June 2020 Dairy Newsletter

Milk Price

The milk price for May is unchanged at 32.01 cents per litre (145.51 cents per gallon) at 3.60% butterfat and 3.30% protein, including Summer Somatic Cell Count (SCC) bonus of 0.5 cpl and VAT at 5.4%. This includes 1.5 cents per litre milk price support from the stability fund.

The average price paid for the month is 33.75 cents per litre. This is based on the average butterfat of 3.89% and protein of 3.39%, including SCC bonus and VAT.

Bord Bia Remote Auditing Update

Bord Bia’s new remote auditing system has been in operation for the last three weeks, with over 15 Drinagh milk suppliers having completed their renewal audit remotely to date. Feedback from suppliers has been very positive, and the system is working well for all involved.

The remote audit is conducted over the phone and will cover everything that is usually covered on-site but uses technology to help the auditor get a picture of the farm.

Your auditor will contact you a minimum of 2 weeks prior to your audit to explain the process and arrange a date for the remote audit phone call. In advance of the audit you will be required to send photographs of the dairy, milking parlour, animal housing, remedy records etc., so that the auditor can visually assess all areas of the farm.

Your usual Bord Bia on farm audit will resume as soon as practically possible once the situation returns to normal. If you require any assistance in completing your audit, please contact Ciara Sheehan on 087 7384736.

Bulk Tank Service Contracts

Rea Refrigeration Coolcare is now offering a comprehensive maintenance service for milk cooling tanks in the Drinagh area. The service charge can be deducted from milk cheque similar to other service providers in our area. The company’s head office is in Mitchelstown and can be contacted on 025-24813 and tjrea.office@gmail.com. Rea Refrigeration services all makes of tanks and installs tanks for the following manufactures Dairymaster, Packo, Liscarroll, Dari Kool and DeLaval.

Chlorine Free Notice

As previously advised, the board of Ornua agreed on a full removal of chlorine-based detergent products by the end of 2020. Carbery has also committed to this goal.

At this stage all bulk milk tanks should be on a chlorine free wash programme.

Now is the time to change to chlorine free (CF) wash on your milking machine.

The milking machine will be a tougher challenge when changing to chlorine free. For this reason, we encourage all suppliers to make contact and work with our Agri Advisors when making this change. For more information on chlorine free wash routines for your milking machine please see this month’s managements notes.

Johnes Programme

The current Johnes programme remains open for new participants who wish to join the scheme. Anyone who joins the scheme must complete an annual herd test (one milk or one blood per eligible animal) and an on farm veterinary risk assessment with their vet before the end of the year in order to qualify for payment.

Drinagh Top 30 Milk Suppliers 2019

The top three milk suppliers nominated for the 2019 Carbery Milk Quality Awards by Drinagh are:

• Anthony O’Shea, Gories, Bantry
• John O’Regan, Kielbronogue, Schull
• William Kingston, Tooreen, Skibbereen

Due to current restrictions the overall winner of the award will not be announced until later in the year.

The Carbery Milk Quality Awards place an emphasis on milk quality, sustainability, healthy cows, hygienic facilities, and excellent farming practices. Carbery says these factors are “essential to the quality of raw material supplied which leads to a superior end product.” Owned by farming families, Carbery Group processes close to 500 million litres of milk per annum to produce award-winning cheeses and food ingredients in Ballineen.

The table below contains the top 30 Drinagh milk suppliers for 2019 based on milk quality, listed in alphabetical order. On behalf of everyone in Drinagh, we extend our sincere congratulations on their remarkable achievement of consistently producing top quality milk.

REMINDERS

• Top 30 milk suppliers for 2019 announced
• Now is the time to change to chlorine free (CF) wash on your milking machine