'Just two colours, black on white, created a scene that I would happily frame'

As I sat at the living room window this morning, I looked out on a blank canvas. The thick white fog had merged into the low hanging clouds. The white satin curtain started from beyond my son Colm’s house and was pulled all the way across to Tower village.

The black crows frolicked about, enjoying another beautiful spring morning. Just two colours, black on white, created a scene that I would happily frame.

A second nice day, what a treat. Farmers are well and truly sick of wet, dreary days. The squelch underfoot annoys us. The saturated fields are hard to manage and spring grazing has been a challenge. Cows have been grazing here since 27 January.

They have been guided around the first rotation, picking off the heaviest fields on the occasional dry days. Last week, I worked Tuesday and Wednesday in the calf shed.

My brother Phil helped out with heavy lifting and Adam from down the road did his usual jobs of bedding and filling hoppers. I had promised Holly and Riley, the calf rearers, two days off to enjoy St Patrick’s Day.

Systems in place

It was exhilarating to be really working. There were three calves born, leaving just 10 cows to calve. It felt so normal and wonderful to be in the shed. My input has been minimal this spring and yet I know that my systems have been continued.

Colm and I have worked hard to make the calf shed functional and the work streamlined. If you have the systems in place and the communication boards, then it makes it easier for others to pick up where you left off.

No farmer knows when they might have to bow out due to illness or injury. It is important to strategise about it. That’s good management.

Good employees

We have been so lucky. Colm employed Holly and Riley, who are travelling from Australia. I am so glad that Ireland was part of their itinerary. Neither of them had any experience of dairy farming. They are both professional people. Colm puts a lot of time into sourcing staff and thinking about the future. It pays off.

I had two days with Holly before the pain became intolerable from the tumour under my arm and I had to go to hospital.

We managed a newborn calf and ran through everything in the shed. It was like she tapped her brain into mine and absorbed pretty much everything that I know about calf rearing.

They were guided by Colm and they have been amazing.

I thought I’d be distraught when I couldn’t be hands-on in the shed.

I’m disappointed, but so happy that everything is running smoothly. I can go over when I’m able and change Milton for the teats of the machine or help Holly and Riley to learn more about rearing calves. So, my management role still exists and it’s been a really good year. We’ve had no issues – I’m nearly afraid to say that.

You might remember that last year we had a problem with bloat in calves at around one month of age. A farmer from Wexford got in touch in a circuitous manner to point out that the size of the hole in the teats is really important.

It must be circular and small unlike the teats that are fitted to calf buckets and have a cross-style opening. Another advised that the black leg vaccine should be given earlier. We adopted both items and I’m always grateful to farmers who get in touch. We can learn an enormous amount from each other.

Our vets say that there’s no scientific basis behind the black leg theory. Nevertheless, we’re vaccinating early again this year. If it works, it works.