There is something really lovely about the early morning on a farm.

These days, I’m up before sunrise.

Once I get beyond actually getting out of the bed, the day is mine and I greet it with exhilaration.

There is an air of anticipation and determination about the season ahead.

Sixty heifers arrived home from Kildare. They will bring new energy and higher EBI figures to the herd.

They are in lovely condition. One girl already had a calf at foot. Of course, that was not ideal. The next one calved and had a heifer.

He retired disappointed after a tough night. The two heifers needed help

Then there followed two dead calves; one bull and a heifer.

My husband Tim was with them until 3am. He retired disappointed after a tough night.

The two heifers needed help. Looking at 56 more heifers to calve, it is easy to become uneasy.

You start to think is this going to be a pattern? Is it something got to do with the bulls? Is it mineral deficiency or what is going wrong?

That’s when you have to have a little chat with yourself and get on with changing what you can and forgetting about the events that cannot be altered.

The real priority is that the heifers are OK, and they are

At least, I have to do this - I am inclined to think about the what-ifs.

Both Tim and our son Colm remind me to focus on the big picture.

Two out of four calves seems like a huge loss, but as the numbers rise you realise that these events, while unfortunate, are normal in the everyday running of a dairy farm.

The real priority is that the heifers are OK, and they are. In hindsight, they probably should have come home a week earlier.

When the herd changes from AI to bulls during the breeding season, we always see a lag of a week. Calving stops and resumes again after the week.

Allowing for this, the bulls were let run with the heifers a week sooner in Kildare. There turned out to be no delay.

In fact, most are calving two weeks before their due date.

Every year you learn something

COVID-19 restrictions also meant that we weren’t up and down to Kildare to see the heifers.

Had we seen them we might have brought them home a week earlier to allow them to settle. Every year you learn something.

There are now over 20 heifers calved and all is well.

We keep a close eye on them. The cows are due to begin calving from 1 February.

Tim says that the heifers are as quiet as lambs in the parlour. That may change when they start mixing with the cows.

If it does, Tim might consider running a heifer mob to keep them content.

Minimise stress

I’m fascinated at how quiet the heifers actually are.

Being Jersey-crosses, I’ve a particular fondness for the red and brown girls. They are so individual.

I was afraid that they would lose their docility while away from the farm, but they have come back a happy, inquisitive, quiet bunch.

Once the experience remains positive, they are content

I wondered if Billy O’Shea, our heifer rearer, had been petting them. He said no, that he left them to themselves.

Colm, through his Nuffield scholarship, has done a lot of research into animal welfare and he explained to me that a negative experience from a human is the thing that affects the animal’s temperament most.

Once the experience remains positive, they are content.

The use of a stick and shouting at them will stress them and a stressed animal is a dangerous one.

We try our best to keep the stress levels to a minimum for man and beast and we all have a better experience.

Good luck

I’m aware of a few new entrants entering the dairy business this year. Enjoy every minute of it.

If you lose a calf, put it behind you fast and take care of the heifers or cows left to calve.

I’m also hearing of new partnerships.

This is hugely positive for our industry to have farms consolidating for a better business model and the improved work life balance that goes with it.

Every year brings new challenges and new innovations.

Our dairy system has turned inside out since I joined Tim in the business 38 years ago.

We changed from liquid milk to a spring grass-based system and from quota restriction to a growing business in partnership with Colm. The changes continue. We are lucky indeed.

Read more

Brexit bites and financial tips to start 2021 on the right note

Katherine's Country: shame on us then and shame on us now