Once-a-day milking - guidance and management

Paul Reidy - information and planning advice about making the transition to once-a-day milking in NZ

Changing to once-a-day (OAD) milking with your whole herd for the entire season can offer many benefits to New Zealand farmers.

These include:

• Less pressure on cows
• Fewer incidents of lameness with reduced walking
• Improved cow health and fertility
• Reduced labour requirements
• Lower operating costs.
• There is also a lifestyle benefit from spending less time milking.
• It could also mean you don’t need to build a new farm dairy or you could continue milking rather than having to employ staff.

There will be a decrease in milksolids production during the transition that needs to be carefully assessed against possible cost savings and other benefits. However, as your herd’s milksolids production stabilises and improves each season under OAD the benefits could mean the same or improved profitability.

Before you commit to the change to once-a-day milking let me assess how appropriate it is for your Taranaki dairy farming situation.

If you’re thinking about a complete system change to OAD milking, I can guide and manage you through the process with:

• Assessing the physical and financial implications
• Preparing for the transition to OAD
• Implementing the first season transition to OAD
• Ongoing management advice and support

Contact me now