Moate man and Arrabawn supplier Aidan Casey is one of 39 Irish dairy farmers presented with the Animal Health Ireland CellCheck Milking Quality Award.
The awards recognise ongoing dedication to improving milk quality, and the awardees are the first dairy farmers in the country to receive the award this year. Speaking at the Co-op’s Herd Health Day, at which the awards were presented, at Gurteen Agricultural College, CEO of Arrabawn Conor Ryan said that the awards have illustrated the milk quality that its suppliers deliver.
“The ongoing CellCheck programme has been very important for dairy farmers as it has encouraged them, largely through education and awareness programmes, to focus on improving milk quality. The great thing about the awards is that it gives particular recognition for the high achievers and this is thoroughly deserved as a huge amount of work goes into getting cell count down to the levels required for making the national awards list.
“The net result of the CellCheck programme is that there has been a notable improvement in cell count levels and this, in turn, has led to improved herd health and improved profitability for suppliers. Farmers who have adopted the measures recommended for achieving best practice have seen veterinary bills drop, in particular, and can stand also to improve net farm profit by at least 1 cent per litre overall.”
The event also included a range of exhibitors and demonstrations, covering topics such as cattle handling, slatted house hygiene control, milking parlour maintenance, rodent control, mineral supplements, pasture reseeding, soil and silage analysis, financial planning, and mastitis prevention.
