Animal Health Ireland (AHI) celebrated its 11th annual CellCheck awards last Thursday night in the Killashee Hotel, Naas, Co. Kildare.
The awards aim to recognise the excellence achieved by Irish dairy farmers in herd health, specifically those that achieve a consistently low somatic cell count (SCC) in their dairy herds.
The CellCheck programme, coordinated by AHI, works with dairy farmers and their service providers, to increase the awareness and capacity to manage and prevent mastitis in Irish herds.
The aim of the programme is to achieve a healthier and more productive herd, which contributes to increased efficiency and profitability on farms.
SCC
Over the past decade, the national average bulk tank SCC has reduced by almost 50,000 cells/mL, to an average of 190,000 cells/mL in 2023.
This improvement in udder health in the national herd is helping to reduce antimicrobial usage, improve farm profitability and contribute towards reducing agri-emissions.
According to AHI’s research, effective mastitis control can increase a dairy farmer’s net profitability by at least 1 c/L.
On the night, one CellCheck Champion was identified from each of the 17 winning processors.
Every participating co-op had one CellCheck Champion, as follows:
- Arrabawn – Andrew Hogan;
- Aurivo – Michael Marley;
- Bandon – Aidan and Vincent Murphy;
- Barryroe – Kieran Whelton;
- Boherbue – Eoin and Mary O’Riordan;
- Callan – Seán, Caroline and Conor Bogue;
- Centenary Thurles – Patrick and Ann Campion;
- Dairygold – Ray Bryan;
- Drinagh – Neil Collins;
- Kerry – Thomas, Joe, Philomena and Siobhán Stack;
- Lakeland Dairies – Austin Dunne;
- Lee Strand – Eric O’Brien;
- Lisavaird – John Joe and Andrew O’Sullivan;
- North Cork Creameries – Maurice Moynihan;
- Strathroy – Cathal Byrne;
- Tipperary – John, Margaret and Denis Dwyer;
- Tirlán – Steven and Catriona Fitzgerald.
This year’s FBD-sponsored event saw 500 top-performing dairy farmers from across Ireland recognised for achieving the lowest weighted annual average SCC based on the previous year’s milk supply.
CellCheck awards
Speaking at the awards, chair of Animal Health Ireland, James Lynch , said: “The CellCheck programme has helped to significantly reduce SCC across Ireland’s dairy herds, contributing to healthier herds and sustainably produced, high-quality milk.”
Lynch added that “the aim of these awards is to celebrate the dairy farmers who achieve these excellent results on their farms, and to acknowledge the hard work that goes into achieving this success”.
CellCheck Programme manager, Finola McCoy said: “The farmers we are recognising tonight with these awards are real life examples of how low somatic cell counts and effective herd health can be maintained by being brilliant at the basics.
“We are also continuing to see a reduction in the number of cows in this cohort receiving antibiotic dry cow therapy, as the implementation of selective dry cow therapy continues to grow.”
McCoy added that “our CellCheck Champions are setting a standard for all dairy farmers. It is encouraging to see all of our winners achieve SCC levels below 76,000 cells/mL, which is a significant accomplishment.”
Chair of FBD Trust, Michael Berkery said: “Animal Health Ireland’s work is making a significant contribution to the health of Ireland’s livestock sector.”
Berkery added that “the CellCheck programme continues to deliver improvements in milk quality and savings for farmers. FBD is proud to sponsor the CellCheck Awards and is committed to supporting these awards for the next three years”.