ProCROSS Open Day taking place on Friday, 15th September

The event, to be hosted in conjunction with Ai Services (Northern Ireland) Ltd, will confirm the specific benefits of the ProCROSS breeding programme In Northern Ireland.

Des is a new entrant into dairy: the first cows were milked in January 2022.

He explained: “Two fundamentally important decisions were made from the outset. The first was to commit to an established cross-breeding programme, where the cows are concerned: the other was to invest in a robotic milking system.

“I am happy to confirm that both decisions were the correct ones to take.”

Des specifically committed to the ProCROSS breeding programme, which has been developed in Denmark.

At the heart of this strategy is the sequential use of Holstein, Montbéliarde and Danish Red genetics.

There are currently 67 milking cows on an A5 Lely robot with an additional 13 dry cows making up the Kelly herd.

“All the animals were imported from Denmark as in-calf heifers in three batches,” Des further explained.

“The breeding history of each animal was confirmed, going back over a number of generations.

“As a result, the position of each in the ProCROSS breeding cycle can be clearly identified.

“This allows me to select the specific breed of sire to be used on each animal in order to maintain the full impact of ProCROSS programme across the next and future generations of cows on the farm.”

Des Kelly committed to a cross breeding programme with the cows for a number of reasons.

He commented: “Cross bred cows are inherently healthier. This reduces the management burden on the farmer.

“This is already evident. Problems with the likes of sore feet have not been an issue. And the same principle holds were cell count and udder health-related matters are concerned.

“Fertility levels are also higher than one would expect from purebred animals.”

Des is also finding that ProCROSS cows can produce large volumes of high quality milk.

“All the animals currently on the robot are first calved heifers. They are currently averaging 32.3L per day at 4.27% butterfat and 3.35% protein,” he said.

“This figure should improve again as soon as the second calvers come back into the milking group.”

Ai Services’ breeding manager, Ivan Minford, was a recent visitor to the Kelly farm.

He confirmed that Sven Johnsson from Viking Genetics will attend the open day to discuss ProCROSS, the only proven cross breeding system, adding: “Des will provide an overview of the dairy farming business and the thinking that led him to commit to the ProCROSS programme in the first place.”

College of Agriculture, Food and Rural Enterprise (CAFRE) dairy specialist, Dr David Mackey, will also be in attendance.

He will discuss the topic: increasing cow longevity and lifetime milk yield.

Ivan continued: “The ProCROSS strategy will be of specific interest to many dairy farmers here in Northern Ireland.

“Next Friday’s open day will provide an invaluable opportunity for milk producers to find out more about the programme.”

The open day kicks-off at 10.30am, continuing until 12.30pm. Refreshments will be available on arrival.

Those wishing to attend must register beforehand.

Des Kelly’s farm is located at 7 Dergenagh Road, Ballygawley, Co Tyrone, BT70 2JY. Those wishing to attend the open day should contact Ivan Minford on 07831 189852.