Dairy Event and Livestock Show News

For the first time this year an award will be made to the herd with the highest Lifetime Daily Yield (LDY) from all 868 herds meeting the NMR/RABDF Gold Cup criteria from across the whole of the UK.  Herd LDY is the average of all cow LDYs in the milking herd.

“This new award fully supports the remit of the NMR/RABDF Gold Cup,” says NMR’s Jonathan Davies. “Many producers are breeding and managing cows for efficiency and longevity and LDY is one of the best tools for highlighting herds and cows that are achieving good results in these areas.”

LDY identifies cows that are achieving their milk production potential efficiently across a number of lactations. It’s a simple calculation – the cow’s total milk production is divided by the total number of days the cow has been alive. It will therefore be higher in herds where heifers are calving at two years old and where good production is combined with good health, fertility and longevity.

The winner of the new LDY award will be announced at the Gold Cup presentations at the Dairy Event and Livestock Show, Stoneleigh on Wednesday September 17 on the NMR stand at 4.30pm.