We farm: 200 pedigree Holstein Freisan cows on a 400 acre holding in Tuam Co. Galway.

This week: “We’re milking 90 cows. We have vaccinated the maiden heifers for BVD and Lepto. Seventy cows have calved so far this spring. We were forced to spread the slurry on the driest ground. Calendar farming can be a problem due to the unpredictability of the weather. The bull calves are also starting to leave the farm.”

Calving: “We are 90% spring and 10% autumn calving. The spring calving started on January 10th and will run until the end of April. We hope to start turning out the cows by 25 February. The autumn calving runs from mid October to mid December.”

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Breeding: “We run nine weeks of AI from April 15, and then we let the bulls out for a further five weeks. We typically use Angus and whitehead bulls. Each bull is run with 60 cows.

The Farm: "We were new dairy entrants in 2011; we had kept 230 Charolais and 350 Suffolk ewes prior to this. In 2010 we purchased 125 maiden Freisan heifers and a further 50 in 2011. We don’t intend buying in anymore as we keep all our own replacement heifers and sell off all the bull calves and any calves after the terminal sires.”

Tillage: “We generally cut the silage and ted out the grass to increase its quality. We then rake it up and get a contractor to prepare it for the pit. We generally cut up to 160 acres of silage including the first and second cuts.”

Milking: "We milk at 6am and 4pm. We feel that a structured system helps to increase the solids in the milk. The milk is made up of protein 3.25%, fat 4.80%, TBC 12,000 and SCC, 104,000. The milk is collected every two days.

Family: “Parents T.J and Kathleen. Kathleen is a retired nurse and T.J plays an active role in helping to run the farm. Patrick (29) works with Bord Bia, James (26) is an accountant, Michael (24) works with me on the farm and plays with the Galway senior football team.”

Interests: "Football is a big part of our lives. We all play for Milltown senior football team."

The tank: “We’re just after installing a 4,000 gallon (18,000 litres) Mueller milk tank installed by Kingston Refrigeration in Cork. We installed this size of a tank so that we would be able to cater for an expansion in the herd to 250 post quotas. It also facilitates milk collection every second day.”

Quotable Quote: “Any successful business was once started with a courageous decision. Having such a large herd so quickly involves a huge investment and commitment. It’s important for us to keep costs tight and to a minimum.”