United Feeds’ sales director Alan Boyd is confirming the excellent opportunities that exist to drive milk performance from freshly calved cows over the coming months.
He explained:
“Autumn calving cows have started their new lactations in very good condition and the potential to secure large volumes of high-quality milk from these animals is significant.
“Current milk butterfat and protein levels are significantly higher than previous years, maintaining these high milk component levels through the winter milk production period will play an important role in enhancing milk values.
Silage quality is measuring up pretty well across Northern Ireland at the present time. This reflects the good grass growing conditions that impacted across most of the province throughout 2025.
Alan Boyd again:
“Increasing numbers of dairy farms are also accessing the likes of wholecrop and forage maize.
“Adding an alternative forage to a diet will help boost dry matter intakes: a fundamental driver of dairy cow performance.
“Underpinning all of this is the need to maximise levels of overall feed efficiency: in other words matching forage quality with concentrate rations that help achieve this objective.
He continued;
“It is also extremely important that all of this is achieved while maintaining the highest standards of cow fertility and animal health.”
United Feeds will have a major presence at the 2025 Royal Ulster Winter. The core massage to dairy farmers coming on to the company stand will be encapsulated across four main themes: milk volumes, milk quality, cow fertility and animal health.
Alan Boyd further explained:
“You can’t manage what you don’t measure. And this principle is as relevant to a dairy farming enterprise as it to any other business.
“Staff at United Feeds are committed to help make this a reality on farm
“So, for example, we provide a silage analysis service for all our customers. Dairy cows are ruminant animals and forage quality is a key driver of the performance levels they achieve.
“Matching forage quality with the right concentrates is critically important. It’s all about the complete diet.”
Meanwhile, United Feeds’ team of nutritionists and on-farm advisors are working with dairy farmers throughout Northern Ireland to ensure that milk volumes and quality are maximised in the most sustainable way possible throughout the year.
It is a service for which the company is highly renowned.
It centres on the development of a strong working relationship with farmers and focuses on those metrics of herd performance, which drive the fundamentals of all modern dairy production systems: milk yield, milk quality, cow fertility and animal health.
Underpinning this commitment from United Feeds are regular farm visits by members of the company’s advisory team. These allow for the regular inspection of cows, assessing body condition scores, in tandem with the formulation of bespoke dry cow and milking rations.
All dairy farms are unique in terms of the opportunities that exist to grow and develop each business. These include improvements in overall milk output, components, cow longevity and reductions in calving index.
Both short term and longer term commitments can be made in this regard. Members of United Feeds work closely with individual farmers to help set these goals and to put appropriate development plans in place to ensure their attainment.
It is this commitment that underpins the formulation of concentrate feed rations that consistently deliver enhanced levels of animal performance that are achieved in ways that fully complement the forage availability – grass, grass silage, wholecrop and forage maize – on individual farms.
A farmer perspective
Albert Wallace and his son William milk 112 cows on two robots at their family farm close to Tobermore in Co Londonderry.
They manage a closed herd with a total commitment to breeding functional cows with an ability to produce large volumes of high quality milk.
The cows are currently averaging 10,300L at 4.6% butterfat and 3.6% protein.
Making ‘zero grazed’ grass available to the cows throughout the spring, summer and early autumn months is an important driver for the business.
The father and son team also grow forage maize, which is included within the TMR fed to the cows. Both are very happy with the quality of the maize crops grown in 2025
William explained:
“Offering the herd fresh grass is a very natural way of feeding the cows. In addition, zero grazing also allows us to best manage the swards that are available to us across the farm.”
Meanwhile, it is the job of United Feeds’ team of nutritionists and farm advisors to develop concentrate rations that complement the range of forages that are available to the Wallace herd.
United’s Martin Clarke was a recent visitor to the farm. He explained:
“It is very much a balancing job to take account of the three forages: grazed grass, grass silage and forage, which are offered in tandem for many weeks of the year.
“We have always looked at ways of feeding concentrates that specifically complement the forages available on the Wallace farm to optimise total dietary protein levels and help Albert and Wallace to achieve their goal of producing impressive volumes of milk with a high fat and protein content.
“It’s an approach that is working in terms of encouraging sustainable cow yields throughout the year.”
To discuss how you can drive dairy cow performance forward on your farm this winter contact your local United Feeds adviser today, call 02890759000 or find United Feeds on Facebook.
