David Prendergast, South East Technological University
My name is David Prendergast, and I am now in my final year of Agricultural Science in SETU Waterford. I am from a rural village in south Kilkenny called The Rower.
I have been extremely passionate about farming since a young age. Unfortunately, I do not come from a farm, but I spent a lot of time at my uncle Jimmy’s farm growing up where he showed me the ropes.
I began working for a local farmer in 2021 at weekends and during the summer. I am currently doing relief milking for local farmers. I also work on a large vegetable enterprise operating machinery in Wexford.
For my third-year placement, I decided to go to the USA through the Ohio Program. I had my eye on it for some time before putting my name forward. I was awarded an internship on the beautiful Golden Oaks Farm in Wauconda, Illinois.
The farm is situated approximately 25 miles north-west of Chicago. I chose America as I was fascinated by the indoor, high-input, high-output system they operate over there with a different type of cow than we commonly see here.
My very-well-insulated accommodation was located on the farm, which was more than ideal for the harsh weather conditions I was forced to adapt to – for reference it was -35°C.
For the first three months I was working with the commercial herd of 560 high-yielding Holsteins, producing 13,500 litres per lactation at 3.4% protein and 4.4% fat, calving all year round (AYR).
Obviously, these cows required a substantial amount of attention to ensure they are at their peak, leading to my days consisting of herd health work.
My duties included calving, vaccinations, conducting daily health checks, using cow health monitoring systems, moving cows to correct groups and so on.
Pablo and the rest of the staff showed a high level of trust in me, allowing me to conduct herd health checks independently, selecting groups for weekly vaccinations, calving alone and choosing what treatments to give to sick cows, even though he was definitely the expert.
There were very few vet calls to the farm, only for surgeries such as C-sections.
The milking parlour on the Golden Oaks Farm in Wauconda, Illinois, that David Prendergast undertook placement.
Show cows
For my final month, I requested a transfer to the genetic side of the farm, where the show cows resided and were cared for. This again was a real eye opener to me, seeing what level of detail and attention went into preparing these cows for the shows and pushing them to their limits.
My duties over here included; cleaning cow pats from the pens three times per day as they were on a free-draining sawdust and red clay bed, feeding calves and heifers different concentrates, minerals and probiotics, milking and washing the cows every day.
I got to go and help set up their section for the spring show in Madison, Wisconsin. I gained a lot of knowledge about show cows by working alongside Lucas Moser, the herd manager. He also organised a number of trips to farms around the area that had impressive stock as well.
I took away a lot away from placement and it’s hard to put into words, but I’m still in awe of the operations over there, from the sheer scale of everything to the way it’s all done.
I’m definitely more convinced that the indoor total mixed ration (TMR) system is quite viable, and it may be pivotal in Ireland in years to come unfortunately as the grazing seasons are getting more volatile every year.
I believe it is the way forward for high-yielding cows as grass is of fluctuating quality dependent on weather and these cows need huge volumes of dry matter to stay in good condition and perform to their best ability.
David Prendergast, South East Technological University
My name is David Prendergast, and I am now in my final year of Agricultural Science in SETU Waterford. I am from a rural village in south Kilkenny called The Rower.
I have been extremely passionate about farming since a young age. Unfortunately, I do not come from a farm, but I spent a lot of time at my uncle Jimmy’s farm growing up where he showed me the ropes.
I began working for a local farmer in 2021 at weekends and during the summer. I am currently doing relief milking for local farmers. I also work on a large vegetable enterprise operating machinery in Wexford.
For my third-year placement, I decided to go to the USA through the Ohio Program. I had my eye on it for some time before putting my name forward. I was awarded an internship on the beautiful Golden Oaks Farm in Wauconda, Illinois.
The farm is situated approximately 25 miles north-west of Chicago. I chose America as I was fascinated by the indoor, high-input, high-output system they operate over there with a different type of cow than we commonly see here.
My very-well-insulated accommodation was located on the farm, which was more than ideal for the harsh weather conditions I was forced to adapt to – for reference it was -35°C.
For the first three months I was working with the commercial herd of 560 high-yielding Holsteins, producing 13,500 litres per lactation at 3.4% protein and 4.4% fat, calving all year round (AYR).
Obviously, these cows required a substantial amount of attention to ensure they are at their peak, leading to my days consisting of herd health work.
My duties included calving, vaccinations, conducting daily health checks, using cow health monitoring systems, moving cows to correct groups and so on.
Pablo and the rest of the staff showed a high level of trust in me, allowing me to conduct herd health checks independently, selecting groups for weekly vaccinations, calving alone and choosing what treatments to give to sick cows, even though he was definitely the expert.
There were very few vet calls to the farm, only for surgeries such as C-sections.
The milking parlour on the Golden Oaks Farm in Wauconda, Illinois, that David Prendergast undertook placement.
Show cows
For my final month, I requested a transfer to the genetic side of the farm, where the show cows resided and were cared for. This again was a real eye opener to me, seeing what level of detail and attention went into preparing these cows for the shows and pushing them to their limits.
My duties over here included; cleaning cow pats from the pens three times per day as they were on a free-draining sawdust and red clay bed, feeding calves and heifers different concentrates, minerals and probiotics, milking and washing the cows every day.
I got to go and help set up their section for the spring show in Madison, Wisconsin. I gained a lot of knowledge about show cows by working alongside Lucas Moser, the herd manager. He also organised a number of trips to farms around the area that had impressive stock as well.
I took away a lot away from placement and it’s hard to put into words, but I’m still in awe of the operations over there, from the sheer scale of everything to the way it’s all done.
I’m definitely more convinced that the indoor total mixed ration (TMR) system is quite viable, and it may be pivotal in Ireland in years to come unfortunately as the grazing seasons are getting more volatile every year.
I believe it is the way forward for high-yielding cows as grass is of fluctuating quality dependent on weather and these cows need huge volumes of dry matter to stay in good condition and perform to their best ability.
SHARING OPTIONS