Producer@work

Producer@work

Care and constancy key to quality milk

The secret to the Banville family’s on-farm success can be summed up in one word: Diligence. While the word itself does little to describe just how thorough they are when it comes to hygiene and herd health, the many trophies they’ve collected over the years are proof that what they’re doing works.

Patrick and Carmel Banville have been dairy farming since they took over Patrick’s parents’ farm in 1990. The Banvilles have been on the farm since 1919 when Patrick’s grandfather married into a dairying family, making Patrick and Carmel the third generation. The couple has three children, John (21), Brian (18), and Orla (16). Their hope is that they will one day take over the farm.

The Banvilles milk 140 Holstein-Friesian cows and raise 40 replacement heifers in County Wexford in the southeast of Ireland. Theirs is a pedigreed herd. They deliver approximately 836,737 litres of milk to dairy cooperative Glanbia Ireland. Butterfat averages 4.23%, and protein 3.52%.

Every year, Ireland’s National Dairy Council (NDC) and Kerrygold single out farm families that attain the highest standards of excellence in dairy farming with a focus on milk quality, animal welfare and sustainable farming practices. This year, they selected 12 families from eight counties to receive the Quality Milk Award, an award they’ve now dubbed the ‘Oscars of the Dairy World’. The Banvilles won Best Milk Quality and were overall runners up.

Nominated by Glanbia Ireland, the Banvilles were an obvious choice. Awards are not new to the family. Patrick’s father won similar quality milk awards from Wexford Creamery where they delivered their milk when they were farming. Since 2014, they’ve received the Teagasc Animal Health Award five times. They’ve also received the Cell Check award, given to those farming families who achieve less than 73,000 SCC annually. Of the 18,000 dairy farmers in Ireland, only about 500 receive this award each year.

Read More
From left to right – Logan Bryanton, herdsman Mario Abello, and Dr. Frank Robblee hold up the PEIVMA Quality Milk Award
Producer@work

Canadian dairy farm receives top milk quality awards

Tiny Acres Holsteins in Prince Edward Island, Canada was the proud recipient of not one, but two prestigious milk quality awards this year. Owner Wade Bryanton and his son Logan attribute their success to a strong nutrition program and genomics, as well as to the dedication and commitment of their employees and herd health management team. They work closely with their veterinarian and nutritionist, and are consistently in Canada’s top-five genetic Holstein herds. Wade Bryanton shares his management strategy and explains how they’ve reached and maintained such high standards of excellence.

Read More
“Karen and Jim Davenport (left) with farm staff show off their favourite cows in snowy conditions at their Tollgate farm in New York State, USA”
Producer@work

Celebrated USA award-winning dairy farmer

Jim Davenport is an award winning dairy farmer in New York State in the USA. This content is for M²-DIGITAL, M²-PREMIUM, M²-INSTITUTIONAL & NMC members only. Log in if you have a valid subscription and continue your reading Or Join us today (subscribe) and get instant premium access to postsRead more

Read More