The milk recording of cows is set to become increasingly more important from January 2022, when changes to regulation come into effect.
So far in 2021 – based off the Irish Cattle Breeders Federation (ICBF) data – 7,891 herds, or 950,415 cows have been recorded.
Benefits
The benefits that milk recording offers farmers have been highlighted frequently over the last number of years.
They include:
- Identifying high somatic cell count (SCC) cows;
- Identifying best and worst cows;
- Adding value when selling stock;
- Increased TB compensation;
- And many more.
But the question that many farmers will be asking is; how many times per year should I be milk recording my cows?
Recording your cows too few times will not help in the identification of consistently high SCC cows, nor will it help with determining your best and worst cows.
While recording your cows too many times, will be expensive and a waste of time.
Number of milk recordings
Speaking on the recent Munster Bovine milk recording webinar, Dr. Doreen Corridan stated that farmers should be completing a minimum of four milk recordings a year, with the optimum number for spring-calving herds being six.
With the use of selective dry cow therapy (SDT) increasing on farms, you need to determine how the dry period has gone.
Dr. Corridan recommended that the first recording be completed within 30 days of the first cows calving, and that a second recording should be completed after another 30 days.
Dr. Patton supported this point by saying that: “Many farmers wait too long before completing their first recording, and farmers should really be completing two early recordings so that the timing of the first recording is correct.
“It is important that milk recording is done on at least six or seven occasions, so that every cow within the herd is recorded on at least four occasions.”
Dr. Corridan stated that: “The next two to three recordings should be completed during the summer months, with the final two recordings completed ahead of drying off.”
It was noted that the final recording should not be left too late and that cows need to be producing at least 5kg to allow the samples to be analysed.