Having already identified the need to expand the herd to maintain and improve profitability, given the continually falling milk prices. We therefore set about trying to determine whether we should continue with autumn calving or switch to spring calving.
In an autumn calving situation further expansion would have required the building of additional silos, cubicles and slurry storage. To expand with a spring calving system we required a good network of roads, mains electric fencing and a good water system.
An autumn calving herd would have meant a high reliance on both fixed and propelled machinery. With spring calving there is less reliance on machinery. With an autumn calving herd a large volume of high quality silage would be needed. Quality being essential for good milk production. With a spring calving herd, less silage would be needed and quality would be less important as silage would be mainly a dry cow feed.
An autumn calving herd would also require substantially more purchased feed than a spring calving herd.
An autumn calving herd would entail lots of drudgery even with labour saving devices such as automatic scrapers. In a spring calving herd there are intense work periods but they are focused on one main task at a time.
Milking in an autumn calving herd would be year round. With a spring calving herd I would have a chance to spend 2 months a year out of the parlour.
Our experience with autumn calving has been that it requires continual capital re-investment to maintain and expand production. A spring calving system will still require some capital investment but not to the same extent. It is however management intensive and requires careful planning. This system allows time for management, as the workload is concentrated in blocks of activity as opposed to the continual chores associated with winter milk. In a spring calving system the opening of a gate creates the opportunity for a herd of dairy cows to feed themselves, efficiently spread their own effluent, and when tired find a favourite place to sit and chew their cud, all with low labour and machinery costs. In an autumn calving situation the farmer is the manager and the worker whereas in a spring calving system the farmer is the manager and the herd does the work.
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