A demand from the dairy sector is driving a shortage of hoof parers.

Hoof parers, particularly across the south of the country, are extremely busy at the moment. Many of them have work lined up two weeks in advance.

“I have done 1,400 more cows so far this year than the same period in 2016,” said Martin Murphy, who is based around Fermoy and Mallow in Cork.

Similarly in Wexford, Jim White, says that it is “very, very busy, numbers have definitely gone up”. Kilkenny man Martin Healy pared 250 cows’ feet last week alone, while for Glen Patterson in Sligo the business has become particularly busy in the last two weeks.

Some hoof trimmers said that it is mostly down to the increase in cow numbers, particularly where they had been tightly stocked in cubicle houses over the winter.

Turnover crates seem to be particularly popular among farmers who want to make sure all four feet are trimmed, rather than just lame ones.

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