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James and Derry Byrne (centre) with William O Toole, milk quality manager
Glanbia (far right), Maria Scanlan from Glanbia Sustainability (far left) and the
Quality Milk Awards judges Patrick Wall, UCD, and David Gleeson, Teagasc.
The black buckets are positioned on
the left of the pit with the clusters
sitting on the right.
On the farm of James and Derry Byrne.
On the farm of James and Derry Byrne.
On the farm of James and Derry Byrne.
Each year all the walls of the loose
pens and the cubicles are whitewashed
to make it easier to clean
during the winter.
In 2015 they were milking 110 cows and total milk sales to Glanbia Co-op were 873,000 litres. Cow numbers have increased to 120 milking cows in 2016. Thomas is a member of the Slaney Discussion Group. The Byrnes farm over 77ha (180 acres) in total, with about 100 acres available for milking cows around the parlour and over 80% is owned.
In terms of cow numbers, James and Derry feel they are very close to full capacity at the moment so they have no plans for expanding any further in the short term. They calve about 60% of the cows in the spring and 40% in the autumn. They milk in a 16-unit parlour which grew from a six- to an eight- and then a 10-unit parlour before finishing at 16 units.
The detergent used to wash the plant is Cryosan (227g/45 litres) and this is reused once. Cryosan liquid is also used to wash the bulk tank. The teat spray used is Virolac concentrate, which is diluted for use.
Quarters are checked at each milking to identify any mastitis. If a cow is identified early with mastitis or a hard quarter, as was the case with two cows last year, they are brought into a straw-bedded pen next to the parlour where they can be head-bailed when required and stripped out maybe up to 30 times per day. James is crystal clear that the continuous stripping out helps clean out the infection. The cows are given 2cc of Oxytocin and 40cc of Norodine at the first stripping and James said both cows were back in milk by about 2pm that same day with the continuous stripping helping to get rid of the infection.
The fact that the Byrnes’ herd calve in autumn and spring means they produce a good bit of milk indoors. Cleanliness is important and when we called all the walls of both the cubicle sheds and calving pens had been white-washed, with clean golden straw ready and waiting. The milking routine is intense, with cows pre-sprayed, wiped and each quarter checked.
If a cow has recurring mastitis, then she is sold and the Byrnes have a customer who multiple-sucks Friesian cows so they effectively leave a milking herd to join a suckling herd.
Every morning a hot wash is completed with 130 litres of 70°C water circulated. They have three wash troughs but leave the water running when it’s sucking up to ensure water volume for rinsing is maximised.
Factfile
Farming system: In 2015 the Byrne family milked 110 cows, delivering 874,000 litres to Glanbia Co-op in a split spring-autumn calving production system. In total, the Byrnes are farming 77ha (180 acres). Milk fat averaged 4.27% and protein percentage averaged 3.40% in 2015.
Parlour: 16-unit herringbone.
SCC results: average 67,000 for 2015. TBC results: average 4,000 for 2015.
In 2015 they were milking 110 cows and total milk sales to Glanbia Co-op were 873,000 litres. Cow numbers have increased to 120 milking cows in 2016. Thomas is a member of the Slaney Discussion Group. The Byrnes farm over 77ha (180 acres) in total, with about 100 acres available for milking cows around the parlour and over 80% is owned.
In terms of cow numbers, James and Derry feel they are very close to full capacity at the moment so they have no plans for expanding any further in the short term. They calve about 60% of the cows in the spring and 40% in the autumn. They milk in a 16-unit parlour which grew from a six- to an eight- and then a 10-unit parlour before finishing at 16 units.
The detergent used to wash the plant is Cryosan (227g/45 litres) and this is reused once. Cryosan liquid is also used to wash the bulk tank. The teat spray used is Virolac concentrate, which is diluted for use.
Quarters are checked at each milking to identify any mastitis. If a cow is identified early with mastitis or a hard quarter, as was the case with two cows last year, they are brought into a straw-bedded pen next to the parlour where they can be head-bailed when required and stripped out maybe up to 30 times per day. James is crystal clear that the continuous stripping out helps clean out the infection. The cows are given 2cc of Oxytocin and 40cc of Norodine at the first stripping and James said both cows were back in milk by about 2pm that same day with the continuous stripping helping to get rid of the infection.
The fact that the Byrnes’ herd calve in autumn and spring means they produce a good bit of milk indoors. Cleanliness is important and when we called all the walls of both the cubicle sheds and calving pens had been white-washed, with clean golden straw ready and waiting. The milking routine is intense, with cows pre-sprayed, wiped and each quarter checked.
If a cow has recurring mastitis, then she is sold and the Byrnes have a customer who multiple-sucks Friesian cows so they effectively leave a milking herd to join a suckling herd.
Every morning a hot wash is completed with 130 litres of 70°C water circulated. They have three wash troughs but leave the water running when it’s sucking up to ensure water volume for rinsing is maximised.
Factfile
Farming system: In 2015 the Byrne family milked 110 cows, delivering 874,000 litres to Glanbia Co-op in a split spring-autumn calving production system. In total, the Byrnes are farming 77ha (180 acres). Milk fat averaged 4.27% and protein percentage averaged 3.40% in 2015.
Parlour: 16-unit herringbone.
SCC results: average 67,000 for 2015. TBC results: average 4,000 for 2015.
This year 13 farming families compete for the Overall title in the NDC/Kerrygold quality milk awards.
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If a cow has recurring mastitis, then she is sold and the Byrnes have a customer who multiple-sucks Friesian cows so they effectively leave a milking herd to join a suckling herd.
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