Donal and Fiona Kavanagh with their children, Mark (13), Aoife (11) and Cliona (16) on the family farm. \ Philip Doyle
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I farm: “Sixty-four hectares on the Wicklow-Kildare border, some of it rented. I’m currently milking 200 Holstein Friesian cows, down from 250 in the summer. We’re 60:40 winter/spring milk.”
This week: “We are weighing the heifers as part of a UCD study. I’m one of 10 farmers in Kildare with the UCD group. The average weight at the moment is 214kg. The girls doing the study arrive out with their own weighing scales. They send me on the information and I put it in on the IFC programme.”
Silage: “We cut 80 acres three weeks ago. I was in a deficit but now I would be a small bit the other way around – I certainly won’t be selling any. We’d be lucky where we are. I’m building a good bit of grass which I’m hoping will take the demand off. This time last year we had hurricane Ophelia, the winter started on 15 October and it was really the end of March before we got the cows out.”
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Winter milk: “I’ve started calving again, with 12 out of 65 calved. My platform probably isn’t big enough to sustain all the stock calving in the spring. I would be questioning it: if the price goes back over the four months, I will go back in to spring production.”
Family: “There’s my wife Fiona and three kids, Cliona (16), Mark (13) and Aoife (11). They do have an interest in the farm and I encourage that but I also want to make sure they get an education so that they have options in the future. We’ve two staff on the farm as well.”
Quotable quote: “Bigger families will buy cheaper milk. They are not going to buy by brand.”
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I farm: “Sixty-four hectares on the Wicklow-Kildare border, some of it rented. I’m currently milking 200 Holstein Friesian cows, down from 250 in the summer. We’re 60:40 winter/spring milk.”
This week: “We are weighing the heifers as part of a UCD study. I’m one of 10 farmers in Kildare with the UCD group. The average weight at the moment is 214kg. The girls doing the study arrive out with their own weighing scales. They send me on the information and I put it in on the IFC programme.”
Silage: “We cut 80 acres three weeks ago. I was in a deficit but now I would be a small bit the other way around – I certainly won’t be selling any. We’d be lucky where we are. I’m building a good bit of grass which I’m hoping will take the demand off. This time last year we had hurricane Ophelia, the winter started on 15 October and it was really the end of March before we got the cows out.”
Winter milk: “I’ve started calving again, with 12 out of 65 calved. My platform probably isn’t big enough to sustain all the stock calving in the spring. I would be questioning it: if the price goes back over the four months, I will go back in to spring production.”
Family: “There’s my wife Fiona and three kids, Cliona (16), Mark (13) and Aoife (11). They do have an interest in the farm and I encourage that but I also want to make sure they get an education so that they have options in the future. We’ve two staff on the farm as well.”
Quotable quote: “Bigger families will buy cheaper milk. They are not going to buy by brand.”
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