POLISH FEDERATION OF CATTLE BREEDERS AND DAIRY FARMERS

Transcription

1 POLISH FEDERATION OF CATTLE BREEDERS AND DAIRY FARMERS 9

2 OCENA KROWY OBORY poszerzamy możliwości 3,37% Białko 4,11% tłuszcz krowy oceniane

3 CALENDAR OF EVENTS NO WAY WITHOUT MILK RECORDING WHAT HAPPENED WITH THE TIMES, FAST AND ECO Starting from January 2016 PFCBDF s price list for milk recording services allows breeders to choose an option called: E-dokumenty which sends a breeder all documents: milk recording reports and invoices for the service only in electronic form. E-invoices and e-reports are the electronic equivalents of paper documents and contain the same data. One of the elements making our offer more attractive is a discount by 0,10 zł in comparison with regular tariff. E- dokumenty option means also safety and convenience for our customers, i.e. shortening the time of waiting for documents which are sent in PDF file directly to dedicated at the moment they are made available as well as avoiding the risk of presenting them to the wrong person. Moreover, it is also important that. opting for E- dokumenty. we contribute to environment protection by minimizing paper use, reducing air and water pollution. CASEIN TESTED In April, after months of careful preparation, the scope of parameters analysed and presented to our customers within milk recording service was expanded with casein which is important particularly from milk processors point of view. Determining % of casein carried out in PFCBDF s laboratories allows breeders to learn more about their cows milk quality and its qualification for cheese production. We are sure that for breeders the possibility of a systematic control of casein % in cows milk, will become another important factor in decision making process towards an effective herd management. Casein determination, performed together with other parameters analyses within the basic payment for recording service and its results appear in milk recording reports next to protein % both for the whole herd and cows individually. 17

4 POLISH FEDERATION OF CATTLE BREEDERS AND DAIRY FARMERS THINK GLOBALLY, ACT LOCALLY. SUMMARY OF 2 YEARS OF COLLABORATION Starting from 2014 we work closely with the Bretagne Conseil Elevage Ouest - the largest French organization running milk recording and advisory services for dairy farmers in Brittany. A meeting summarizing 2 years of collaboration was held in PFCBDF s headquarters in Warsaw in February. During the meeting representatives of both organisations shared their analyses of the current situation on the markets, reviewed the scope of tasks realized in cooperation and set new common goals for the future that may be useful for supporting cattle breeders and milk producers in their daily chores. Together with French partner we decided to continue experience exchange and get focused on improving the methods of monitoring cows metabolic disorders. It would also be useful to join our efforts to improve analytical capacity, monitor technical background and co-operate more closely in the development of advisory services strategy. FODDER LABORATORY X 2. KOBIERNO IS NOT ENOUGH, JEŻEWO STARE ENTERS THE SCENE. fodder test services. The inauguration of the new testing facility, gathered many friends and PF- CBDF s colleagues. The importance of the event was enhanced by the presence of Mr. Jacek Bugucki, the Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Mr. Jan Zabielski, Vice - Voivode of Podlasie. In April, the second PFCBDF s fodder laboratory was opened in Jeżewo Stare (Podlaskie voivodeship) following the one in Kobierno, it is a reaction to continuously growing farmers demand for It is worth to underline the fact, that both PFCBDF s laboratories are equipped in modern measuring apparatuses operated by a competent and experienced specialists team. Our analyses check the quality, composition and nutritive value of fodder used in cattle feeding, being in this regard a tool to control and support a herd in its improvement and effectiveness of its milk production process. 18

5 CALENDAR OF EVENTS GOLDEN CAN: FOR THE BEST RESULTS AND AS A GOOD OMEN In May, we celebrated a Dairy Gala i.e. national summary of milk production results achieved in The event was held in Warsaw s Lubomirski Palace. The subsequent, already third edition of the event gathered many top breeders from across Poland. Awards were granted to the best breeders in 15 categories according to the herd size for the best average milk yield classified in peer groups and there were also separate peer groups for farms specialising in rearing other than Holstein BW cows. Altogether 54 farmers in 15 categories from the whole Poland were granted the crystal golden statuette during the Dairy Gala. In addition, the winners in particular categories, received a voucher for a free advisory service including fodder analyses. 10 YEARS PASSED AS ONE DAY... Milk Recording Division of PFCBDF celebrated the 10th anniversary of entrusting us the tasks of milk recording of dairy and dual purpose cows during the Dairy Gala. It has been only, or maybe even a decade, but we are sure that during this time we have managed to develop a valuable and useful service, resulting in farmers benefit, and giving us workers decent jobs and development opportunities. We appreciate the partnership with breeders. We offer them access to specialized information and analytical tools and support based on a solid foundation; we believe in quality, dialogue and understanding. We believe there are many years of co-work for Polish cattle improvement ahead of us. Potential challenges, difficulties or problems? We can definitely say, we are prepared for every scenario, adversities can only enhance our creativity, we are growing and we are innovative. Last but not least we can do a lot if supported by farmers! QUALITY UNDER CONTROL Since 2007 PFCBDF has been a member of the International Committee for Animal Recording. (ICAR), and since 2010 we have had the right to use ICAR Certificate of Quality and its logo in our documents as a guarantee of the quality and reliability of carried out services within milk recording and cattle breeding. The right to use the aforementioned certificate is granted to ICAR member organizations periodically and is verified every 3 years. Therefore, last year we were subjected to the complete re-audit procedure, including verification of the whole chain of data collection, samples analyses and data processing along with related procedures. The re-audit procedure compiles also auditor s visit in all the crucial recording services points starting from test milking at a farm and finishing with an analysis of reports containing test milking results sent to the breeder. During the visit the auditor Charl Hunlun from South Africa observed routine practices during test milking in the herd of Paweł i Wieslaw Kulesza (Podlaskie voiv.). Afterwards he reviewed the next stages of recording and data processing services on the level of regional units on the bases of the examples of 2 units in Jeżewo Stare and in Parzniew. The auditor also checked in details the quality of performance during the realisation of their tasks of milk and fodder laboratories also in Jeżewo Stare as well as of calibration station for milkmeters owned by PFCBDF in Parzniew and the cattle genetics laboratory in Parzniew. We are proud to announce that once again we succeeded! The positive opinion of the auditor, gives our organization the right to use the ICAR Certificate of Quality up till August

6 POLISH FEDERATION OF CATTLE BREEDERS AND DAIRY FARMERS GAZING AT WELFARE THROUGH COW S EYES. International specialists underline that the health of dairy cattle and sustainable milk production are influenced by six equivalent environmental factors occurring on a farm. These contain: feed, space, rest, water, light and air. Following the aforementioned, a cow is able to give us more than 10 signals concerning its well-being. Without awareness of this fact, an average human is able to read just two or three characteristics of an animal. Realizing the importance of these observations PFCBDF organised and ran a series of special workshops on COW SIGNALS in details and workshops for supervision inspectors both during last year. These workshops have been led by Juho Kyntäjä - a Finnish auditor and member of Dairy Cattle Milk Recording Working Group of ICAR and a certified Cow Signals trainer. The practical aspect of the workshops has been well appreciated by supervision inspectors, aiming at using gained knowledge and skills, in their daily work on farms and in discussions with farmers. Interpersonal communication workshops were the final element of Cow Signals training. As an employer PFCBDF appreciates the role of an effective and efficient communication in the process of building and maintaining sound business relations with customers. PERFORMANCE RECORDING AS A TOOL FOR DEVELOPING COUNTRIES Under such a slogan the 40th ICAR conference (International Committee for Animal Recording) took place in October 2016 in Puerto Varas, Chile. This time, as usually in even years, INTERBULL biannual sessions accompanied the ICAR meeting. The Puerto Varas convention was a unique event in ICAR s history, being the first conference held in Latin America. It familiarised the issues of an effective use of standardized recording of animals to organizations of producers and breeders of cattle and other domestic animals especially on the continent. During the five days of conference (24-28 October), in 5 plenary sessions agendas and 8 parallel sessions, there were over 85 topics presented. They focused on innovations and their practical application in the core of ICAR member organizations businesses. The conference brought together 350 participants from 32 countries. Once again it gave an opportunity for networking and exchanges of experience for professionals in animal production and breeding as well as for building new platforms of international cooperation. During the conference the annual General Assembly of ICAR members was also held. It reviewed ICAR s key achievements since the previous meeting in Krakow and decided on the key strategic actions for ICAR s successful adjustment to the challenges of building a sustainable and resilient food supply for tomorrow s world. 20

7 CALENDAR OF EVENTS GLOBALLY AND IN A SIMMENTAL WAY IN ARŁAMÓW... In August, PFCBDF with the Polish Association of Simmental Cattle Breeders hosted participants of a highly prestigious event in worldwide cattle breeding society, i.e. the 21st World Fleckvieh-Simmental Congress. The conference was organized in Podkarpackie voivodeship - the region where the tradition of Simmental breeding in Poland was born; a place where the best Polish Simmental herds are located. Foreign guests attended lectures and plenary sessions in Arłamów and Jesionka. Participants visited also local farms keeping Simmental cattle for instance these belonging to Andrzej Wais and Mieczysława Tylka. The crowning event was the Regional Annual Simmental Cattle Exhibition in Rudawka Rymanowska, where the chief judge Reinhard Pfleger from Austria was assisted by Fred Schuetze - newly elected president of the World Simmental Fleckvieh Federation. KEY TO AN EFFECTIVE FARM MANAGEMENT FEEDING report (RW11) is a four pages report on the quality of feed used in cattle feeding, based on the results of milk recording carried out in a herd. In November, we issued the report in a completely new design. The metamorphosis of the document was initiated in an agreement and cooperation between breeders and our feeding advisors. Currently, the FEEDING report is very intuitive, graphically enhanced and contains numerous practical references and data interpretations. It is a set of information the analysis of which can significantly help a breeder or his advisor in work on improving the effectiveness of the herd s functioning. The document allows you to monitor individual cows, identify potential problems, organise and manage a herd of dairy cows. In the period from November 2016 until the end of January 2017, PFCBDF gave this extremely useful tool to all farmers free of charge, in order to make it available for studying, assessing and possibly ordering it for a routine work. In retrospect, looking at the current interest in FEEDING report, we can proudly say that the project brought expected success. 21

8 POLISH FEDERATION OF CATTLE BREEDERS AND DAIRY FARMERS DISCOVERING THE POTENTIAL OF DAIRY FARMS PFCBDF s employees are often initiators of innovation. Feeding advisors are the example. They, having the direct contact with farmers, have identified characteristics of relation between feed costs and profitability of a dairy farm. The next step made by advisors team was the development of their own programme to calculate feeding costs, because fodder production at the farm and the appropriately balanced feeding rations can, in the shortest way, lower farm expenses and lift its profit. Basing on the experience and knowledge of our specialists, we decided to introduce the programme COLUMB, the first and unique in the country tool for breeders who use PFCBDF s services in terms of feeding advisory. COLUMB can, in an attractive and accessible way, show the real feeding cost and help select the most cost-effective strategy for feeding a particular herd. Moreover it visualizes weak points of a farm i.e. the subsequent potential areas of reducing production costs. We want to draw your attention to the fact that economic consultancy is a free of charge service, offered to the breeder within feeding advisory. For more, see the company website 22