October 2019

Save time and money by carrying out soil sampling TOGETHER WE’RE STRONGER Lakeland Dairies rolls out soil sampling programme > page 2 Tel: 028 3026 2311 | www.lakeland.ie | Twitter: @DairiesJP Dairy Council NI warns of ‘doomsday scenario’ in no-deal Brexit situation In the event of a No-Deal Brexit, Northern ’s (NI) dairy indus- try is facing a major crisis in terms of the ability to service profitable mar- kets, to process all milk and support the jobs and livelihoods of more than 3,000 farm families across . In the starkest warning to date on the outcome of the UK crashing out of the EU without a deal, the Dairy Council of Northern Ireland (DCNI) said dairy processors said the sector is “seriously exposed”. Dr Mike Johnston CEO DCNI said that current trade tar- iffs for exporting both raw milk and finished product would be in excess of £300m which would directly re- sult in an impact on the price paid to farmers for their milk. The Dairy Council milk pool is processed at facilities in lic and London but have not got any “Based on Dairy Council NI of Northern Ireland the . satisfactory outcome so far.” (DCNI) has urged calculations in a no-deal Brexit, all sides to work “The dairy industry in Northern SURVIVAL trade tariffs on both raw milk and together to ensure Ireland simply does not have the Concluding, Dr Johnston finished products moved from NI to the right deal for capacity to process all the milk pro- said: the EU would total £320m, before processors and duced on farms at present and we “Farmers and processors are ex- you calculate the cost of the adminis- farmers is reached are seriously exposed,” Dr John- tremely worried about the outcome trative burden customs will place on ston said. of a No-Deal Brexit. dairy processors. “After maximizing NI milk pro- “We are now less than 25 days “This tariff represents 25% of the cessing capacity, there is a process- away from Brexit and we are still value of our entire industry. In a sec- ing shortfall of some 600 million li- faced with more questions than an- tor where the margin is, at best, 3% tres that will not have a viable home swers and more uncertainty than or 4%, trade tariffs of that magnitude if politicians cannot find a solution to certainty. Our farmers, their fami- would wipe out the industry. the current Brexit impasse. lies, our customers and the entire “The reality is stark for farmers. “That would be a devastating rural economy of Northern Ireland Our analysis suggests that the milk situation for the Northern Ireland need greater security and clarity. price paid to farmers would fall by dairy industry, farming families, ru- “If we crash out on 31st Octo- over 10 pence per litre from its cur- ral communities and the Northern ber, we do not have the capacity to rent base should such tariffs be im- Ireland economy,” he added. process all the milk that will be pro- posed,” Dr Johnston said. “If we don’t get a Brexit deal and duced, and we will not be able to af- DCNI represents milk proces- cannot transport raw milk south, ford to pay EU tariffs nor navigate sors in NI including Dale Farm, Put simply, without significant delays and/or the EU certification requirements Cheese, Glanbia Ireland and dairy certification requirements, then our such that we can process that milk in Lakeland Dairies. These four com- processors industry is facing a crisis of epic pro- the Republic of Ireland. panies account for over 90% of the and their portions. “Put simply, dairy processors and 2.4bn litres of milk collected from NI farmers will “All processing sites in Northern their farmers will not survive unless farms each year. not survive Ireland will be full while there is no there is a deal. NI farmers, proces- PROCESSING SHORTFALL spare capacity to process that vol- sors and customers need a deal to unless there Dr Johnston sounded a word of ume of milk in Great Britain. mitigate trade tariffs and enable the caution around the milk processing is a deal “We have communicated these continued movement and trade in capacity availability in Northern Ire- significant risks in the event of a no- raw milk and finished products.” land. At present 35% of the entire NI deal to authorities in NI, the Repub-

1 TOGETHER WE’RE STRONGER Transition cow man- agement event planned for Friday 18th October Lakeland Dairies Dairy Development Programme in partnership with Lakeland Agri and Premier Nutrition are a holding Transition Management System (TMS) event on the farm of Jim Smyth, 7 School Road, Jerrettspass, Co. Down BT34 1SX on Friday 18th October at 11am. This farm meeting will highlight the results of the TMS programme to date and to focus on the importance of the dry and transition periods. Speakers include Dr Andrew Pine, Ruminant Director, Premier Nu- trition. Andrew’s global experience in the ruminant industry makes him one of the leading experts in dairy nutrition. He heads a team of ruminant specialists within Premier Nutrition Soil Sampling Programme 19/20 with a particular focus on improving transition management and herd performance, and he is a central figure in the development of the com- The Lakeland Dairies Subsidised Soil Sampling Pro- pany’s TMS. gramme will be available for the months of December, Some 60 Lakeland Dairies suppliers are now involved in the TMS, January & February. The service which includes having soil recording and evaluating cow health at this critical period. samples taken and tested is available at a subsidised cost of There are spaces available for Lakeland suppliers to join the TMS £10/sample plus VAT to all Lakeland Dairies milk suppliers. programme. Milk suppliers wishing to avail of this service This promises to be an informative event for anyone who wishes to should contact Niall McCarron on 07785469219 to learn more about transition cow management and the potential returns register before Friday 22nd November. on yield, health and fertility for their own herd. Please note, taking of soil samples will be limited to one ANY QUERIES REGARDING THE EVENT CONTACT NIALL MCCAR- farm visit per milk supplier registered for the programme. RON ON 07785469219. Soil testing and the correct use of the results generated is . not only fundamental to growing high yields of good quality grass; it also has the added economic advantage of enabling a More trade war uncertainty more efficient use of organic manures and bagged fertiliser. The announcement this week that some EU dairy products will be subject to 25% trade tariffs could not have come at a worse time for the industry. An escalation of trade tensions between the US and the EU saw American President Donald Trump impose a raft of new trade taxes on goods sent from Europe across the Atlantic Ocean. The new trade taxes come into effect from 18th October. There will be a new 25% tariff placed on goods such as butter, cheese and cream liqueur. With Kerrygold being the number one imported butter brand in the US, these tariffs will cause uncertainty and likely disruption. Milk urea test results Coupled with the ongoing Brexit uncertainty, this latest escalation of trade wars is not what the dairy market needs especially as there have been signs of some stabilisation following large price drops for butter over the summer. On the production side, supplies in many of the main dairy produc- tion regions continue to be flat or negative with the exception of New Zealand where its new milking season continues to grow. Lakeland Dairies will continue to monitor the market situation closely over the coming weeks. Responsible use of medicines training The Red Tractor standards now require all dairy herdowners to have un- dertaken training on the responsible use of medicines. In response to this need, Animal Health & Welfare NI (AHWNI) will be delivering a further tranche of training for dairy herdowners under the Farm Family Key Skills programme. Training will be free and will cover all of the requirements set out by Red Tractor. Farmers who complete the training will be provided with a Here are the details for the 2019 Lakeland certificate of attendance as evidence of having been trained. out-of-season scheme. Farmers interested in participating will need to enrol via AHWNI. In Novemeber and December, a 3p/l pay- Enrolment can be done online at www.animalhealthni.com or by contacting ment will be made if farmers meet the follow- the AHWNI office on 028 7963 9333. ing qualifiying criteria: • Max 300,000 SCC; • Max 30,000 TBC; 2 • Minimum 4.35% lactose; • Free from added water & antibiotics; • Minimum collection quantity of 250 litres per collection. TOGETHER WE’RE STRONGER Will your heifers be calving down by 24 months this autumn?

Niall McCarron of mature weight – 175kg Lakeland Dairies Member Relations indicates that there is a strong cor- • 12 months old – 50% of relation between heifer age at first mature weight – 325kg Heifer rearing is a critically im- calving and lifetime yield and lon- • 15 months old (ser- portant aspect to any dairy farming gevity. 27.5 vice) – 60% of mature weight – enterprise on dairy farms. Heifers calving by 24 months of 390kg Rearing your hefiers can account age produce approximately 7,000 li- • 24 months (calving) – for approximately 20% of milk pro- tres more milk in their lifetime than 90% of mature weight – 580kg duction costs. heifers calving at 36 months of age as the average To achieve these weight targets Not only the cost but manage- the earlier calving heifers spend ap- for hefiers requires an average growth rate of ment of heifers during the rearing proximately seven months longer in calving 0.75 kg per day. period can have a major impact on the milking herd than heifers calving down in It is widely accepted that the the lifetime performance of the dairy at the greater age. Northern feeding of sufficient colostrum is a cow and on the carbon footprint of LIFETIME PERFORMANCE key determinant of a calf’s health dairy farming. Successful cost-effective heifer Ireland is and survival leading to increased CAFRE benchmarking data has rearing, to achieve high levels of 27.5 months daily live weight gain and feed ef- indicated that the average cost asso- lifetime performance requires a ficiency, reduced age at first calving ciated with rearing a dairy heifer is combination of a good rearing envi- and increased milk production. up to £1,900 per animal. ronment, good calf health and good Feed 10% of calf body weight of The costs associated with heifer nutrition. colostrum within two hours of birth rearing can be optimised and re- Liveweight targets are often used to ensure your heifers get off to the duced by managing these heifers to to assess the development of heifer best start on their journey to 24 calve down by 24 months of age. replacements during the rearing pro- month old calving. The average age at first calv- cess and ensure that they calve down ing for dairy heifers is 27 and a half successfully at two years of age. TO DISCUSS A HEIFER months with only 7% of heifers calv- Key targets for heifer replace- REARING PLAN FOR YOUR ing by 24 months. ments at various stages of develop- FARM CONTACT OUR There is room for improvement ment include: DAIRY DEVELOPMENT AD- in this regard for most farms across • Eight weeks (weaning) VISER, NIALL MCCARRON Northern Ireland. – 80kg ON 07785469219 Analysis of milk recording data • Six months old – 27%

3 TOGETHER WE’RE STRONGER

New margin over concentrate calculator Contact CAFRE has developed an online • Cost per tonne of blend; The Lakeland tool that lets farmers assess their • Tonnes of nuts used; Dairies’ Mem- herd performance on a monthly ba- • Cost per tonne of nuts. ber Relations sis. Margin Over Concentrate (MOC) RESULTS Division works is a simple, useful measurement tool, The results that are calculated from closely with all looking at the income from milk the input data provide up to date indica- our milk pro- sales and the cost of concentrate feed tors of herd performance. ducers to help for the dairy herd during a month. You can use all of this up to date in- drive profit- Concentrate feed accounts, on formation to set production targets. ability at farm average, for about a third of the over- MONTHLY RESULTS: level as well all cost of production for a Northern • Daily yield per cow; as providing Ireland dairy herd. • Daily concentrate fed per cow; information on This of course depends on the • Daily milk from forage; the progress system of production, with some sys- • Concentrate fed per litre; of the Society. tems spending a significantly higher • Concentrate cost per litre; We are always proportion. • Daily MOC per cow. excited to If concentrate usage can be man- Each farmer who enters data will see hear from aged efficiently this impacts on the a league of anonymous results allowing new entrants. profit generated. them to compare their herd performance Contact us by Three sets of figures are required against the top, bottom and average re- calling 1890 47 for this calculation: sults. 47 20 (ROI) 1. Cow numbers: Once 12 months of data have been en- or 028 3026 Cows in milk at month end; tered the system will display rolling an- 2311 (NI). Dry cows at end of month. nual averages. 2. Milk details: The MOC tool is accessed through Litres sold; the DAERA Online Services page and is Litres used on farm; available to all dairy farmers. Value of milk sold. Each of the figures relates to the 3. Concentrate details: month that has just passed. Tonnes of blend used; As soon as the milk statement is avail- able the figures can be entered.

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