The future of dairy in Northern Ireland: it’s all about growth

​He added: “Securing continued growth is critically important against a backdrop of high inflation.”

The Dale Farm representative made these comments while speaking at a recent Ulster Farmers’ Union dairy conference. The event was co-hosted by the Dairy Council for Northern Ireland, Agri Search and the College for Agriculture, Food and Environment (CAFRE).

According to Whelan, the securing of higher environmental standards and increased levels of milk production are wholly compatible objectives. He specifically profiled the role that will be played by the Sustainable Dairy Pathwaysstrategy, the principle of which the UK milk sector has agreed on.

Whelan added: “Getting government support for all of this is important. But the biggest driver in making this happen is retailer and consumer sentiment.”

The pathway project has two targets: the first takes the industry up to 2030 with the second looking further out to 2050. A recent report, prepared for Dairy UK, has charted the detailed targets that must be met by milk producers over the next three plus years and the action plan required to make this happen.

Nick Whelan addressed a number of these points courtesy of his presentation. The report was produced by staff at Scotland’s Rural College. Specifically, it recommends a series of environmental ‘solutions’ for the dairy sector with an accompanying investment commitment of some £2.4 billion across the UK.

It is envisaged that the report will be endorsed in early 2027, subsequent to which, Dairy UK will be in a position to profile a sustainable future for milk, recognising the range of priorities that have been voiced by dairy farmers in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Significantly, the SRUC work confirms that on-farm emissions per litre of milk have dropped by roughly 22% since 1990, with methane emissions down nearly 14% and total greenhouse gas emissions falling 9% over the last five years. Meanwhile, dairy processors have reduced energy intensity by more than 30% and cut water usage by over 50% per kilogram of milk processed. In addition, landfill waste from processing has plummeted from 24% down to under 2%.

According to Nick Whelan, the report emphasises the need for all dairy farmers to maintain a ‘back to basics’ approach at all times when it comes to running their businesses. This includes a commitment to regular soil testing and ensuring that soil pH values are retained at optimal levels.

He concluded: “Government must support the dairy sector into the future. The industry is crucial to national infrastructure.

“This is reflected in the fact that milk and dairy products are inherently perishable food items. For the most part, they can only be supplied on a just in time basis.

“The core objective is to secure a unified dairy sector that is climate resilient and profitable.

“It will produce food of the highest quality that is affordable while also delivering a sustainable future for farmers, processors and all those involved with the sector.

“Relevant targets have been set. And the good news is the milk industry is already well down the road in meeting these.”

A single farmer’s voice can make all the difference. Coleraine dairy farmer, Andrew McCollum stood up at the recent dairy conference and proceeded to give one of the most insightful presentations that one could ever wish to hear at an event of this kind.

The subject under the spotlight was the impact of genomic assessment within the dairy sector. For the record the McCollum family own and manage the highest PLI herd in the UK. It’s a farming set up within which all calves are genomically assessed shortly after birth and the results of this process determine all the herd breeding decisions taken within the business. This is the operational plan and boy does it work.

Once academics get to talking about the issue of genomics they very quickly start talking about the importance of data collection and the analysis of this information – it can all become very complicated. But this is not the case when Andrew McCollum starts talking about the subject. Quite rightly, he and other family members have worked out that if they already have the top PLI dairy cows in the UK, then only the elite top PLI sires will met their breeding requirements of their herd.

Taking this approach also allows the McCollums dispel a number of myths that have been associated with dairy cattle breeding for many years. Take the issue of type as a case in point.

McCollum commented: “We believe that a new bull with good production figures should breed daughters with good feet and legs. It stands to reason that without these attributes, a cow’s performance will come under pressure at an early age. Moreover, if a sire is confirmed to be one that can lower somatic cell count levels, invariably his daughters will have good udders.”

The inference here is that good udder structure and a lower predisposition to high somatic cell counts and physical cases of mastitis will go hand-in-hand. In backing up these assertions, the Co Londonderry farmer showed a video featuring the top 15 PLI heifers that have come into the herd this year as they walked into the milking parlour.

He concluded: “Genomic assessment will drive breeding decisions across the sector as a whole. But data is of little value if the information cannot be fully analysed and then acted upon.”

Premium prices for dairy can be secured into the future

The retail sector is prepared to pay a premium price for dairy products. But this is only on the basis that they have the independently verified information to confirm that milk producers are delivering on their sustainability priorities at farm level

This was one of the key points also highlighted at the recent dairy conference.

Dale Farm’s Ed Wright commented: “Our customers want to know about our carbon footprint and how it is made up.

“This is an issue that farmers should not be afraid of. Looking ahead, there is very prospect that retailers will pay a direct sustainability incentive to farmers.

“All of this is at the heart of the value added agenda that every processor wants to engage with.

“However, I am concerned at the amount of time it is taking to get these processes up and running in a meaningful way.

“As a region, Northern Ireland is small enough to ensure that meaningful improvements in sustainable production standards can be achieved across the dairy sector as a whole.”

The conference took place against the backdrop of numerous schemes getting off the ground in Northern Ireland, all geared to ascertaining the quantitative impact of production agriculture in terms of its overall efficiency levels and environmental footprint.

Leprino Foods’ Ben Williams commented: “Data is of no value unless it is acted upon. So, for example, there is no point keeping cows that are genetically programmed to produce 10,000L of milk in facilities that are suited to 8,000L output levels.

“Data alone does not change behaviour. Farmers must commit to change. But there is no silver bullet within this scenario. Improvements at farm level will only happen on an incremental basis over time.”

Meanwhile, full herd genomic assessment has been identified as being integral to the securing of improved dairy herd performance levels. It was a point discussed in detail by AHDB breeding specialist: Marco Winters.

He confirmed that dairy breeding stock should be genomically assessed at the earliest possible age, adding: “Genomics can be used to identify those young animals that are best suited form a future breeding point of view.

“But of equal importance is the use of genomics to identify those animals that should not be used within a breeding programme.

“Making one bad herd breeding decision can set back an entire herd development programme for a number of generations.”

Work carried out by AHDB has confirmed the use of genomic assessment as a way of securing enhanced gains in terms of milk production, milk quality and animal health traits. The technology can also be used to lower the environmental footprint of all dairy farming enterprises.

AHDB makes this information available courtesy of its EnviroCow Index. The plan is to include methane efficiency within the dairy breeding tool in the very near future.

Methane production values across the entire commercial spectrum of UK dairy farming systems will be measured over the coming months.