Tandragee farmer focuses on high quality milk and longer lasting cows

My name is Simon Meredith. I farm just outside Tandragee here with my father. I’m a 7^th generation farmer. We are currently milking 100 Holstein Friesian crossbred cows at the minute. Averaging 9,000 litres per cow with 3.3 protein and 4.3 fat. We are milking with two Lely A5 milk robots here. The first one went in in 2021 and the second one has been in since February.

Dairy was not always the focus

We were farming beef there for numerous years and sheep and thought it just wasn’t as profitable as it used to be, so we started dairy there in 2021 and we haven’t looked back. We aim for a healthier cow, better fertility, good on the legs and feet and sort of trying to drive production a wee bit.

Introduction into AHV concept

I’ve heard about AHV from David, one of the reps. He drove into the yard one day, sat down with us and talked about the concept and what sort of products they offer. We saw we could benefit our cows. We use the Extra Tablet, the Aspi Tablet and the Booster in the begin of the lactation. After calving we use the StartLac Paste and a calcium bolus. From when we started using the products, we’ve seen great improvement in udder health. We use the Booster Tablet 10 days before the voluntary waiting period to boost the cows fertility.

When we see a conductivity raise, we use the Extra Tablet if the cow comes under udder health challenges to support her. We use the Booster for some of the high yielding cows just 10 days before we know heat is coming. The Aspi Tablet sort of for the aim of the recovery of the udder challenges.

Proactive approach from advisor based on robot data

David, our Farm Advisor, calls out once a month and walks through the cows with us. He has a look through the reports of the milking robot, checks conductivity and rumination and stuff and advices from there what product should be the best.

We’re taking a proactive approach to combat challenges and support the cow as much as possible. Our hopes for the future is that we would like to produce higher quality milk, a longer lasting cows with good udders. I think AHV can help us to achieve that.