The farm: “I milk 100 cows, supplying Dairygold, in partnership with my parents, Tony and Marian, in Ardglare, Mitchelstown. After 20 years working on other farms, I came home to farm full-time 18 months ago. We calve down 180 between cows and heifers every year and keep all the heifer calves. Our bull calves are sold at three weeks of age.”
Cow type: “Our ideal cow is a 75% Holstein/25% Friesian cow, with EBI being a big focus for us. The highest EBI of this year’s heifers is €322, which we are delighted to reach. Cows are currently doing 30l at 4.2% fat and 3.6% protein on 4kg of concentrates.”
Neil and Tony Quinlan with their cows that form the Ardglare Herd on the home farm at Ardglare, Mitchelstown, Co Cork.\ Donal O'Leary
Spring calving: “Calving is all but finished with the last few cows due shortly. The farm is dry so we were able to get cows out in mid-February which is a great help.”
This week: “As well as getting ready for the sales, fertiliser is going out on silage ground. The cows are in their second rotation and are being followed with slurry applied with the dribble bar.”
Dairy sales: “Every year we sell around 80 calved first and second lactation heifers and cows in Corrin Mart over two sales. We first sold calved cows in 1991, as quota constraints restricted the number we could keep on. Over the years, customers have returned again and again, and so we kept the tradition after quotas were abolished. It’s great to have such demand for our stock, and it drives us to keep improving, despite the extra workload. Our first sale for 2021 was last Friday and we were delighted with the interest in our animals. We have our second sale this Friday.”
Marian, Neil and Tony Quinlan. \ Donal O'Leary
Future outlook: “This year looks super again for dairy farmers. With oil and grain prices on the rise, milk usually follows. On the farm, we’re happy with our system at the moment, and happy with numbers as they are, and we’ll continue improving on the breeding front.”
Quotable quote: “People will always appreciate good quality stock, no matter if it’s a good or bad year.”
The farm: “I milk 100 cows, supplying Dairygold, in partnership with my parents, Tony and Marian, in Ardglare, Mitchelstown. After 20 years working on other farms, I came home to farm full-time 18 months ago. We calve down 180 between cows and heifers every year and keep all the heifer calves. Our bull calves are sold at three weeks of age.”
Cow type: “Our ideal cow is a 75% Holstein/25% Friesian cow, with EBI being a big focus for us. The highest EBI of this year’s heifers is €322, which we are delighted to reach. Cows are currently doing 30l at 4.2% fat and 3.6% protein on 4kg of concentrates.”
Neil and Tony Quinlan with their cows that form the Ardglare Herd on the home farm at Ardglare, Mitchelstown, Co Cork.\ Donal O'Leary
Spring calving: “Calving is all but finished with the last few cows due shortly. The farm is dry so we were able to get cows out in mid-February which is a great help.”
This week: “As well as getting ready for the sales, fertiliser is going out on silage ground. The cows are in their second rotation and are being followed with slurry applied with the dribble bar.”
Dairy sales: “Every year we sell around 80 calved first and second lactation heifers and cows in Corrin Mart over two sales. We first sold calved cows in 1991, as quota constraints restricted the number we could keep on. Over the years, customers have returned again and again, and so we kept the tradition after quotas were abolished. It’s great to have such demand for our stock, and it drives us to keep improving, despite the extra workload. Our first sale for 2021 was last Friday and we were delighted with the interest in our animals. We have our second sale this Friday.”
Marian, Neil and Tony Quinlan. \ Donal O'Leary
Future outlook: “This year looks super again for dairy farmers. With oil and grain prices on the rise, milk usually follows. On the farm, we’re happy with our system at the moment, and happy with numbers as they are, and we’ll continue improving on the breeding front.”
Quotable quote: “People will always appreciate good quality stock, no matter if it’s a good or bad year.”
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