Thursday, March 28, 2024

Less work, more profit

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Give once-a-day milking four years and you will be back to the same production as twice-a-day, your cost structure will be lower so profitability will rise – and the stress levels of you and your cows will be way easier to live with. That’s the advice from DairyNZ once-a-day (OAD) milking consultant Leo Hendrikse who was passed both the baton and the passion for the regime by retiring Massey University dairy lecturer and OAD milking guru Colin Holmes. Sadly, Holmes passed away after a battle with cancer earlier this year and is greatly missed by Hendrikse and the hundreds of other OAD farmers he influenced. OAD milking is unusual in that the farmers are leading the charge and the research is clambering along behind, Hendrikse says. Most of his comments around the milking system are anecdotal, he admits. The numbers haven’t yet been comprehensively collected nor the data crunched, although DairyNZ now has a limited research programme under way.
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It’s easy to hear the passion Hendrikse has for the topic and he says the movement is gathering pace.

“I have had about 12 phone calls from interested farmers from the lower North Island area over the past year, and they are a mixture of those looking into it, some who have tinkered with part-season OAD and those who are just jumping into it.”

As with any dairy farming enterprise, he says you need to be a good farmer to be a good OAD farmer.

“There are generally two types of farmers looking into it – the progressive guys who are investigating it regardless of what system they are working in, and are keen to lift their sustainability, longevity and profitability, and those on harder-type properties – they might be long and stretched out or have poor infrastructure or particular problems with reproductive performance.”

Hendrikse is quick to draw up a list of the advantages of milking cows OAD and freeing up time is at the top of it.

“Not having to spend afternoons in the dairy milking frees up time for managing the system and this usually translates through to better decisions and increased milk production.”

Staff are the second advantage – happier, less overworked and stressed – leading to better retention and higher engagement, and also usually fewer people, which has a positive effect on the bottom line: profitability.

“Many newly-converted OAD farmers aged 40 to 50 years have a whole new lease of life and enthusiasm for dairying when they don’t have the twice-daily milking grind, especially with the new Fonterra optional pick-up times.

Many can rearrange their schedules to milk later in the morning and don’t have the continual tiredness of early mornings,” Hendrikse says.

Improved herd reproduction is a major advantage and although more research is needed around this aspect, Hendrikse says a combined effect of better cow condition, less weight loss, less stress and earlier cycling rates also have the effect of reducing breeding costs and replacement rates.

“Cow breed matters, so steer away from the large Holstein-Friesians, and we are encouraging everyone to use the LIC OAD Selection Index to keep testing and refining it.”

The good news is most farmers are back to their TAD production levels after four years, but by maintaining the lower cost structure and freeing up more time for management, profitability wins.

High somatic cell count (SCC) and mastitis issues are another challenge to OAD herds, although Hendrikse is quick to dispel the myth that OAD herds have more of a SCC problem than TAD milking herds.

“If you start with a high SCC it’s hard to get it down under the OAD regime, but farmers who have done the preparation and have a low SCC herd before the transition and then are vigilant and follow the best practice guidelines will be fine.”

RESOURCES

• DairyNZ have a new webpage with information, Hendrikse and Holmes’ Best Practice Guidelines and a helpful decision tree to guide farmers through the process of transitioning to OAD milking. Visit: www.dairynz.co.nz/animal/herd-management/once-a-daymilking/full-season-once-a-day-oadmilking
• DairyNZ OAD discussion groups – lower North Island, Waikato, Northland, Kaikoura, south Canterbury, north Otago
• OAD conference every second year.

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