Munster Bovine launches new Milk Recording Lifetime Summary Report

Munster Bovine has announced the launch of its new Milk Recording Lifetime Summary Report for herdowners.

Over the last two years, the Munster Bovine team has been working tirelessly to improve the existing milk recording reports and, along with other changes, has delivered a lifetime view of the cow which will transform breeding, culling and herd health decision-making going forward.

For the first time, the milk recorded lifetime information for the cow is available after each test. Cows are now ranked within a herd based on milk recorded lifetime margin per day. This new approach will ensure herdowners can make quick, effortless and profitable decisions for their farm.

Production and SCC

The report is divided into two distinct areas: production; and somatic cell count (SCC).

In the production report, cows in their second and subsequent lactation are ranked based on their milk recorded lifetime margin per day into the top 20%, average and bottom 20%. The top 20% of cows are coloured green and the bottom 20% are coloured red.

The aim should be to breed replacements from the highest genetic merit and the highest performing cows in the herd (top 20%). The bottom 20% need analysis to determine the reason for their inferior performance. This is a within herd comparison considering production, costs, dry periods and month of calving.

In the SCC report, the herd is divided into four categories based on current and previous SCC tests. The SCC categories show you the number of cows in each category and their performance since their last test. This will allow quick monitoring of SCC control programmes.

For example, are herdowners achieving SCC control at milking? Is the herd suitable for selective dry cow therapy?

One of the most exciting elements of this report is that the cost figures are a much more accurate reflection of actual costs.

Costs which have been provided by Teagasc now consider the cow’s month of calving in each lactation and the herd’s production group. February-calving cows have the lowest cost of production whilst August-calving cows have the greatest cost of production.

As the production group increases from 5,700kg to 9,000kg, the cost of production increases due to increased feed costs.

Huge leap forward

Speaking about the launch of this report, Kevin Coffey, chief executive of Munster Bovine, commented: “The Munster team has worked extremely hard to deliver this report for our farmer customers.

“In essence, we are providing real-time reporting on a customer’s herd with the milk recorded lifetime information for the cow available after each test which will enable the herdowner to make the best possible herd management decisions necessary to get ahead.

The ability to rank a herd based on profitability and performance is very significant in terms of information provided compared to previous reports. A huge emphasis has been placed on ensuring that the costs used in the margin calculation are more reflective of actual costs.

“The Munster Team has worked very closely with Teagasc and current cost figures now consider cow’s month of calving in each lactation and the herd’s production group.

“This new report is guided by farmer feedback and represents a huge leap forward in herd data availability and presentation. The Munster team is very confident that herdowners will find this new report very beneficial.”