20 April 2025

Rising to the milk solids challenge

West Cork dairy farmer, Jimmy Cotter is striving to optimise milk solids production from his herd by paying careful attention to grassland management and herd nutrition.

A monitor farmer in the Teagasc/Dairygold Joint Programme, Jimmy Cotter sees April as a critical time for reaching peak milk solids production.

Joining Nora O’Donovan, Teagasc/Dairygold Joint Programme Co-ordinator, in the below video, Jimmy explained: “We think this part of the year is very important to drive production and to get a high yield of milk solids. To enable us to do that, we try and allocate as much grass as the cows can eat without overgrazing.”

A “delicate” balance but one worth rising to, Jimmy does so by focusing on the genetics of his herd, managing soil fertility to make the best use of fertiliser and clover, regular reseeding and having the correct grazing infrastructure in place.

“The aim is to stay at 2.5kg of milk solids for a long as we can,” Jimmy added, “but the challenge is to stay over 2kg of milk solids until September.”

How does Jimmy Cotter rise to the challenge? Feeding the cows properly by grazing covers of 1,450kg DM/ha, and striking the correct balance between grazing and not overgrazing to ensure grass quality is maintained in subsequent rotations.

Jimmy Cotter added: “It is a challenge well worth rising to because the benefits are great. The extra milk solids produced is a real profit driver and that’s why we focus so much on getting the cows fed fully every day.”

For further insights, watch the full ‘Production Driving Profit’ video below: