Eugene M and Eugene O Lyons

This father and son Cork dairy partnership supplied almost 420,000 litres on their 65-acre grazing platform to Dairygold Co-op from Clonmoyle, Aghabullogue, Co Cork.

It has grown substantially from 45 cows and 38,000 gallons of quota since starting with minimal buildings since 2001. Now, with executive suite winter housing and farming 77ha in total, the Lyons partnership is delivering in style.

Milk quality results are very good, averaging 5,000 in TBC and 81,000 cells/ml in SCC. They operate a compact, spring-calving grass system and the majority of milk is produced outdoors from grass.

They have a finishing bull beef enterprise for which they buy grain and straights and formulate their own rations. This is their third year with a new 14-unit herringbone Gascoigne machine. The parlour has all the bells and whistles – milk ID, cluster flush, dumpline, light-weight claws, etc.

The cluster flush system uses a tiny drop of peracetic acid when rinsing clusters after each cow.

Only for four months did the SCC figure exceed 100,000 during 2013, and these months were during the winter period from October to January, while for the rest of the year it remained below 90,000.

Eugene puts the excellent SCC figure down to the fact that all cows are stripped prior to milking, so any mastitis is picked up very quickly. All cows are also pre-dipped at milking time and cleaned with paper towels.

Post-milking, cows are also dipped. If a cow is found to have mastitis, she is treated using Terrexine tubes and four to six tubes are used during the treatment period.

If the case of mastitis foundis more vigorous, Tylosan injection may also be used.

Farming system

In 2013, milking 84 cows in spring milk production supplying Dairygold Co-op. 190 acres (71.21ha) farmed. Milk delivered was 4,989 litres per cow at 4.26% fat and 3.57% protein.

Parlour

14-unit herringbone.

SCC results

Average 81,000 for 2013.

TBC results

Average 5,000 for 2013.

  • Eugene’s comments
  • “We had 104 cows calving last year and ended up with 31 Friesian heifer calves, 36 Friesian bulls and 33 Limousins. We have a calf shed that is 30ft high, so there is plenty of airspace.”

  • Milk quality tip
  • “We dry off the cows in batches and they get four days of straw and silage with an antibiotic and Norosealer.”

  • Judges’ comments
  • A farm business that has expanded with quota constraints, but performance has dipped despite the investments on and in expansion.

    Aidan and Mary Reardon

    Mary Reardon is more involved than most ladies in this dairy business on the edge of Cork city, because for years, Aidan was working off-farm in farm construction. Now, this duo is delivering top-notch results and Aidan still has time to be a selector on local GAA teams and develop their own farm.

    The Reardons are milking 120 cows in a spring-calving system, supplying over 776,000 litres (7,500 litres/cow) to Dairygold Co-op. There are 67ha of a grazing block and cows can walk to it all.

    Milk quality results are very good, averaging 5,000 in TBC in 2013 and an average SCC of just 82,000 cells/ml. TBC was 3,000 or below for six months of the year and only going above 7,000 for one month of the year (November). SCC is consistently less than 100,000 and only rose to 142,000 cells/ml in January. The average fat percentage was 4.04% and the average protein was 3.45%

    The milking machine has an automatic washer, which helps to reduce electricity usage and also ensures a uniform wash of the plant daily. Up to this year, the Reardons have never culled for cell count and the oldest cows are in their seventh and eighth lactation.

    In the mornings after milking, a pre-rinse of 45 litres of cold water is done first. Then a hot wash, containing 120ml of D90 powder, is circulated in the plant. Once the hot wash is done, it is rinsed with 45 litres of cold water and 120ml of Serpent. In the evenings, a pre-rinse is again carried out, then a cold wash with 120ml of Dairygold powder and a post-rinse of 45 litres cold water and Serpent. Every Saturday morning, the machine is descaled with 120ml of acidbrite in a hot wash.

    The bulk tank is washed out after every collection using Avalskan plus Acidbrite to descale it and once a week during the final rinse Serpent is added.

    Farming system

    In 2013, milking 120 cows in spring milk production supplying Dairygold Co-op. 165 acres (67ha) farmed. Milk delivered was 7,541 litres per cow at 4.04% fat and 3.45% protein.

    Parlour

    12-unit herringbone.

    SCC results

    Average 81,000 for 2013.

    TBC results

    Average 5,000 for 2013.

  • Aidan and Mary’s comments
  • “We treat with one tube of Tetra-Delta and maybe a second. If a cow is very bad, maybe Marobcyl injection.”

  • Milk quality tip
  • “We don’t use teat sealers on a routine basis, but we do use them on loose cows that tend to leak a lot of milk.”

  • Judges’ comments
  • A very commercial business, set up for the future and focusing on all the right technologies to sustain top-quality milk.

    Donal and Carmel O’Connor

    Useful technology, the environment and sustainability are high on the agenda of Drinagh-based dairy farmer Donal O’Connor. A new milking parlour and dairy in 2009 revamped the milking facilities on this west Cork farm. A 20-unit milking machine with ACRs was installed and Donal researched a lot before making the move.

    The investment is paying off because, in 2013, Donal only had 16 cases of mastitis.

    There are several water meters throughout the farm and electricity meters on both the milking machine and tank. These meters are used to track usage and practices such as the use of recycled water to wash yards and florescent lights around the yard help to reduce energy consumption.

    Donal uses a lot of high milk solids and good fertility Jersey bulls as AI. His herd EBI is €155. The majority of his herd would be crossbred, averaging 4,754 litres delivered per year doing on average 4.21% butterfat and 3.54% protein. Before the cows are milked, they are dry-wiped with paper towels and pre-dipped. High-cell count cows are picked out from the milk test results and have tape put on their tails. These cows are also stripped and dipped pre-milking in order to pick up on any cases of mastitis as soon as possible. The clusters which were on these high-cell count cows are then dipped in perecetic acid post-milking to reduce the risk of transfer to other cows. Any cows that get mastitis are treated with either Multijet or Synulox tubes and four tubes will be applied per individual case.

    Farming system

    In 2013, milking 116 cows in spring milk production supplying Drinagh Co-op. 191.6 acres (77.6ha) farmed. Milk delivered was 4,754 litres per cow at 4.21% fat and 3.54% protein.

    Parlour

    20-unit herringbone.

    SCC results

    Average 157,000 for 2013.

    TBC results

    Average 12,000 for 2013.

  • Donal’s comments
  • “Our used plate water is going to waste and I must come up with a plan on how best to use it on the farm.”

  • Milk quality tip
  • “We dry off cows in batches of eight per day. They are washed, dried, drawn out, milked, disinfected, dried, UrbroRed tubes inserted from back to front and sealers all round.”

  • Judges’ comments
  • Clearly, milk produced mainly from grazed grass with a small amount of supplement can be as good, if not better, than anything produced from indoor-fed cows.