{"id":1332106,"date":"2024-06-22T17:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-06-22T16:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.agriland.ie\/?p=1332106"},"modified":"2024-06-25T11:29:51","modified_gmt":"2024-06-25T10:29:51","slug":"dairy-focus-the-dondale-herd-choosing-pedigree-over-ebi","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lightsail.agriland.ie\/farming-news\/dairy-focus-the-dondale-herd-choosing-pedigree-over-ebi\/","title":{"rendered":"Dairy focus: The Dondale Herd – choosing pedigree over EBI"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

This dairy focus we look into the farm of Joe and Kevin Doran, who are milking 160 pedigree registered holstein friesians cows and are proud hosts of the IHFA National open day<\/a> on Wednesday, July 10.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Agriland<\/em> caught up with Kevin Doran who is farming in partnership with his father Joe and his mother Bernie for the last eight years. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The farm is very family orientated with Bernie and the two daughters Marie and Roisin who are both teachers, helping out on the farm whenever they get a chance. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Joe was originally from Blessington , Co. Wicklow and moved to Donadea, Co. Kildare in 1964 were he began to progress his herd, with the herd earning a registered pedigree herd in 1991.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Dairy focus <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The herd calving pattern is 30% winter, and 70% spring, with the high producing holstein friesian cow suiting the winter liquid milk contract. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In terms of work load, Joe and Kevin try not to put themselves under severe pressure as they have a part-time worker and a relief milker to fill in when needs be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Milk recording is a main focus point on the farm as one is conducted every six weeks, amounting to around eight a year. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kevin told Agriland<\/em> that “it helps keep on top of your milk quality, especially when you are supplying all year round and when you’ve a high producing pedigree herd, you want to be able to monitor your cell count and the poor performing cows”. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Dondale herd has increased its output per cow by over 140kg milk solids in a six-year period. Top quality milk is produced year-round; 9,652 milk kg resulting in 702kg of milk solids being produced in 2023.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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A focus on Breeding <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The Dorans use all sexed semen for all of their replacements and used high quality dairy-beef straws on the cows they are not breeding off.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They use 100% artificial insemination (AI) throughout the breeding season and have not used a stock bull for a number of years. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The aim of their breeding programme is to breed for a stronger, durable, more robust cow that will go in calf easier, with no focus on breeding for EBI. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

One could argue that it is harder to get a holstein cow back in calf but Kevin argued the case that “the harder a cow is working, the harder they are going to be to put back in calf”. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

He went on to say that Holstein Friesian breeding has shifted in the last 10 years, as there has been a huge emphasis on fertility with a shift away from the more extreme holstein cow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

His cows are bred for a sturdier cow that will last longer in the herd and will go back in-calf every year, while still having a focus on functional type with plenty milk and solids. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Joe and Kevin have been using sexed semen for the last 10 years and have really reaped its rewards in recent years, achieving conception rates of 60-65%. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kevin put these successful conception rates down to a number of managerial factors, as follows:<\/p>\n\n\n\n