MILK SUPPLY

Milk supply for December was 2.8 million litres, anincrease of 2.8% on December 2015.

The total supply for 2016 was 97 million litres whichwas an increase of 4.5 million litres or 6.2% on 2015.January supply to date is up by 3% on last year.

MILK PRICE

The price for December milk has been increased by afurther 1 cent per litre. The variable base price for themonth at 3.6% Butterfat and 3.3% Protein is 31.81 centper litre including SCC bonus and VAT. (The new VATrate from the 1st of January is 5.4%)

The average prices paid for the month, based on theaverage constituents of 4.34% butterfat and 3.51%protein, are as follows – Variable Price 36.05c/l, FixedPrice 1. 37.45c/l, Fixed Price 2. 34.63c/l.

DAIRY MARKETS

Dairy markets continue their positive trend. The OrnuaPPI Index has risen to 103.8 up from 99.4 in Novemberwhile supply from most of the big production countries(bar the US) still lags behind last year. Brexit is still thebig unknown on the horizon.

Branches: Ardfield T: 023 8840614/ Ballinascarthy T: 023 8839105 / Ballycummer T: 023 8838609 /Manch T: 023 8845171 / Reenascreena T: 023 8848148 / Rosscarbery T: 023 8848119

GOOD HOUSING MEANS HAPPY, HEALTHYCOWS

CELLCHECK TIP OF THE MONTH

Mastitis occurs because bacteriaget into the udder through the teatend. These bacteria can comefrom other cows (via milk), orfrom the environment. Whencows are housed, their exposureto mastitis–causing bacteria in theenvironment will be higher. Bacteria such as E. coli andStrep. uberis, which survive in the cow’s environment,can cause severe cases of mastitis. Plan ahead, andreduce the risk of mastitis problems in your cows andin-calf heifers this spring.

TIP: Reduce the risk of mastitis by making sure housing isCLEAN, DRY and COMFORTABLE

Cleaner houses = cleaner udders = less bacteria at theteat ends:

● Scrape passageways, cubicles and yards at leasttwice a day, or run automatic scrapers at least 6 – 8times daily

● Don’t forget, cubicle mats and bedding should beclean!

● In straw-bedded houses, bedding should berefreshed daily

Dry housing makes it harder for bacteria to grow:

● Good ventilation is essential● Liming of cubicles (twice daily) will help keep them

dry● Make sure straw bedding isn’t damp. Wet knees

after kneeling on it means it’s damp!

Comfortable cubicles = cows will use them more =cleaner udders and teats

Don’t overstock cubicle housing this winter-aimto have 10% more cubicles than cows

TIP: Don’t forget about your in-calf heifers! Goodenvironmental conditions now are just as important aswhen they join the main herd.

Back Row L to R: Jonathan Nyhan, Seamas O’Donovan, JamesKingston, John T Kingston, Donal Santry, Stephen Buttimerand Alan French

Seated L to R: Caroline Walsh, Pat Moriarty Paddy Ryan,Eleanor Hayes, Christy McCarthy and Eric Jennings

Congratulations to the CellCheck 500 winners who werepresented with their certificates at the Annual Seminar

What is the cause:

Ketosis can be divided into 2 categories:1. Primary ketosis -  The cow is not obtaining the

energy requirement that she needs from the diet thatshe is eating.

2. Secondary ketosis – A problem with the cow isstopping her from eating enough food to match herenergy requirements e.g. an LDA stops the coweating but she still needs energy to move, producemilk etc.

A more commonly seen problem in dairy cows thesedays is subclinical ketosis.  This is generally seen in dairyherds as a group problem rather than a individual cowissue.   Cows with subclinical ketosis don't show suchstrong bulling activity, don't come bulling as early, don'tachieve their potential peak milk yield (and subsequentlyhave significantly reduced lactation yield) and are moreprone to disease and conditions such as LDAs (leftdisplaced abomasum).  In short they take longer to getgoing and never achieve their potential in the lactationwhich costs you time and money.   Subclinical ketosisoften indicates a problem in the transition diet ormanagement.

You can appreciate how much heat a cow produces whenyou are standing in a milking parlour on a freezing wintermorning – heats up pretty quickly doesn’t it.

How is it diagnosed:Some people can smell a characteristic sweetness to thecows breath but not everyone can smell this.  Your vet

can usually make a tentative diagnosis using the clinicalsigns although blood, milk and urine tests are alsoavailable for confirmation.

How is it treated:Individual animals are best treated as advised by yourvet.    Propylene glycol drenches such as Ketovit andChanatol are stocked at Lisavaird co-op.

How can I prevent it:

● Getting the dry period right is essential to correctlycondition the cows to cope with the demands oflactation.  Cows that are too fat won’t eat enoughto meet their energy requirements and will be at riskof developing ketosis (along with LDAs, metritis,poor fertility etc.).  Aim for cows to calve at betweencondition score 2.5-3.0.

● Get a chart and regularly score and record yourcows condition.  This can seem tedious but timespent doing this can identify problems early beforethey become bigger problems.

● Prepare your dry cows well for the milking cow diet.Gradual slow exposure to the diet that the cows willbe eating when they are milking allows the rumenbugs to adapt to the diet. This ensures they are ableto utilise the diet as soon as the cow has calved.This has many benefits not just in preventing ketosis.

● Regular metabolic profiling with blood tests canidentify potential problems. The faster you canidentify a problem the more effectively you can fixit and the less money it ends up costing you.

KETOSIS IN DAIRY COWS

WHAT IS KETOSIS?: Ketosis is essentially the cows response to a negative energy balance.  In other words:Energy used > energy taken in (eaten)

As a number of our suppliers are status negative for BVD they are able to choose to do a cheaper test on theircalves. The ear tag sample is taken as normal but a different type of test is carried out. This test is called a PCR andlike the normal test we will now be providing a collection point at the co-op for these samples. There will be twobins in the co-op: one for PCR samples (status negative herds) and one for the existing test. For the herds that arenot status negative we will continue to send their samples to Animal Health Lab in Bandon but as this lab does nothave facilities for doing the PCR test we have sourced another lab and they will do this test for €2.60 a sample. Pleasenote it is only herds that have been informed that they are status negative can avail of this PCR test. Any supplierwho is status negative please contact Eleanor Hayes.

SDAS/Bord Bia - We now have 92% of our suppliers certified in the SDAS scheme which is a great achievement.

The Carbery Board have now decided that any suppliers not signed up to the scheme or not holding certificationwill incur the penalties below.

BVD TESTING

Date Action Consequence01-04-17 All suppliers must be signed up to participate in

Bord Bia (SDAS)If a supplier is not signed up and participating by 1stApril a penalty of 5c/litre on milk supplied will incur

01-07-17 Audit must be carried out and holding certified If Audit is not carried out and if holding is notcertified, the 5c/litre penalty will continue.