A strong focus on precision management, nutrition, genetics, and robotic milking optimisation is helping dairy farmer Ciaran McNaughton achieve exceptional production levels on his farm near Corkey, County Antrim.
Operating a fully housed dairy system with a 15-year-old Lely milking robot, McNaughton’s herd has emerged as one of Northern Ireland’s highest-performing robotic operations, demonstrating how incremental improvements across multiple areas can significantly enhance productivity and efficiency.
Milk Production Continues to Rise
Production figures for 2026 show that 63 cows are averaging 41.6 litres per day, with butterfat levels of 4.25% and protein at 3.3%.
The progress is particularly notable when compared with 2023, when 52 cows averaged 32 litres with lower milk solids.
Daily milk throughput through the robotic system has climbed to approximately 2,602 litres per day, placing the unit among the highest-yielding robotic milking systems in Northern Ireland.
Production Improvements Since 2023:
- 🥛 Milk yield increased from 32 litres to 41.6 litres per cow
- 🐄 Herd size expanded from 52 to 63 cows
- 🧈 Butterfat improved from 3.98% to 4.25%
- 🥛 Daily robot throughput increased significantly to 2,602 litres
High Feed Efficiency Underpins Performance
Despite relatively high concentrate usage, cows are converting feed efficiently into milk production.
The herd currently averages 12,350 litres from 4.2 tonnes of concentrates, equivalent to a feed rate of 0.34 kg of concentrate per litre of milk.
Milk from forage stands at 2,594 litres, while the farm achieves a margin over concentrate of £2,868, highlighting the profitability of the production system.
A major focus remains on producing high-quality forage to maximise dry matter intake and feed efficiency. Last year’s first-cut silage delivered:
- 🌱 Metabolisable Energy (ME): 11.6 MJ/kg DM
- 📈 Digestibility (D-value): 72.3%
Genetics Strategy Shifts Towards High-Solids Holsteins
The farm previously operated a crossbreeding strategy involving Holstein, Fleckvieh, and Norwegian Red genetics.
However, recent milk recording data showed that several Holstein cows were producing superior milk components, prompting a strategic shift towards selecting high-solids Holstein sires.
Key breeding priorities now include:
- Fertility
- Milk speed
- Milk yield
- EnviroCow index
- Genomic selection
The use of genomic testing is also helping optimise sire selection and improve long-term herd performance.
Strong Fertility Performance Supports Productivity
Fertility management is another major contributor to herd efficiency.
The farm records impressive reproductive metrics, including:
- 📅 Calving interval: 365 days
- ✅ Services per conception: 1.7
- 📈 First-service conception rate: 56%
- 🐄 Average parity: 2.87
These results are supported by regular veterinary monitoring and the use of heat detection technology to identify health and breeding opportunities early.
Fine-Tuning Robotic Milking Delivers Significant Gains
Beyond feeding and genetics, careful optimisation of robotic milking settings has delivered further productivity gains.
Adjustments to milk access tables and cluster take-off settings have improved robot utilisation and cow traffic.
Performance improvements include:
| Metric | 2025 | 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Milking per day | 2.7 | 2.9 |
| Milking speed | 2.8 kg/min | 3.7 kg/min |
| Box time | 7 min 24 sec | 6 min 18 sec |
The farmer also reported that switching from silicone liners to rubber liners may have contributed to an additional 200 litres of milk output, although such responses can vary between herds.
Amino Acid Nutrition Improves Efficiency and Sustainability
As part of the UK Dairy Carbon Network, the farm has also implemented amino acid balancing strategies to reduce dietary crude protein levels while maintaining production.
By focusing on methionine and lysine supplementation and increasing rapeseed meal inclusion, dietary crude protein has been reduced from 17.5% to 16.2%.
This approach offers multiple benefits:
- 🌍 Lower nitrogen excretion
- 🌱 Reduced ammonia emissions
- 💧 Lower risk of nitrogen runoff
- 🥛 Positive milk yield response
Experts caution, however, that crude protein levels approaching 16% may represent a threshold below which milk production and fertility could be negatively affected.
A Model for Precision Dairy Farming
McNaughton’s operation highlights how modern dairy success increasingly depends on the cumulative effect of multiple management improvements rather than a single intervention.
From forage quality and robotic optimisation to genetics and precision nutrition, the farm demonstrates how attention to detail can drive both productivity and sustainability in intensive dairy systems.
As dairy farms worldwide seek to improve efficiency while meeting environmental targets, such integrated management approaches may increasingly become the benchmark for future dairy production.
