One of the workshops had crossbreeding as a topic, and during the congress all participants visited three dairy farms with Norwegian Red crosses. These farmers were especially happy with the improved fertility and health after using Norwegian Red (NRF) in their herds.
Congress theme
EDF is a network of leading dairy farmers to exchange experience and knowledge. The focus of the congress was to show how the Irish dairy system works with their low cost seasonal grazing system. Ireland has a large potential to expand in milk production when the quota system will be dismantled.
The country has the best climatic and natural conditions for low cost grass based milk production with simple systems. About 5.2 million tonnes of milk (4% of EU-25 milk supply) are produced from 20,000 suppliers. Ireland currently exports about 80% of its dairy products and therefore has capabilities to market additional milk production.
Many areas in Europe are now facing difficult situations with low milk prices combined with high input costs affecting margins and investment plans. This was a reason to go and see how to feed a cow in a low cost system, and Ireland is the right place to see this.
Farm visits
During the congress all participants visited three farms with NRF crosses. This was done in groups of 20 – which gave people the chance for dialogue. The farmers’ experiences were well above expectation.
One farmer, Tom Dunne (200 cows, started crossbreedig in 2000) finds that the Norwegian Red (NRF) crosses are back in calf at a much higher rate than Holstein. They are easy calvers and the calves are quickly on their feet and ready for life. Incidents of mastitis were around 5-6%. He also has no problem with legs. Tom started breeding with SRB in 2000, but in his opinion the NRF is better for fertility, so now he uses only NRF. His intention was to use two-way crossing (Holstein x NRF) but he has decided to ONLY use NRF since fertility is the main focus for him.
Another farmer, Shane Fitzgerald (160 cows, started crossbreeding in 2002 due to infertility problems) was, as he stated himself, VERY sceptical to crossbreeding. When he started he tried various breeds in his herd. He started with 15 NRF crosses, and of these he still has 14 now in their 4th lactation. He said that the NRF has highly improved his fertility and that he now has a calving interval of 368 days. He has also noticed a health benefit in the herd after starting crossbreeding. For the future he will continue to crossbreed with NRF, Jersey and Holstein.
The third farmer, Joe Mulcahy and his son John operates a farm with 156 cows and 90 ha of land. They practice intensive grazing with a grazing period of 308 days. The milk yield is 5177 kg ECM and the break-even point is low because of low cost production. The farm participates at the Moorepark study and Joe said that the Norwegian Red cows are very impressive because of overall health status and fertility. Their milk volume is as good as the Holsteins and the solids are only very slightly behind.
– The Norwegian Red crosses are very good animals for a big herd because they are low maintance and go back in calf with very little effort and cycle apporox 19 days after calving, Joe told the EDF-members during the visit at his farm.