The latest data from the Irish Cattle Breeding Federation (ICBF) shows that 1,056,515 cows have been recorded so far in 2026, which gives us a strong indication of where milk production is sitting.

Despite 8,684 herds having milk recorded so far this year, the total volume of cows recorded is still down 1% from the 1,067,102 cows recorded by this time last year.

The number of cows that were recorded over the 10-day period from June 9-19 was 147,792.

These cows came from a total of 1,210 herds, bringing the average herd size to 122.

With strong grass growth in mid-June, what was milk production looking like for these herds?

Milk production

The average milk yield of these herds that milk recorded was 25.19kg/milk/cow with 4.03% fat and 3.53% protein.

This equates to an average of 1.9kg/milk solids/cow/day at the moment, which is a relatively strong holding for mid-June.

According to ICBF data, peak solid production ran from March 24 to April 10, at an average of 2.15kg/milk solids/cow/day.

This has been the trend for the last couple of years, with last year's peak coming in mid-April as solids sat at 2.11kg/milk solids/cow/day.

Despite this year's rain, the quality and abundance of grass has let herds push on even more with solids, maintaining high production right through the breeding season so far.

The average somatic cell count (SCC) for the herds recording in the past 10 days sits at 160,000 cells/ml.

This figure has being relatively steady over the past six weeks; however it is some distance from the target of sub-100,000 cells/ml.

Parlour hygiene and teat spraying needs to be maintained to ensure the milk cheque is not leaking in the form of mastitis.

Milk recording

Recording your milk can quite often be seen as a costly action (approximately €12/cow/year), and can disrupt the milking routine when time and labour may be short, but the benefits speak for themselves.

Regular recording will allow for constant tracking of SCC off each cow and identify repeat offenders.

It could also decrease your herd’s SCC and improve your milk price, and will also generate a farm summary on mastitis control and areas to be improved.

It is particularly useful to see what cows are performing and what cows are not, in terms of milk production and milk hygiene.

This can make breeding and culling decisions relatively easy and data-driven.