We finally got the first of the calves away at the show and sale in Elphin mart in the back end of 2022. I like to visit different marts and view the facilities for cattle.

Having worked in marts, I expect them to be of a similar standard, especially where safety is concerned, and I have to say Elphin impressed me no end.

All the show calves were separated out into straw beds so deep I almost wanted to have a lie down in them myself after a late night and an early start. The quality of stock was unbelievable, so I was not surprised when we didn’t win any prizes.

There’s always next year, and we were very happy with our prices. With a rough age of seven and a half months, they averaged out at 375kg and €1,182.

With shed space now freed up, we could finally bring home the maiden heifers and their ‘granny cow’ who had been keeping them in check all summer. Unfortunately the land they were on was too wet for our usual trailer ride home for them.

A couple of phone calls later, and with the timely arrival home of my brother from Estonia, we had the makings of a Leitrim version of the winterage walk which draws huge crowds in Clare.

Despite planning it like a military exercise, we knew it was a risk taking yearlings on the road. Thus, with copious amounts of baling twine and meticulous orders for everyone, we set off.

We got home unscathed and with zero mishaps, though we had a bit of work getting them past a rambunctious miniature pony which caused a few googly eyes among the heifers.

There’s always a smart animal in each group though, and one of these heifers soon learned that if she jumped on their companion cow in the shed, the cow would reverse and she’d get access to the best spot at the feed barrier.

This led to the poor cow going lame and as she’s roughly 800kg and close to calving, we had to find a new spot for the heifer who was already walking on thin ice, being on her third and final chance to hold in-calf to AI.

The only spot for her seemed to be outside with her younger half-brother from this year: a bull named Titan. It went well until one evening I found the bull and his missus had escaped by breaking their chain on the gate.

Thankfully luck was with us as they only ventured to the shed to fill their bellies with silage, instead of heading for the road.

Unfortunately, the heifer proved to be empty yet again.

This prompted a mass exodus of cattle from the shed just prior to Christmas with our ‘06 cow being sold along with the pedigree heifer. With many years of practice travelling in the trailer, to see her happily walk up the ramp brought a few tears to my eyes. But we can’t keep them all as they say, and decisions have to be made with a business in mind.

Her twins also hit the road after much discussion. We had intended to keep the twin heifer in the hope she’d be fertile. There used to be a freemartin test available via a blood sample and she was being kept with this in mind but unfortunately, it’s been discontinued in Ireland. With the small chance of her being fertile, coupled with the cost of feed, we decided to let her go along with her brother. But the old girl certainly went out with a bang, with herself and the calves coming to a total of €2,870.

And with that, we’ve yet another year passed on the farming calendar and one that isn’t likely to be forgotten. Here’s hoping it’ll be a prosperous time for all in 2023 and wishing you all a happy and healthy new year.