Advanced Robot have helped us transition onto the automated milking system with impressive results. The team has a clear understanding of how the whole system needs to work, from the cow and her health right through to the robot settings. The cows are healthy and performance is terrific.
A whole Farm Approach For High Performance
With milk market volatility putting continued pressure on dairy margins, building efficient, resilient herds is becoming increasingly important. British Dairying reports.
The most successful dairy businesses are shown to be taking a whole-farm approach, recognising that nutrition, health, mobility, fertility, cow comfort and management all have a role to play. And it’s the interactions between them that are just as important as each individual piece of the puzzle.
“Market volatility has become a reality for dairy farmers over the last five to ten years,” said Eoghan Mullery, Technical Director at Advanced Ruminant Nutrition (ARN). “That makes efficiency increasingly important, but efficiency isn't simply about producing more milk. It is about making sure the whole system is working as effectively as possible.”
This was a key message emerging from a series of meetings held by ARN with dairy producers across Devon, Lancashire and Dumfriesshire. The meetings brought together specialists from across the dairy sector to examine the different factors influencing herd performance, with the emphasis on practical measures that producers can introduce.
“A whole farm approach also requires the farm team to be working together,’ says Eoghan. “And for the top-performing herds, that team also includes their nutritionist, vet, foot trimmer and financial advisers.”
“The more progressive a farm is, the more progressive our approach needs to be,” explains Eoghan. “Our role is to provide cutting-edge nutritional and management advice that supports the whole team around the farm. An integrated approach is key across the whole team, the herd and the environment. Nutrition can influence many parts of the system, for example transition management influences fertility, calf health can determine future productivity and so on. What we need to do as farm advisors, producers, nutritionists and vets is to understand the value of these interrelationships.”
The meetings picked up on these interrelationships, utilising some of the partners that ARN already work with on farm as part of their collaborative approach.
Market Volatility
Chris Walkland set the scene with his market analysis and outlook, highlighting the factors producers can’t control. His presentation reinforced the key message of the meetings - the importance of efficiency and resilience in the face of volatile markets.
"Over the past year, producers have faced significant volatility and a prolonged downturn," he said.
"But we are now beginning to see conditions move in a more favourable direction. However, with prices largely out of the farmers control, their focus needs to be on what they can control. So improving efficiency and strengthening profitability become event more important."
Travelling over from France, Marie-Laure Ocana from Zinpro Europe focused on the factors that allow cows to express their genetic potential. While genetics establish the potential of the animal, she highlighted the importance of management from birth in determining how much of that potential is ultimately realised. Her presentation also covered research into isoacids and muscle depth in transition cows, reinforcing the importance of getting the foundations right throughout the cow's development and productive life.
Ensuring good management in the dry period underpins future perforamcne, as this allows for better fertility. One particular area is making sure there is enough protein fed in critical stages, as in late pregnancy and early lactation, there can be muscle and condition loss. And although body condition scoring is common, she suggested that muscle depth does play a role in overall cow resilience.
Grooved flooring and hoof trimming specialist Joe Kirby of Kirby Cattle Services, shared his practical experience around hoof health and trimming, alongside Leigh Fletcher from LMF footcare. ARN works with Joe through their mobility programme, with the relationship providing an example of how nutritional and practical expertise can complement one another.
Veterinary expertise came from Colin Mason at CMVet Consultancy, who reinforced the importance of preventative herd health. His recommendations included managing disease pressure alongside immunity, preventing lameness rather than simply treating it once established, and paying close attention to calving management, hypocalcaemia and heat stress.
These sessions demonstrated that having a comprehensice mobility strategy - beyond just footbathing and footbathing - can have a big impact on herd productivity. It's important to understand the causes of lameness and assess the cow environement too.
In Devon, Phil Elkins also highlighted an often-overlooked part of the production system – water. High-producing cows have a substantial demand for clean, readily available drinking water, yet water quality and availability can sometimes receive less attention than other aspects of herd management.
Efficient and effective
“The challenge is that there are many things affecting a dairy business that farmers simply can't control,” says Eoghan.
“What they can control is how efficiently their cows perform, how effectively they manage their resources and how well the different parts of the business work together."
For high-performing herds, the message is that there is rarely one area of focus. Instead, sustained performance comes from consistency and a team approach to understand how every part of the system works together.
"It’s about understanding what is happening across the whole system and identifying where the real bottlenecks are and making a series of good decisions throughout every stage of the cow’s lifecycle, from calf rearing and transition management through to hoof health, cow comfort and longevity.”
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