Milk recording has become increasingly more important on Irish dairy farms, for a number of reasons.
The increased importance is largely due to the changes in the antibiotic regulations, along with the need to breed more efficient cows.
Recording cows allows farmers to obtain information that can then be used to make decisions regarding the herd and/or individual cows.
For example, milk recording data can be used to determine which cows should be bred to dairy sires and which should be bred to beef sires.
It also plays an important role in the management of cell counts on farms and determining the success of the drying off process.
Milk recording
Most farms are well into the calving season, and a question that many farmers might now be asking is when should they complete their first recording?
Ideally, you should complete two recordings within 60 days of the first cow calving.
These early recordings help to determine the effectiveness of your drying-off routine and they check the cure rate during the dry period.
Along with determining how successful your drying-off procedure was these early recordings will help to identify any infections that were picked up during the dry period.
Breeding
These early recordings can also be used to help identify cows that will be suitable for sexed semen or dairy sires later in the year.
Many of these cows will already be known, but there is always the potential that some of these will change.
Most herds have now reached a point where the focus has switched from increasing numbers to improving the animals on the farm.
Many are likely planning to use sexed semen on the best cows and heifers to obtain replacements from and beef semen should be used on the rest of the herd.
The data collected from milk recordings over the last number of years should be used to identify these best cows.
The motto for many in breeding 2023 will be ‘sexed for the best, and beef for the rest’.
While selecting cows that are suitable for dairy sires you should also be looking at the cows that beef sires will be used on and which beef sires could potentially be used on them.