Should you cull empty cows early or milk them until December?

Dairy specialist, George Ramsbottom, joins Emma-Louise Coffey on this week’s episode of The Dairy Edge podcast to consider whether to cull empty cows early or milk them until December. George estimates that there are 80-100 days left in lactation for spring calving dairy herds; at on average 15 litres per day this will return an income of €700-900 per cow. George explains where grass growth and winter fodder supplies are in short supply and whether farmers should consider culling cows early to reduce feed demand and prevent winter supplies.  Conversely, where grass supply is on target and winter feed is sufficient, farmers should consider either drying off or milking once-a-day in order to add additional carcass value. Podcast survey: In order to understand the aspects of podcasts which are most appealing and beneficial to you the listener, it would be appreciated if you could take 3-4 minutes to complete the following survey to give your feedback:  https://forms.office.com/r/mDZTE9zPy4 For more episodes from the Dairy Edge podcast go to the show page at: https://www.teagasc.ie/animals/dairy/the-dairy-edge-podcast/ The Dairy Edge is a co-production with LastCastMedia.com