Some people might be of the view that a reduction in Irish dairy cow numbers will have a consequential impact on milk output.
Nothing could be further from the truth.
The reality is that any voluntary cow reduction scheme will be seen by dairy farmers as an opportunity to get rid of the old ladies with bad feet, poor fertility performance and high cell counts.
This process then leaves more room for those left to have greater access to feed and more comfortable opportunities to get a good night’s rest, particularly during the winter months.
Cow numbers
Yes, cattle have a herd instinct. But repeated research has shown that overcrowding, in any sense, provides high levels of stress for these animals.
And when this happens, growth and production levels plummet and this is particularly so in the case of dairy cows.
Some years ago, the authorities in the state of California committed to a 20% reduction in dairy cow numbers.
This decision was taken on environmental grounds. The cull followed. But contrary to what many people had expected, California’s total milk was fully maintained. In fact, it just kept creeping up.
Driving all of this was the fact that cows had more feeding and lying room. Farmers were also in a position to make higher feed levels available to those cows that remained.
Genetics
Another factor coming into play was dairy farmers’ commitment to improved genetics.
And this phenomenon of increased milk output per cow will, almost certainly, come into play, if Ireland goes down the road of a ‘dairy cull’.
A reduction in cow numbers could also prove a tipping point – in a positive sense – for Irish Holstein genetics.
The envisaged cull will constitute part of Ireland’s response to the threat of global warming and the need to reduce the levels of greenhouse gases (GHGs) produced by the farming sectors.
Holstein breeders consistently make the point that the key measure of dairy efficiency can be best reflected in the amounts of carbon dioxide (CO2) emitted while producing a litre of milk.
And on this basis, the Holstein cow ticks lots of boxes.
But irrespective of cow type, Irish dairy farmers are in the milk business. They want to produce as much of the ‘white stuff’ as they can, whilE at the same time, getting a decent farmgate price.
This scenario will never change; hence the assumption that Irish milk output will not fall in the wake of cow number reductions.