December and January allow a chance to prepare for the high-intensity February calving period. Labour, like on a lot of dairy farms, is under the spotlight in Kilkenny and plans are being put in place for 2018. The overall mix will be similar to last year with seasonal part-time help coming in for the first six months of the year helping the full-time farm manager Eoin Finneran. Eoin is currently putting together a roster plan for start times, finish times and days off.

In farming circles and other industries, we constantly hear from workers that there is nothing more annoying for staff than the uncertainty of not knowing the basics such as finish times and days off. Yes, of course, the best laid plans of farming can change from day to day, but clarity is crucial with staff.

The plan again this year is to have a nightwatch person for at least the first four to six weeks of the calving season while there are a lot of cows calving (10 to 15 cows per day). Student help is an element of the business and one thing farmers often underestimate is that it takes time to train staff and get new people up to speed. This must be factored in for any farmer taking on new help. Patience is paramount and if a new member is to get a fair crack at the job you have to be prepared to invest time in them. The best plan is to try to get most of this done in advance of the calving season before things get busy and people get tired. Two cows have calved before time for one reason or another. It looks like they will both come into full milk.

The cull cows are due to walk off the farm to go to a finishing unit this week. On average, the price works out at about €450 each. The young Jersey-cross cows made the lowest money averaging about €300 per head, with the next 20 cows valued at €450 each. Heavier older cows made between €500 and €750 each. We have never held on to cull cows as long – a factor of awaiting TB test results.

Just before Christmas, the farm got the all-clear to allow cull cows be sold. One milking cow was deemed inconclusive at the TB herd test from over 350 animals tested in September. The advice was to slaughter the cow and have the glands of the cow cultured. The milking cow went to the factory on 18 October (she made €493). Post-slaughter examination revealed no visible lesions on any tissues but, irrespective of that result, the advice was to get the cow’s glands cultured.

After eight weeks, the results arrived and, thankfully, the result showed no presence of TB.

It means the 50 odd cull cows can now be sold from the farm.

The immediate direct cost to the business was the extra feed required. In the past, we have always sold the cull cows in early October to reduce stocking rate and let remaining cows finish the grazing. They are a mix of Friesians and Jersey cross with about 20 first calvers and the rest a mix of second to sixth lactation.

About two in-calf animals have aborted over the last six weeks. Test results haven’t revealed any big reason so the thinking is it might have been an injury or something to that effect.

Financials

The financial figures will be finalised in the next number of weeks as all cheques and costs are finally gathered for 2017. At the moment, the estimates suggest the farm will leave a net profit of about €1,000 per hectare when all fixed, variable, staff, loan repayments and rental fees are counted. To compare with an owned farm, the Kilkenny costs for land rental are about €65,000 for the year, all staffing costs come to over €100,000 and annual loan repayment is about €85,000 per year.

The headline estimates at the moment suggest the farm sold produce to the value of €730,000 last year.

Total variable costs amounted to about €310,000. This leaves over €420,000 (gross margin) to pay fixed costs (labour, bank interest and capital investment, etc) and in 2017 these fixed costs came to over €300,000. I will go into more detail once the final figures are completed.

Greenfield Kilkenny dry cows eating pit silage.

Spring check list

At the most recent management meeting, some of the upcoming jobs and resources required were discussed:

  • Check dung sample results for rumen and liverfluke. Dose cows for rumen fluke – once is enough. Bulk dung samples test results taken in the autumn suggest zero positive samples for liverfluke eggs and three samples of the six samples were positive for rumen fluke eggs.
  • Prepare the woodchip stand-off pad for calving beside the topless cubicles.
  • Wash down parlour and all equipment with hot steam washer. Change liners and service, if necessary.
  • Teat seal in-calf heifers calving in batches based on expected calving date.
  • Rotavirus vaccine: estimate volume required for cows calving after 15 March. It needs to be administered six weeks before cows are due to calve, so early to mid-February is a good time for vaccination.
  • Some 373 cows are due to calve down this spring. Sort out calving dates in farm management software, so they can be managed in groups.
  • Slightly short on winter feed so buy bales of silage or pit silage now rather than leaving it until late January/February. There are 474 bales left but some are needed for late spring.
  • Johne’s management: same five cows’ sample results came back high as results revealed two years previous. Probably look to cull them at the end of 2018. Manage them for calving this year – have them well marked so everyone can identify them. Don’t pool biestings from these cows and only use for their own calf.
  • Calving equipment and calf shed preparation. In advance of calving, make sure that the farm has BVD tags, tagger, ordinary tags, blue roll paper, iodine dips, calving ropes, straps, stomach tubes, vaccines, etc.
  • Calf care equipment – feeding: make sure all equipment is clean and in working order before calving starts.
  • Check if dry cow minerals are enough and if post-calving minerals are needed.
  • Cal Mag dust for silage: is it necessary again like last year?
  • Fencing: need to sort broken stakes, repair gates that are broken and fencing if wire is broke.
  • Calving shed equipment: Calci-ject bottles, gloves, gel, etc.