Niall is the fourth generation of the Mason family milking cows all year round on this Kerry holding near Tralee.

After a brucellosis outbreak in the late 70s, Niall’s father John restocked and today this father-and-son team is milking 80 cows suppling Lee Strand Dairies with milk all year round.

In 2013, Niall returned from his travels in Australia and is now bringing new management skills to the party to maintain the high standard and possibly grow the business further.

Land base around the parlour is tight at 21ha but in total over 80ha are farmed. It means supplement of about 900kg of feed per cow, coupled with quality silage and grazed grass, is the mainstay of the cow diet.

As far as the dry period treatment is concerned the Mason plan is as follows:

  • Group one: if a number of milk recordings are less than 100,000 SCC she gets no antibiotic, just a teat sealer.
  • Group two: if a number of milk recordings are over 100 but less than 300 then a short-acting antibiotic tube and a sealer.
  • Group three: if milk recording result are over 300 on any occasion, she gets a long-acting antibiotic tube and a teat sealer.
  • You need top-class records to make selective therapy work.

    All of the basic yet essential skills and tools are in place on this Kerry operation – paddle testing for any suspect quarters, gloves during milking, cluster dipping after milking infected cows, paper towel for wiping, plenty of hot water for washing in the morning and tail-trimming to keep the cows clean.

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