Fertility on Pembrokeshire dairy farms can be improved with better management of cow diets, according to a top nutritionist.

John Twigge, who addressed a conference hosted by Clynderwen and Cardiganshire Farmers (CCF) this week, predicts that the current rate of decline in fertility levels will lead to the eventual extinction of the British dairy herd.

He says poor fertility is costing the average dairy farmer 3ppl in lost production which, for a farmer milking 150 cows at 8,000 litres, is equivalent to a loss of £36,000.

“We have bred a black and white cow that shunts all her nutrition towards milk production,” Mr Twigge told the conference in Llandissilio.

“If the genetic merit for milk production increases but management stays the same, then fertility will decrease.

“We have to put more emphasis on management.”

He told the audience of farmers from across west Wales that dry matter intake was a key issue after visiting farms where cows had no feed in front of them.

“A lot of health problems can be solved if a cow has fresh feed in front of her all the time,” added Mr Twigge.

“A cow feeds up to 12 times a day for an average of 30 minutes and there should be 30 minutes of cudding time for every kilogramme of dry matter intake. If they are cudding for 12 hours, eating for six and they need to sleep and be milked, there isn’t time for cows to be standing at a feed barrier with nothing in front of them.”

He says it is also vital to get cows at the correct body condition score before drying off, which has a good economic argument.

“If a farmer has a thin cow he will save money by putting that weight on while she is lactating. Then it’s just a case of holding that weight through the dry period.”

Other speakers at the conference were Dr David Roberts, head of dairy research at the Scottish Agricultural Colleges, and Dr David Johnson, a top UK plant breeder.

Conference chairman Will Prichard, said farmers needed to understand the dynamics of what is happening in agriculture during a very confusing time for the industry.

“The message from the board of CCF is that the job of the co-operative is to do all it can to increase profitability on farms and that’s why it has hosted this conference with three such influential speakers,” he said.

* See a full conference report in the November issue of Pembrokeshire Farmer.