With spring calving entering full swing now, one of the simplest and most effective changes farmers can make to improve labour efficiency is by adopting a 16:8 milking interval, say Teagasc.

As part of a recent Dairy Edge podcast, Dr Conor Hogan and Martina Gormley, both of Teagasc, joined James Dunne to focus on reducing workload on dairy farms this spring.

For quick wins on labour efficiency, Dr Hogan said that scheduling is key.

‘Organisation is the biggest thing we can change today, this week or next week. When we talk about finish time, evening milking start time has the biggest influence. That’s why we strongly encourage a 16:8 milking interval: eight hours between morning and evening milking. As cows start calving and milking begins again, it’s a great opportunity to make that change,’ said Dr Hogan.

Citing previous research she’s undertaken, Martina Gormley said that many dairy farmers start evening milking after 5pm, often out of habit rather than necessity.

‘When you dig into the reasons for the later start time, only a small proportion relate to family commitments such as collecting children, which is perfectly acceptable. For the majority, it’s tradition,’ she explained. ‘

There is a real opportunity to pull evening milking earlier on many farms.

‘It’s not about putting pressure on yourself earlier in the day; having a hard deadline makes farmers more efficient, and it also makes dairy farming more attractive from a labour point of view, as people can have their evenings free.’

‘It gives farmers time to rest, but it also gives them the option to go back out and do other work if they choose. Ultimately, it’s the farmer’s decision how they use that time.

Some farmers may be slow to move away from traditional milking intervals, but Martina stressed that milk recording data shows no relationship between an eight-hour milking interval and milk yield per cow per day. 
This is an important finding, as long milking intervals are a major driver of late evening finishes and extended working days. Reducing the interval provides an opportunity to shorten the working day.

The pair were speaking on the latest episode of Teagasc’s Dairy Edge podcast, which is widely available across streaming platforms.