Key indicators of how dairy herds are doing
Farmers can see how the genetic merit of their herd compares against the rest of the industry as the measure has been added to our set of key performance indicators.
Genetic merit is based on a herd's average £PLI (profitable lifetime index) score (for all year round and autumn calvers) or £SCI score (spring calving index - for spring calvers) and will show farmers whether they are among the top, average or poor performers.
KPIs are our set of six key measures that are critical to success for block and all-year-round calving systems and enable farmers to assess their performance and identify areas for improvement.
The figures were created as part of our Optimal Dairy Systems programme which aims to help dairy farmers lower costs and increase efficiency in preparation for Brexit.
I’d encourage all farmers to calculate and review their own KPIs using the simple online calculator which can be found on AHDB’s website.
Farmers can also see how their figures compare against our growing network of strategic dairy farms, which includes Chance Hall Farm in Cheshire as their KPIs are published online.
The strategic farms hold regular events to help farmers learn from each other. As well as sharing key performance data, farmers can see what some of the top performers are doing and take ideas away to do things better on their own farms.
I’m really looking forward to our second meeting at Chance Hall Farm on June 26 where Tom and Karen Halton will update us on their KPIs.
We’ll also be looking at feed costs for all-year-round calvers and explore ways to bring them down without compromising productivity.
Dairy vet Owen Atkinson will be explaining the impact of Cow Signals on the business and consultant Hefin Richards will cover the options for refining nutrition and integrating forage.
I hope to see anyone who is all-year-round calving and keen to learn from others to lower costs and increase efficiency at the meeting. There’ll also be time to catch up with other farmers, speakers and the AHDB team over lunch.
To book your free place email ke.events@ahdb.org.uk or call 01904 771216.
For more information on strategic farms and to access the online KPI calculator visit dairy.ahdb.org.uk.
Steve West, AHDB Dairy knowledge exchange manager
