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John Power is an AI technician with Dovea Genetics, covering an area in north Waterford, near Carrick-on- Suir. For those who breed by AI, the services of a good technician are invaluable.
John outlines a normal day for him:
“My day usually starts at 5.45am, that is when I get up to look after my own stock and service any that are in heat.”
He has 30 suckler cows, but has worked for Dovea for the last 18 years.
“I make my first call at 6.45am and my last one rarely comes before 9pm.”
It is not a job for the faint-hearted and John can service 100 cows/day or more during peak times of the year: “Things start to pick up in early April, but the first few weeks in May are really when it peaks.”
Increase in cow numbers
With an increase in cow numbers in a lot of herds, John is busier than ever this year.
At times it could be described as a logistical nightmare, as John covers 300km/day – and that is only within a 20km to 30km radius.
“A lot of it is being able to get the calls in as efficiently as possible, because those extra minutes really add up at busy times of the year like this.”
And there is no doubt efficiency is a massive part of what John does. The average time on most farms was rarely above five minutes, depending on the number of cows to be served.
Even on farms where there were larger numbers, the average time spent on farm served was three minutes.
Starting from when John first touches the animal, he normally has her served after 10 to 15 seconds.
Technology
One thing that has really added to the efficiency of the job is technology.
“I would be lost without the phone, it plays a huge part in being able to call to farmers as the cows come into heat.
“On top of that, with computer readers we have save so much time. When I started we used to have to write out every docket by hand, now it is all on the screen in front of us.”
John says it is a tough but rewarding job, and that it is important to be patient when you work with animals, sometimes they do not cooperate with you.
“It is not an easy job, especially at this time of the year, but I definitely enjoy the work I do.”
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