Getting more farmers on board for milk recording and increasing the frequency of it is a key target for the dairy industry to help ensure milk quality and reduce herd somatic cell counts (SCCs).
A lot of milk processors have milk recording as an action that can be taken as part of their sustainability schemes, which has seen an increase in the number of herds recording their milk.
With selective dry cow therapy (SDCT) now a mandatory practice, having data and information on each cow is now more essential than ever.
The benefits of milk recording
Recording your milk can quite often be seen as a costly action (about €12/cow/year), and can disrupt the milking routine when time and labour may be short, but the benefits of it speak for them self.
The most obvious benefit of milk recording is being able to identify the best and worst performers.
This data can also be used to dictate which cows are being used to breed replacements from and to select which cows will be culled from the herd.
Regular recording will allow for constant tracking of SCC of each cow, will identify repeat offenders and could decrease your herds SCC and improve your milk price.
The farm summary after each recording highlights the areas of excellence in terms of mastitis control and the areas that can be improved.
It also adds up the daily loss occurring due to these high SCC cows, giving a clear indication of what can be gained financially from preventing infection.
By doing so, you can add value to surplus breeding stock being sold off farm and can increase its chances of being entered for artificial insemination (AI).
Cost effective pregnancy diagnosis is now possible through milk samples. This service can indicate whether or not a cow is in calf at a reasonable cost, without having to handle and scan cows.
Having the records also increases the compensation available for animals that have to be culled as a result of a positive bovine tuberculosis (TB) reaction.
It can also increase the herd’s productivity, thereby reducing the carbon footprint of every litre of milk.
A big advantage is the reduced antibiotic usage – you can pick the most appropriate cows for selective dry cow therapy (SDCT), without it affecting the cows performance.
Research
Research carried out by Tegasc and Animal Health Ireland (AHI), to understand the economic benefits of milk recording using yearly information from the Teagasc National Farm Survey showed the benefits of recording your milk.
Benefits outweighed costs – notably by helping farmers to breed healthier and more productive cows.
In comparison to farmers who did not milk record, farmers who did, achieved the following:
- Gross margin/cow was €39 larger;
- Milk yield/cow was 178L higher;
- Milk solids/cow were 29kg higher;
- Herd SCC/ml of milk was 13,000 cells lower.
If you are not already recording your milk, it is important to understand the benefits and the positive economic outcome that comes with it.