Our eyes and ears have been glued to the weather forecast these past few weeks. It’s the main topic of conversation, as we do our best to get calved cows out to grass. Storm after storm, reminds us that we have no control over this external force of nature. All we can do is work with the weather, dodging the rain clouds by on-off grazing.

Since the end of January, we have 27 heifers calved. So far, the count is 15 bull calves and 12 heifers. At one stage, I was getting a little worried, with 14 bulls and 8 heifers. Thankfully it is beginning to balance up. We can’t complain. Calving has gone well to date. All calves were born alive and well. However, we did lose one calf. I watched the cow calve a big black bull calf. After spraying his naval with iodine, I went to the parlour to get a bottle for colostrum. When I got back to the calving shed, the cow was lying on the calf’s head. I got her up as soon as I could but it was too late. I was sickened. Every calf since has been taken away from its mother immediately. Lesson learned.

As mentioned above, the milking cows are out on grass during the day (weather permitting). They are also getting 4kgs of an 18% dairy nut (UFL of .96 with PDIN and PDIE of 119 and 112 respectively) and baled silage. The 18 heifers left to calve are on adlib pit silage (65 DMD) and 1kg of dry cow ration. We are feeding the heifer calves 3litres of whole milk twice-a-day. This will continue until we run out of colostrum and transition milk and then we will switch to milk replacer. The 14 bull calves were sold this week for €100. They were bought by a local couple and will be reared on an automatic calf feeder.

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We are milking the 27 with a six-unit temporary milking machine. Oliver and Gary Peake installed the parlour and 650gallon bulk tank in a single bay of an existing slatted shed. During milking, the cows stand, side-by-side on a slightly elevated platform, at the back of the slatted pen, with their backsides facing towards the feed passage. The clusters are attached from inside the slatted pen.

The temporary machine was necessary for a number of reasons. Firstly, we could not begin work on our new milking parlour, until we received grant approval. The Dairy Equipment Scheme offers a 40% grant for milking and cooling equipment. We applied for the grant the day after I received the new entrant quota at the end of August. However we only received approval last week.

Secondly, to obtain finance from the bank, I am required to have planning permission for all new buildings. Planning permission approval takes a minimum of three months from the date of submission. Time was not on our side, but we were determined to milk in 2014.

The word ‘temporary’ probably doesn’t do it justice. It is a compact setup, with all the basic necessities. It’s a little unorthodox, but it gets the job done. The heifers don’t know any different and thankfully they have settled in well. We’ll see what it’s really like when the somatic cell count (SCC) and total bacteria count (TBC) test results come back from the co-op.

The milk lorry came for the first time last Thursday. We were collecting milk since Monday and sent 1,093litres in total. Three co-op catchment areas overlap in our locality. After long deliberation, I went with Glanbia. I believe that they will provide the best opportunities for our business in the future. Their decision to drop the 2c/l development levy as well as a generally competitive milk price and excellent co-op feedback, in terms of SCC, protein and fat levels, were some of the main deciding factors.

Making the front cover of the Farmers Journal a fortnight ago was an honour. I appreciate all of the positive comments. However, I don’t think people should be congratulating me. I have achieved nothing yet. Although I have great time for the Journal, it is not a barometer of success. The people you should really be congratulating are the established farmers who have been through it all. At the end of the day, I have learned everything I know from these guys. They are my mentors and the people I look up to. I have a long way to go before I am even in the same league.