September 2020 Dairy Newsletter

Milk Price

The milk price for the month of August has increased by 0.5 cent per litre to 33.07 cents per litre (150.34 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 1.0 cent per litre milk price support from the stability fund.

The average price paid for the month is 37.73 cents per litre. This is based on the average butterfat of 4.52% and protein of 3.60%, including SCC bonus and VAT.

Chief Executive Officer

The Society’s board is pleased to announce the appointment of Mr. Seamus Daly as Chief Executive designate. He will assume the position of Chief Executive on the 1st January next. Seamus has thirty years’ service with Drinagh having filled roles in the early years in the provender mill. He is currently the head of the dairy department and assistant Chief Executive.

Nitrates Derogation Requirements

2020 brought with it a number of additional requirements under the Nitrates Derogation. If you have applied for a derogation this year you must ensure you are meeting these requirements. Failure to comply may result in penalties or withdrawal of your derogation under cross compliance. The following are some of the new requirements that required action this year.

1. Clover - Clover must be included in all reseeds on derogation farms
2. Lime - Adopt a farm scale liming programme
3. Grassland management – you have two options; A) complete a minimum of 20 grass measurements and input them on PastureBase Ireland, B). Attend a grassland management course by 31st December 2021.
4. Low Emission Slurry Spreading (LESS) applies to all slurry spread post 15th April this year, from 2021 this will apply from the 12th of January.

The are also new requirements around biodiversity, protection of waterways, etc. If you have any further questions or are unsure about the new requirements, please contact your advisor.

Mastitis Control Programme

Milk processing Co-Ops, who operate an approved Mastitis Control Programme (MCP) can provide veterinary prescriptions for all suppliers who sign up to this programme.

The script supplied will be valid for up to 12 months. Included in this month’s statement is a Mastitis Control Programme Contract for anybody who wishes to join the programme or renew their contract.

There is an ongoing focus on antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and as a result some products have been omitted from this year’s application form. This group of antibiotics are third and fourth generation cephalosporins which have been classed as the highest priority ‘critically important antimicrobials’ (CIA’s) because of their importance in both human and animal health. To demonstrate our commitment to AMR reduction, Drinagh have delisted these products and removed them from the intramammary prescriptions as part of the Co-Op’s overall Mastitis Control Programme.

If you have any queries in relation to this matter, please feel free to contact Tim Regan or Darren Lynch for further assistance.

CellCheck Milking for Quality Award 2019

The CellCheck Milking for Quality awards is now in its 6th year. The award is given to the 500 milk suppliers nationally with the lowest, weighted annual average SCC. This is based on SCC data collected by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine and analysed by ICBF.

Any supplier with at least 9 months SCC results are considered eligible. Drinagh is especially well represented and proud that 48 of our milk suppliers have qualified for the CellCheck Milking for Quality award based on 2019 results. We would like to congratulate the 48 Drinagh CellCheck award winners on their excellent achievement.

Each winner will receive a waterproof plaque (see picture) that is designed to be mounted on the wall of their dairy or milking parlour.

The Drinagh Award Winners are listed below in alphabetical order

REMINDER

• Mastitis Control Programme included in this months accounts
• 48 Drinagh CellCheck Award Winners for 2019