While nearly all of the country basked in the sun for the last week or so, some parts of the country earned it more than others. January and February have been very wet in south and west Cork in particular.
Cork Airport has recorded 383mm of rain in January and February, which is 15 inches of rain. This is a 50% increase on last year and 67% higher than the long-term average.
Just half an hour up the road in Moorepark, 294mm, or almost 90mm less was recorded in January and February while Gurteen in Co Tipperary recorded just 140mm for the same period.
Such rainfall has posed a challenge for early spring grazing. In Riverstick, which is south of Cork airport, halfway between the city and Youghal, Jerome Bernard is doing his best to keep cows out by the day.
The 26-year-old who is farming alongside his father John has 16% of the farm grazed, which is a good achievement in itself, even though it’s behind the target.
The herd is out by day and getting beet and silage by night.
With the dry weather this week Jerome was grazing off some of the higher covers of 1,500kg or more on some of the parts of the farm where access is not as good.
“The cows are in a big field today which hasn’t the best access but because land has dried out a good bit we’re getting away with it.
“We have drier land with better access available to us for the wetter days ahead so we should be able to get cows out every day at least,” he says.
The Bernards are milking 220 cows just outside the village of Riverstick. Having completed a degree in agricultural science at Munster Technological University in 2021, Jerome spent a few months in New Zealand before returning home to farm fulltime alongside John.
The Bernards purchased land in 2016 which joined the milking block to an already owned outside block which almost doubled the milking platform and now all the land is within walking distance, if not for cows then for youngstock.
After the land was purchased the decision was made to increase cow numbers from around 100, to the present level. Jerome says they’re happy with the number they’re at.
The cows have an EBI of €223 and are in good body condition score.
The focus is very much grass based, with the Holstein Friesian herd typically delivering 500kg MS/cow from around 1t of meal per cow although he says that meal feeding rates were up and milk solids were down in 2024.
Jerome does all the grass measuring and is a member of the local Grass 10 grazing group run by Teagasc.
Like a lot of farmers in the area, the Bernards grow beet for grazing in situ in the autumn, and feed pulled beet for feeding in spring.
In total, they grow about 10 acres per year, with about six acres on the milking platform for the autumn.
Jerome says it’s a great feed, with the leaves providing protein and the root providing energy. The cows go into the field for an hour or so after morning or evening milking and it allows them to stretch grass.
It’s also used in the event of drought in August.
At the moment the cows are getting an allowance of 8kg of grass during the day, 4kg of meal in the parlour and 2kg DM each of chopped beet and silage at night.
The silage is put out in grabs and the beet fed out on top using a beet chopper.
Cows are milking well, doing between 1.95kg and 2.1kg MS/cow/day (24 and 26 litres per day) and thankfully there are no animal health issues to report.
Last year, the last batch of calves got a bad dose of scour towards the end of the season. The cause was unknown with none of the usual suspects identified. The cows are vaccinated for rotavirus so the Bernards are hoping not to get a repeat of that.
At this stage there is 73% of the herd calved with calving due date of 5 February, although Jerome says they started calving on 1 February. There was 60% calved in the first three weeks.
They have sold 24 calves to a regular, local buyer with more to go in the coming weeks. Jerome says they prefer to wait until the calves are four weeks of age before moving them on so that they are stronger and at least 50kg liveweight.
All calves are fed whole milk for the first 10 days, with the bull calves staying on whole or transition milk and the heifers moving to milk replacer from 10 days of age.
Dairy AI is used for the first three weeks of breeding so all the calves coming now are either Hereford or Aberdeen Angus. Jerome also used some Wagyu last spring as part of a project with Munster Bovine.
The EBI of the herd is €223, with €61 for milk sub-index and €111 for fertility. The maintenance figure for the herd is €11.
The land is free draining but a lot of rain January and February has made it tacky in places.
The heifers are bred using fixed time AI and sexed semen, while the cows get conventional dairy semen and then beef AI.
The breeding season lasts for 12 weeks, with just tail paint used for the first three weeks.
A vasectomised bull helps pick up cows in heat after week three, while beef stock bulls are released for the last few weeks but AI is kept up if there are a lot of cows bulling.
The empty rate last year was around 7%.
The first round of fertiliser was spread on 10 February at a rate of 23 units/acre of 38% protected urea with 7% sulphur. The plan is to go again with a similar rate later this week across all of the farm that got either slurry in January or the fertiliser in February.
The average farm cover is 1,050kg DM/ha and the farm grew an average of 8kg DM/ha/day in February.
The plan is to dip in and out of silage ground with the cows and then get 2,500 gallons/acre on to this ground and close it for an early first cut.
About 20% of the farm has good clover content and this will be spread at half rate nitrogen from about May onwards, but Jerome says they delayed this until June last year because clover contents weren’t that good.
High clover field reseeded in 2024 which was in beet before that.
The beet is grown on land that is destined for reseeding, so this year’s beet field is already picked out and will be sprayed off over the coming days for sowing later in the month. Jerome says they like to get the beet in early so as to ensure a good crop by August time, in case the cows need to go into it early if there is a drought related grass shortage.
Most of the machinery work is carried out by themselves. They work with their neighbours at silage, the Bernards do the mowing and raking and draw in silage while neighbours provide the harvester and loader for pushing up.
Jerome says that the interest in machinery is in the blood as his grandfather operated a thrasher in the area when he first bought the farm.
“We’re both interested in machinery and I think its nice to have a bit of variety to the work but don’t get me wrong, you wouldn’t be long getting bored of being in the tractor either.”
In short
Jerome Bernard is farming with his father John, milking 220 cows at Riverstick in south Cork. They have 16% of the farm grazed, after a very wet two months in this part of Cork. The herd is Holstein Friesian with an EBI of €223 and a fertility sub-index of €111.The first round of nitrogen was spread in early February and the second round will be spread in the coming days. 
One of the fields grazed in February. A little bit of damage was done but Jerome says its acceptable.
This high clover field is very open.
Paddock number signs were routed from old blue barrels.
While nearly all of the country basked in the sun for the last week or so, some parts of the country earned it more than others. January and February have been very wet in south and west Cork in particular.
Cork Airport has recorded 383mm of rain in January and February, which is 15 inches of rain. This is a 50% increase on last year and 67% higher than the long-term average.
Just half an hour up the road in Moorepark, 294mm, or almost 90mm less was recorded in January and February while Gurteen in Co Tipperary recorded just 140mm for the same period.
Such rainfall has posed a challenge for early spring grazing. In Riverstick, which is south of Cork airport, halfway between the city and Youghal, Jerome Bernard is doing his best to keep cows out by the day.
The 26-year-old who is farming alongside his father John has 16% of the farm grazed, which is a good achievement in itself, even though it’s behind the target.
The herd is out by day and getting beet and silage by night.
With the dry weather this week Jerome was grazing off some of the higher covers of 1,500kg or more on some of the parts of the farm where access is not as good.
“The cows are in a big field today which hasn’t the best access but because land has dried out a good bit we’re getting away with it.
“We have drier land with better access available to us for the wetter days ahead so we should be able to get cows out every day at least,” he says.
The Bernards are milking 220 cows just outside the village of Riverstick. Having completed a degree in agricultural science at Munster Technological University in 2021, Jerome spent a few months in New Zealand before returning home to farm fulltime alongside John.
The Bernards purchased land in 2016 which joined the milking block to an already owned outside block which almost doubled the milking platform and now all the land is within walking distance, if not for cows then for youngstock.
After the land was purchased the decision was made to increase cow numbers from around 100, to the present level. Jerome says they’re happy with the number they’re at.
The cows have an EBI of €223 and are in good body condition score.
The focus is very much grass based, with the Holstein Friesian herd typically delivering 500kg MS/cow from around 1t of meal per cow although he says that meal feeding rates were up and milk solids were down in 2024.
Jerome does all the grass measuring and is a member of the local Grass 10 grazing group run by Teagasc.
Like a lot of farmers in the area, the Bernards grow beet for grazing in situ in the autumn, and feed pulled beet for feeding in spring.
In total, they grow about 10 acres per year, with about six acres on the milking platform for the autumn.
Jerome says it’s a great feed, with the leaves providing protein and the root providing energy. The cows go into the field for an hour or so after morning or evening milking and it allows them to stretch grass.
It’s also used in the event of drought in August.
At the moment the cows are getting an allowance of 8kg of grass during the day, 4kg of meal in the parlour and 2kg DM each of chopped beet and silage at night.
The silage is put out in grabs and the beet fed out on top using a beet chopper.
Cows are milking well, doing between 1.95kg and 2.1kg MS/cow/day (24 and 26 litres per day) and thankfully there are no animal health issues to report.
Last year, the last batch of calves got a bad dose of scour towards the end of the season. The cause was unknown with none of the usual suspects identified. The cows are vaccinated for rotavirus so the Bernards are hoping not to get a repeat of that.
At this stage there is 73% of the herd calved with calving due date of 5 February, although Jerome says they started calving on 1 February. There was 60% calved in the first three weeks.
They have sold 24 calves to a regular, local buyer with more to go in the coming weeks. Jerome says they prefer to wait until the calves are four weeks of age before moving them on so that they are stronger and at least 50kg liveweight.
All calves are fed whole milk for the first 10 days, with the bull calves staying on whole or transition milk and the heifers moving to milk replacer from 10 days of age.
Dairy AI is used for the first three weeks of breeding so all the calves coming now are either Hereford or Aberdeen Angus. Jerome also used some Wagyu last spring as part of a project with Munster Bovine.
The EBI of the herd is €223, with €61 for milk sub-index and €111 for fertility. The maintenance figure for the herd is €11.
The land is free draining but a lot of rain January and February has made it tacky in places.
The heifers are bred using fixed time AI and sexed semen, while the cows get conventional dairy semen and then beef AI.
The breeding season lasts for 12 weeks, with just tail paint used for the first three weeks.
A vasectomised bull helps pick up cows in heat after week three, while beef stock bulls are released for the last few weeks but AI is kept up if there are a lot of cows bulling.
The empty rate last year was around 7%.
The first round of fertiliser was spread on 10 February at a rate of 23 units/acre of 38% protected urea with 7% sulphur. The plan is to go again with a similar rate later this week across all of the farm that got either slurry in January or the fertiliser in February.
The average farm cover is 1,050kg DM/ha and the farm grew an average of 8kg DM/ha/day in February.
The plan is to dip in and out of silage ground with the cows and then get 2,500 gallons/acre on to this ground and close it for an early first cut.
About 20% of the farm has good clover content and this will be spread at half rate nitrogen from about May onwards, but Jerome says they delayed this until June last year because clover contents weren’t that good.
High clover field reseeded in 2024 which was in beet before that.
The beet is grown on land that is destined for reseeding, so this year’s beet field is already picked out and will be sprayed off over the coming days for sowing later in the month. Jerome says they like to get the beet in early so as to ensure a good crop by August time, in case the cows need to go into it early if there is a drought related grass shortage.
Most of the machinery work is carried out by themselves. They work with their neighbours at silage, the Bernards do the mowing and raking and draw in silage while neighbours provide the harvester and loader for pushing up.
Jerome says that the interest in machinery is in the blood as his grandfather operated a thrasher in the area when he first bought the farm.
“We’re both interested in machinery and I think its nice to have a bit of variety to the work but don’t get me wrong, you wouldn’t be long getting bored of being in the tractor either.”
In short
Jerome Bernard is farming with his father John, milking 220 cows at Riverstick in south Cork. They have 16% of the farm grazed, after a very wet two months in this part of Cork. The herd is Holstein Friesian with an EBI of €223 and a fertility sub-index of €111.The first round of nitrogen was spread in early February and the second round will be spread in the coming days.
One of the fields grazed in February. A little bit of damage was done but Jerome says its acceptable.
This high clover field is very open.
Paddock number signs were routed from old blue barrels.
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