Large Potential to Increase Milk Production after Quotas
IRELAND - Over half of milk producers would like to see milk quotas abolished, and there is huge scope to increase milk output at farm level. These are the two main findings of a survey of 660 milk suppliers carried out by Teagasc Moorepark Dairy Production Research Centre earlier this year. Over 70% of those surveyed would prefer to see quotas end before 2010.
2 July 2007
2 minute read
Details of this survey, which aimed to establish farmers’ attitudes and intentions towards future milk production, were presented at Moorepark 07, a major Teagasc national dairy open day taking place in Fermoy, County Cork, today Thursday, 21 June.
Nearly half of those surveyed plan to increase milk production in the next five years with just 14% planning to exit milk in that period. This is positive news for the industry as it enters an era of enormous opportunities and challenges, and the possibility to increase national milk production after over 20 years of supply control through the quota system. It is estimated that milk production in Ireland could increase by over 40% in the coming years.
The survey also shows that there is potential on most dairy farms to increase milk production from the existing land base around the milking parlour. Both research and commercial dairy farms show that 15,000 litres of milk per hectare can be produced with minimal supplementary feeding. A large proportion of the dairy farmers surveyed could increase cow numbers without additional investments or labour.
There is a strong view in the European Commission that milk quotas are constraining the development of an efficient dairy industry. The Commission’s preferred option is to end quotas on 1 April 2015, with a possible gradual increase in milk quotas from 2009. This will allow dairy farmers to expand and creates possibilities for the development of new dairy units on non-dairy farms.
Setting up stand-alone green field dairy farms is feasible if developed around low cost housing facilities and focussing on achieving labour efficiencies while maximising the amount of grazed grass in the diet. Such operations will grow in frequency over the coming years as milk quotas have a declining impact on dairying in Europe. Research has shown that a 300-day grazing season with 90% of total milk produced from grazed grass can be achieved in spring-calving herds. This is more important now because of the rising cost of meal supplements due to increases in global grain prices. Research also shows that cows turned out to grass earlier in spring will produce more valuable milk with lower fat and higher protein than cows fed an indoor diet.
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