The autumn block herds had lower total income, lower forage purchases, higher labour costs and lower net profit compared with all-year-round. The spring block herds had higher total income, higher forage purchases, and lower labour and overhead costs compared with all-year round. No differences were found between twin block and all-year-round herds.
The United Kingdom’s climate and topography enable multiple different calving patterns to operate within the same market, facilitated by industry infrastructure that allows for a variety of milk purchasing arrangements.
All-year-round (AYR) calving is most common, and with current labor challenges, spring block (SB), autumn block (AB), and twin block (TB) calving systems could potentially become more popular, but research comparing the efficiency of AYR and block-calving systems operating within the same market conditions is limited.