Shirley's updates coming soon

Update 12 August 2009

Hi everybody,

A big thank you to those of you who came to the Irish Farmers Journal stand at Tullamore Show last Sunday to see the eight heifers that are up for grabs in our bumper competition. We had a Blonde d’Aquitaine cross, a Charolais cross, a Hereford cross, a Aberdeen Angus cross, a Irish Angus cross, a Limousin cross, a Parthenaise cross, and a Simmental cross. As you saw, these are eight top quality heifers which some day, will make fantastic suckler cows. They certainly attracted tremendous interest and caught many wondering eyes.

If you didn’t make it to Tullamore, don’t panic. On pages 20-21 of this week’s Farmers Journal, I have given a brief preview of each heifer. There, you will find a picture and some breeding details about each as well as some information about their respective breed societies. It might be worth checking out to see what’s on offer!

The momentum has picked up a gear over the past week. There is still plenty of time to get your entry in – the closing date isn’t until 28 August. But it’s always good to get it in as soon as possible. I will keep you posted over the next few weeks. Also, bloggers keep up the fantastic work on the web. Your stories and pictures are super.

Shirley
 

Update 3: 30 July 2009

Hi everyone,
It’s Wednesday afternoon and I have just finished my last page (pedigree page). The paper generally goes to the printers around 3.30pm, at which stage, we all take a deep breath.

I have just spent the past half hour reading your blogs and for starters, I must congratulate you all. I’m sure Justin will agree with me that the standard of technical knowledge and detail in all your blogs is tremendous.

Last week I spoke about having hands-on experience. It’s clear that none of you are afraid to get your hands dirty – one of you was out in the pouring rain covering a pit of silage late one evening; another went to the weanling sale in Castleisland and brought home a €1,000 for a bull calf; and someone else was out dosing calves and changing them to a fresh paddock.

Little details such as the amount (kgs) of ration you’re feeding the cattle, why you pick one AI bull over another, and why you put slurry back onto the land after silage, are very impressive. I said last week, when you see and experience things in the flesh, you will never forget them. You are all experts in your field and this is certainly reflected in the quality of your blogs.

The diverse range of topics that you are covering, from dehorning to grassland management to nurturing a calf back to life, are wonderful to read about. And the pictures are super. Keep up the good work bloggers. Everyone is welcome to join in. Just create a new account for yourself.

As regards the heifer competition, the momentum is beginning to build this week. Entries are arriving by post and email. There is plenty of time yet – the closing date isn’t until 28 August which gives you four weeks. I have written a piece about the competition in the pedigree page this week (page 22) and either myself or Justin will keep you up to date over the next few weeks. 

Meanwhile, the eight heifers are being prepared for Tullamore Show on 9 August next where they will be on display on the Farmers Journal stand for you all to see. In case you missed the breeds, there is a Blonde d’Aquitaine, Charolais, Hereford, Irish Aberdeen Angus, Irish Angus, Limousin, Parthenaise and Simmental heifer up for grabs. More about these later.

If any of you are heading to a summer show over the bank holiday weekend, have a great time and by all means tell us how you get on. I might see you there!
Shirley

Update 2: 27/08/09

Hi everybody,

Welcome to the 2009 Irish Farmers Journal Heifer Competition. And what a bumper competition we have this year!  Being so young, many of you are probably oblivious to the present difficulties in the economy (or maybe not) so rather than listening to doom and gloom all the time, we have got some fantastic news for you.

I know many of you come home from school each day, throw the bag on the floor, change the uniform and head straight out the door.  Maybe the cow passage needs scrapping, the calves need bedding, or the weanlings need silage. Whatever has to be done, you’ll dig in and get your hands dirty. Unknowingly, you are becoming an expert in your area. Things that you take for granted such as identifying a swollen navel on a calf, treating scour, or even having the sharpness to notice a weanling that’s not thriving, might all seem pretty basic, but they’re not. These are bred into you. You can only learn so much from a text book!

Even by going to the mart and getting familiar with live weights and cattle jargon such as “€uro with the kg” or going to the factory with a load of bullocks and actually seeing a carcase hanging up and learning about U’s and R’s, may also seem basic but it’s little things like these that give you the edge as a young farmer.  Having hands-on experience is something that will always stand to you throughout your life – you can’t buy it.

I’m guessing that many of you would love to be involved with cattle, albeit on a full or part time basis, at some stage. You lads and lassies are the farmers of the future and we want to hear from you. The Irish Farmers Journal is offering you a genuine opportunity to kick-start your own suckler herd by winning one of eight fantastic heifers in our bumper competition.

The first step is to send in your entry – be sure to get it in. Everybody has an equal chance. Neither of the two boys that won last year, Mark from Co Leitrim, and Kevin from Co Wexford, thought they would even get through to the final, never mind win.  So you just never know!

I went to see Mark (16) and Kevin (13) a few weeks ago to see how they were getting on with the heifers that they won last year. It was great to listen to their plans and ambitions. Mark (overall winner) decided to put his twin heifers in-calf to the Belgian Blue bull, EDJ. These are due to calve down in October. It was clear that Mark had put a bit of thought into what bull would match these heifers.  He wanted an easy calving bull that would produce a good quality calf and opted for a Blue. 

Meanwhile, the heifer that Kevin (runner-up) won was already in-calf and she had a fine Limousin bull calf back in March. Kevin also has another Limousin cow to his name and she has a bull calf too. He hopes to sell the two bulls in the autumn in a bid to buy another replacement heifer. All going well, Kevin will own three suckler heifers in a few months time. See how easy a herd can grow!  The hardest part is to get started and that’s where the Farmers Journal heifers can play a part.

All 13 finalists last year were absolutely fantastic and it would have been wonderful to have been able to give them all a heifer each. This year, eight of you are guaranteed to take home a heifer from the Ploughing match.

Over the next number of weeks, there will be various advertisements as well as commentary about the competition in the Irish Farmers Journal. All the details on how to enter are on this site and will also appear in the paper. It’s easy – answer three simple questions (depending in your age category) and post/forward your entry to the Farmers Journal. Remember it’s open to all 10 to 18 year olds, male and female, north and south.

Finally, I would like to sincerely thank the eight breed societies for their generous participation in this competition, namely the Blonde d’Aquitaine, Charolais, Hereford, Irish Angus, Irish Aberdeen Angus, Limousin, Pathenaise, and Simmental Societies.

Best of luck to you all. I look forward to reading about you and possibly even meeting you at some stage!
Shirley
 

Update 1: 16/07/09 - Competition goes live