Top Herds Opt for Full Recording Service
11/03/05

Results from NMR's latest Annual Production Report - just published on its web site - show that more than 85% of herds rely on a fully assisted milk recording service, despite the range in milk recording services now available. The fully assisted service involves a milk recorder visiting the farm at regular intervals to record raw data, take milk samples and check anomalies in the records.

The NMR Annual Production Report for the year ending September 2004 identifies which herds use fully assisted milk recording using an NMR recorder, DIY, or three-times recorded. "Although dairy farmers face pressure to reduce costs, we know that many rely on high quality raw data to generate accurate management reports," says NMR's Mike Blanshard.

"This requirement for highly accurate data is increasing as farmers appreciate the importance of working in a team with their vets, nutritionists and consultants, who can all offer better advice if data is accurate.

"It is possible for herds opting for DIY milk recording to achieve error-free data input, but it relies on reliable staff on hand to record and check all data on a regular basis. For many, where yields and cow numbers are increasing, the attention to detail offered by a milk recorder is high priority."

The 2003 NMR/RABDF Gold Cup winner Andrew and Sue Sanders took top place in the rankings for the Holstein breed in the latest report and, like most of the top performers, they take advantage of the fully assisted NMR service. "This is proof in itself that these herds rely on top quality information to establish a reliable and trusted name for their herds," adds Mr Blanshard.

Rankings of the top production NMR herds can be found at www.nmr.co.uk.