herds of varying herd size and type is made, explains James Hanks, joint author of the report with Mohamad Kossaibati.

“There is a high overlap in the herds included from one year to the next and they are all uniformly monitored to give consistent and comparable data. We quote the median – mid point – as well as the level achieved for each parameter by the top and bottom 25% of herds. The result achieved by the best 25% of herds provides a tangible target for each producer.”

Improving performance

While Dr Hanks guards against monitoring trends, he does point out performance across the board is improving in all herds. “The best are getting better, but the weaker herds are also improving. This is especially evident in somatic cell count results where results have improved in the four years from 2010 to 2013.

“Out of the 500 herds, the median average somatic cell count has improved from 210,000/ml to 195,000/ml. Meanwhile the level achieved by the ‘best’ 25% of herds has set a new target of 155,000/ml, a marked improvement from 169,000/ml four years ago.”

Likewise heat detection indicators are encouraging with the calving to first service interval moving from 87 days to 77 days and the percentage of extended service intervals of more than 50 days dropping form 22% to 18% of service intervals in the four-year period.

“The real purpose of these results is to stimulate discussion and management action between producers and their advisers,” adds Dr Hanks. “In one in four herds only 17% of milk samples have cell counts above 200,000/ml. This is a realistic target for other herds to aspire to.”


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