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Story Idea?
Better Farming
December 2016
ONCE
A
DAY
MILKING
K
arl Meyer, a Bavarian farmer,
became a TV star overnight
when the local television
channel discovered that he’d been
running a successful milk production
business for six years despite putting
his 60 Simmental milkers through the
milk stand only once per day.
He astounded farmers throughout
southern Germany and Austria by
telling the program Unser Land (Our
Countryside) that business income
actually remained the same as most
twice-a-day milking enterprises, even
though his cows only produced about
half the national 9,000 litres lactation
average. Meanwhile, the leisure time
for Meyer and his family increased by
two or three hours per working day.
True, Karl Meyer also changed
from year-round calving to block
calving for the whole herd in fall. This
change also reduced his labour input.
And he switched to organic milk
production, a change that increased
his income from 44 Canadian cents
per litre to 70 cents per litre.
But he maintained his profit per
cow mainly by stopping all feed
purchases. His cows now get through
the year more cheaply on a diet of
homegrown grass, hay and silage.
Meyer also reckons that his once-a-
day (OAD) milking routine, coupled
with lower feeding levels, contributes
to better herd health. The productive
lifetime for his cows looks like it will
be longer, he says.
Producers seeking to cut labour on
the dairy farm already have the
alternative of robotic milking. But
this demands substantial investment,
and plenty of farmers want to main-
tain the hands-on approach. Are
other dairy-herd owners attracted to
Karl Meyer’s OAD approach? Well,
maybe not so many in Germany. But
cross the English Channel to Britain
and Ireland, and plenty of farmers
practise the OAD milking routine.
Improving lifestyle was the main
reason that Nathan Pryor, a dairyman
in England’s southwest, changed from
twice-a-day (TAD) to OAD milking
back in 2008 for his 340 head of
Holsteins. Speaking at a British
Grassland Society conference four
The appeal of once-per-day milking
Milking just once every 24 hours cuts milk output per cow. But the strategy also slashes production
costs and seems to produce longer-living, healthier cattle as well as more free time for milkers.
by NORMAN DUNN
Bavarian TV
Unser Land
photo
Karl Meyer’s Simmental cows receive no bought-in feed. They produce an average 4,500 litres on a
low-input forage-only systemwith once-per-day milking. Meyer earns the equivalent of 70 cents per litre.