I wonder if OAD (Once a Day) Milking farmers should be
farming like TAD farmers (Twice a Day Milking)? After all they are completely different
farming systems. Or are they really different?
This is potentially a very
interesting debate. Should all pasture based farmers farm in the same way or
are the systems sufficiently different that they should develop different
methods & different objectives? Organic dairy farms have developed
different systems & objectives from conventional farms. So should OAD
farmers farm as TAD farmers or develop a completely different system? It’s
early days so let’s debate the issue.
Innovative OAD (Once a Day) Milking Dairy
Farmers from all over New Zealand met at Eketahuna this week to be part of Dr
Colin Holmes’ OAD Milking discussion group. Colin with the help of DairyNZ
started the group some time ago on the very same Tararua farm where we met this
week.
Sherryn & Dale Marshall farm OAD on a tough steep farm but have done
remarkably well given the terrain. In the photos you can see the green outline
of the milking area up on the steep hill country. The Discussion Group agreed
that it was an excellent farm for OAD milking because of the distances &
steepness of the tracks & grazing. The cow condition of the OAD herd was
excellent & a credit to their management & the care & attention of
their farming team.
I love the cut & thrust of a good discussion group
where new ideas are scrutinised, & everyone goes home thinking with plenty of food for
thought. However it is the first OAD Milking group I have ever been to where
much of the debate was about how much supplement was being fed? I have never
heard OAD milking farmers debating the merit of 300kgsN per ha per year vs.
200kgsN. These OAD farmers were farming like & thinking like TAD farmers.
So is the “OAD Milking System” the same as or different from the TAD milking
system? I would argue that the 2 systems are as different as “Chalk &
Cheese” (an old saying from Gloucestershire comparing the then wealthy sheep
farmers from the chalk country of the Cotswolds vs. the then poor dairy farmers
from the Berkley Vale near Thornbury, UK).
Once a Day Milking is a low input
farming system that is ideal for pasture only fed cows. It is potentially a very
profitable system, but only if the operating costs are kept very low. OAD herds
have in my view the potential to produce the same Milk solids per cow as they
were on TAD. This is because of the wide genetic variation within XBred cows as
to how they adapt to OAD milking. There is the very exciting possibility of
developing a OAD milking cow that is very different from the cows we see today
being milked OAD.
Goals of OAD Milking Herds .
To produce the same total milksolids on OAD as they used to on TAD, with
same number of cows. (but not the same cows).
Select hard & Cull hard to capitalise on
the huge between cow variations.
Aim for 1kg MS per kg of LWT on OAD milking.
Means you must weigh cows & herd test.
Profit levels of 40 -50% GFR.
Have a real Family life.
Very focussed on being sustainable & very resilient. OAD
Milking dairy farms have a real opportunity to be show that they have a truly sustainable
farming system. A crucial aspect of OAD milking is how it can be a people
sustainable system.
The 8 main points of Sustainable
Farming are:-
To have a sustainably profitable farm business.
To manage soils for the future with less dependence on fertilizers & to build Soil Organic Matter (SOM) so increase soil carbon storage.
To reduce Energy consumption by reducing demand & generating on farm energy. To lower the Carbon Footprint of milk.
To better manage Water (conserve & reduce use), reduce pollutant losses.
To improve Dairy cow welfare, fertility & animal health.
To have a sustainable people practices.
To increase the bio diversity on the farm.
To develop long term business communication strategies not only with buyers, but with the professional support teams & the local community.
To have a sustainably profitable farm business.
To manage soils for the future with less dependence on fertilizers & to build Soil Organic Matter (SOM) so increase soil carbon storage.
To reduce Energy consumption by reducing demand & generating on farm energy. To lower the Carbon Footprint of milk.
To better manage Water (conserve & reduce use), reduce pollutant losses.
To improve Dairy cow welfare, fertility & animal health.
To have a sustainable people practices.
To increase the bio diversity on the farm.
To develop long term business communication strategies not only with buyers, but with the professional support teams & the local community.
The bottom line is that I believe OAD milking farms,
people & cows are uniquely different from TAD farms. Therefore there are
strong arguments to support a different breeding objective & a whole lot of
different thinking that is uniquely OAD thinking.
If profit is the primary goal for a OAD system then why are you feeding concentrates(especially poor ones) & why are you even considering extra N fertiliser????
Every time a dairy farmer spends money they reduce their own profits & increase someone else's profit!
I challenge all OAD farmers
to aim for a really low input low cost pasture based system where all excess
costs are screwed out of the farming system. Have the courage to tread a
different path that is family friendly & highly resilient to price fluctuations.
Go for it! If you don’t agree then feel free to debate it with me by adding
your comments in the comments box below.
Great Discussion Group Colin & Leo. Well done!
