OAD milking can be used either strategically (long-term) as the overall farming system or tactically as a short-term response to adverse seasonal conditions.
Reasons to consider OAD milking
There are a number of reasons to consider OAD, the advantages of which will depend on the current farm system or layout e.g. long distances walked by cows.
- Less time spent milking cows
- Reduce staff pressure
- Feed shortage
- Stock health (lame cows, light cows, heifers, milk-fever prone cows)
- Reproduction (non-cyclers, heifers or whole herd in a feed shortage)
- Small dairy shed for herd size
- Farm layout (walking distance to shed)
OAD milking options
The time you choose to milk can have a large impact on your cows and people, particularly during the hot summer period. Because cows feel the heat more than we do, if you feel hot in the shed, you can be sure they feel worse.
Kiwi dairy farmers have traditionally used 10-hour:14-hour milking intervals (e.g. 5 a.m. and 3 p.m.) to maximise milk yield while keeping relatively sociable hours. However, recent survey data indicates that at peak lactation, while 47 percent of farmers were using 10:14, 32 percent have adjusted their milking schedule to 9:15, with some extending this to 8:16. Research shows there should be no production loss with an 8:16 interval.
In many regions, it’s common to extend these milking intervals even further to milking three times in two days (3-in-2) or once-a-day (OAD). For example, in Northland, 31 percent of farmers milk full-season OAD; in Southland, 38 percent use 3-in-2 for part of the season.
Even within 3-in-2, farmers are using a range of intervals, with the most common being 12:18:18 (e.g. 5 a.m., 5 p.m. and 11 a.m.), but ranging as far as 9.5:18.5:20 (e.g. 5 a.m., 2:30 p.m., 9 a.m.).
When milking OAD, you can choose any time of the day to milk. The key message here is that there are a range of options possible, allowing you to choose milking times that best suit your team and avoid the summer heat.
