“One labour unit should be able to make a living, and if that happens, all other multiples will follow suit. That’s 80 cows in my opinion,” says McCormack.

“If you were to do a 39-hour week, the most cows you could carry on your own would be 33, according to Teagasc figures.

“Siobhan Talbot (Glanbia CEO), speaking in Laois years ago, said a dairy farmer in the spring had done a week’s work by Tuesday evening.

“Things have moved on from the 30-cow man, and we see farmers managing 80, 90, 100 cows reasonably efficiently depending on farm structure.”

“Teagasc has been very forward-thinking in the development of Irish dairy farms, but they have encouraged farmers to take on more cows.”

Labour requirement

“People need to be very careful. You can only include dependable labour when calculating what you can cope with. Labour that’s not dependable is a welcome bonus, but can’t be factored in or trouble will follow.

“Every spring, we get phone calls from lads calving and milking 150, 160 cows, and their backs are broken, and their families are concerned about them.

Demanding

“It’s one thing to manage a big herd in July or August, but entirely another at calving, especially now with compact calving, which is of course a good thing, but incredibly demanding.

“A dairy farmer is 10 times more likely to be killed than if he was in any sector outside farming.

“Your own Jack Kennedy, when talking about the 300-cow Greenfield herd said that while the herd is run by two labour units, contracted services equate to another two labour units.

“Some farmers are trying to run big herds without that outside assistance, and it’s not sustainable.”