The 2011 Irish Grassland Association Dairy Summer Tour was held in Co. Louth. The tour visited two dairy farms close to Drogheda. The farms have different milk production systems with a common theme, both manage their grass to maximise returns from grazing.


The large crowd who attended the Irish Grassland Association Dairy summer tour went home with a clear message – maximise grazed grass, your cheapest resource. However, grazed grass was just about the only thing the two farm visits had in common.

What was clear on the day is there is no substitute to good management and attention to detail irrespective of the farming system. In the right farm situation both extensive and intensive forms of dairying can produce significant profits

The more intensive system is that operated by Louth farmer, Tom Kelly a well-known breeder of high quality Holstein Friesian breeding stock. His 330 cows are doing 7,600 litres (based on Creamery deliveries) or 10,000 litres on 305 day milk recording, with 1.5 million litres of his total quota of 1.9 million litres, sold as liquid milk. Grass makes up around 40% of the diet. Cows receive just under 2 t concentrate per cow, fed to yield. The winter diet includes 500 tonnes of maize silage and 300 tonnes of fodder beet.

Contrasting this was the farming system of Andrew Purcell and Alf McGlew. Their 230 cows yielded an average of 5,600 litres in 2010, with 600 kg of concentrate mostly fed in the spring. The farming partnership has a milk quota of 1.2 million litres and is about to introduce cross bred cows into their farming operation. The aim is to maximise milk output at lowest cost.
Financial performance

T Kelly Profit Monitor 2010 – liquid milk Purcell + McGlew Profit Monitor 2010
2010 c/l Top 20% c/l 2010 c/l Top 10% c/l
Milk price 31.5 33.52 29.9 31.59
Gross output 32.25 33.52 29.42 32.76
Variable costs 9.9 8.96 9.33 8.55
Fixed costs 12.09 7.64 9.92 6.19
Common costs 15.43 15.27 15.55 13.53
Common profit 16.82 18.25 13.87 19.23

Shown in the Table is the financial performance on the farms in 2010. T Kelly gross output excludes sales of pedigree stock

Local Teagasc adviser, John Lawlor works with both farms. He says he is very excited about the development and progress on the Purcell / McGlew unit, describing it as a “work in progress”. The aim is to get to 300 cows in the next five years, producing 1400 kg of milk solids per hectare. Comparing their results to the top 10% - “the best of the best according to Lawlor”, the farming partnership had a slightly lower milk price due to lower milk solids and lower output, mainly due to a 16% empty rate in 2010. Variable costs are low, but fixed costs higher than the top 10% mainly due to depreciation on new buildings, milking parlour and some new machinery. Lawlor says it is important not to be discouraged if not in the top 10% - “work to improve the figures you have control over”.

On the Kelly farm the cow type and level of feeding is at the opposite end to that seen earlier in the day. But, he is able to generate significant profit even before sales of pedigree breeding stock, which are not included in his figures. According to John Lawlor milk price on the Kelly farm is slightly below the top 20% due to lower milk solids, but variable costs are well under control, despite concentrate costs of near 5 cents per litre. Fixed costs are much higher, due mainly to depreciation on building, hired in labour and leased in land. However, Lawlor describes overall performance as “excellent, given the scale of the operation”. In fact, if you multiply Tom Kelly’s common profit of 16.82 c/l by his quota of 1.9 million litres, shows just how much surplus cash this business can generate over a year.

Tom Kelly admits that he needs to address issues with cow fertility. A calving interval of 497 days is limiting his ability to maximise the efficiency of milk produced from his herd. Kelly also acknowledges that his higher input system can’t be easily changed if input prices rise. At grass, cows are fed to yield - 0.4 kg concentrate per litre produced over 22 litres to a maximum of 10 kg concentrate per day. For a week in 2010 he increased the threshold for putting concentrates in from 22 litres to 26 litres – the result – he saved €45 in concentrate but milk sales dropped €150. His message was “if feeding additional concentrate will increase profit why not feed concentrate?” His problem, if prices are poor, and concentrate price high, he has higher yielding cows that can’t be fed economically. While a liquid milk contract provided some insulation from low milk prices in 2009, Tom Kelly maintains all producers were feeling the pain of low prices, not just higher input producers.

With the end of quotas in 2015, land is likely to be the new limiting factor on most Irish dairy farms. Whatever about the best system to employ then, Tom Kelly has a simple philosophy when it comes to milking cows – “have passion in it and do it the best you actually can”.

Questions and Answers: Andrew Purcell
and Alf McGlew

What are the main benefits of farming in partnership?“
The first main benefit is the major reduction in workload. Two heads are better than one, motivation is increased, animal husbandry is easier. We now have the ‘muscle’ and the confidence to lease land as we know we can work it. There is a high level of trust and integrity between us, but we don’t socialise together. How the partnership would be dissolved was one of the first things we considered”.

Will the same cow be needed after quotas end?“
The cow type here is in transition. We are looking for the most beneficial cow for a spring calving system to maximise kg of milk solids per hectare at lowest cost. The science from Moorepark is pointing us towards a crossbred Jersey. All 2011 calves are crossbred. We are pretty confident we are going in the right direction”.

Where can you take the ‘days at grass’ target?“
We are utilising 9.7 t grass Dry Matter (DM) per hectare at the moment and would like to get to 11 t in the next two years. Hopefully we can add a couple of weeks onto the grazing season, but cow type is currently a factor. It was well into March this year before cows were out night and day. The top guys are getting 292 days at grass and nine out of ten are using the crossbred Jersey to do it”.

Why are you feeding so much meal?“
We fed 600 kg per cow, mostly around turnout when cows were getting 4 kg per day. Our aim is to get to 500 kg”.

Questions and Answers: Tom Kelly

What is the maximum distance you can walk Holstein Friesian cows?
“The maximum distance at present is 1 km. At this time of year we only make the cows do one long walk per day. There is enormous potential to unlock more grazing on this farm and we could easily add another 200 cows, but need cubicles, quota etc”.

How can you fill your quota as cheaply as possible?“
We try to make the best use of grazed grass. We utilised 9.3 – 9.5 t DM per hectare in 2010 and when the 1st February comes we think about grazing. Milking cows graze to 350 – 400 kg DM per hectare, and the paddocks are cleaned out by dry cows. Cows are buffer fed until grazing full-time by the middle of March. The first wet night in November and the cows will be housed”.

Why are there so many cows dry?“
I had to dry off early an extra 60 cows this year due to quota issues and currently have 100 dry cows. I am hoping to sell cows in the autumn, probably into Northern Ireland. The problem with selling there is the milk comes back in a container”.

What are your breeding goals?“
I am maybe breeding too much milk into the herd and will concentrate on fertility in the future. My two main breeding goals have been high milk solids and good type. Calving interval is currently 497 days, but I want to get it down to 440 days within the next three years”.

What margin do you need over spring milk?“
There is a negligible difference in price between winter and spring milk at the moment. I would need a 20% increase in price over spring milk to cover the higher costs of winter milk. In the future any increases in production on this farm will be on the back of spring calving.”

We would like to thank our event sponsors ACCBank