Dairy Management

• Assess the quality of grass for turnout and discuss plans for the forthcoming season

• How will the increase in milk prices and concentrate prices, the fall in milk quota prices, affect the economics of milk production

• Review how this will affect the different dairying systems, looking at the high margin per cow (high yield) versus high margin per litre (low yield)

• Look at the different dry matter yields of grass, whole crop wheat and maize.

• Discuss the possible reasons why the potential dry matter yields are not being achieved

• Review methods of improving dry matter yields

• With dairying systems now becoming very diverse, the type of cow required for each system needs to be different

• How genetic potential is assessed

• Genetic potential required for different systems

• Advantages of cross breeding

• Advantages and disadvantages of different breeds

• Review the different level of all costs already achieved on farms and ways of reducing costs