Building a good work/life balance in Ballyheigue

John Joe, Joseph and Hannah O’Connor are milking 128 cows not far from the coast, near the seaside village of Ballyheigue in Co Kerry.

John Joe finished up at Clonakilty Agricultural College in 2010 and since then has been gradually taking over the reins from Joseph and Hannah.

The O’Connors are farming a total of 73ha, with 32ha in the milking block, giving a stocking rate of four cows/ha on the platform. Heifers and silage are produced on the outside land, leaving the home farm just to cows.

Land type is excellent – level and free-draining. Most of the grazing block is situated across the road from the farmyard and is accessed via a central farm roadway.

One of the items on John Joe’s wish list is for an underpass, something he expects to do over the coming years.

This would also fit in with John Joe’s policy of making the farm as stress-free as possible, with a strong focus on work-life balance.

Relief milkers cover the weekends from the end of May to dry-off.

Automated heat detection aids are used to pick up cows in heat and this is used in conjunction with an automated drafting gate.

All of the AI is carried out by technician service and the aim is to be gone out of the yard by 6pm each evening.

The milking parlour was upgraded from 16 units to 20 units, and automatic cluster removers were installed. The farmyard is well set up in terms of cubicle accommodation and slurry storage, and the farm also has an automated calf feeder.

The EBI of the herd is €250 and the background to the cows is Jersey crossbred, but in recent years the O’Connors have been crossing the cows back to Holstein Friesian using a mix of daughter proven and genomically selected AI bulls.

Last year, the herd delivered 469kg MS/cow from 950kg of meal per cow.

In terms of sustainability practices on the farm, John Joe has moved towards using protected urea instead of CAN-based fertilisers.

All of the slurry applied on the farm is through low-emission slurry-spreading and the farm is incorporating clover into all of the reseeds.

There were five acres reseeded in May this year and clover got a great take, and the plan is to sow another five acres this coming autumn.