We are two weeks into calving now and about a third of the way through. This is a bit slower than normal, with the target here to have half of the herd calved in 14 to 16 days.

There are two reasons for the slow start. Firstly, we are calving about 50% heifers this year, so we held the bull back from the heifers for 10 days to increase the amount of cows calved when the heifers came into the parlour for training. Secondly, we decided to use a lot of sexed semen during the first three weeks of AI with the cows.

The sexed semen has delivered in terms of heifer calves, with 90% female calves born from these cows giving us an overall ratio of about two thirds heifers to one third bulls at this stage of calving.

It hasn’t really delivered in terms of conception rate though, hence the slowdown in the calving rate this spring. We got about 35% conception to these straws, which is average for this technology, I think.

The decision to try sexed semen this year and hold back the bull from the heifers was also taken in the context of this being the last year of quotas.

With numbers expanding, we were at risk of a large superlevy fine if we proceeded as normal. Looking back at the figures now, with no quotas, we will probably avoid sexed semen for the foreseeable future and concentrate on getting cows in-calf as quickly as possible in the spring.

It’s even debatable how many extra heifers are bred from this technology. Remember, a 35% conception rate with 90% females is only the same as 65% conception rate and 50% females.

If you are getting extra heifers, they are probably born later in the season, in the second or third cycle and these heifers are obviously more of a challenge to get to breeding weights on time.

The two and three-week calving rates will be slower than normal this year but the six-week calving rate is still predicted at around 80%, so the cows held well to the second service.

The large percentage of heifers entering the herd this year is contributing to this six-week calving rate as well. This is the crucial figure in terms of setting the herd up for the coming grazing season and, also, to give them enough time to recover fully from calving in time for this year’s breeding season.

We’ll all be busy rushing around trying to get jobs done and putting in long hours over the next few months as we enter the busiest time of the year. But just keep farm safety in your mind at all times, especially during this high-risk period.

It was brought home to us with a bang in this parish last month when we tragically lost Johnny Ryan, an exceptional member of our local farming and sporting community in a freak farm accident.

He wasn’t careless or a risk-taker. In fact, he was the most safety conscious farmer any of us knew. He always used AI, so there was no bull on the farm when the young lads were growing up. Everything was tidy and organised on the farm; safety was always a priority.

He was the enforcer and the hard man on our hurling team for over 20 years. He minded lads coming onto the senior hurling team that are now in their 30s, 40s and 50s. He never said much but a look from him would put Roy Keane or Paul O’Connell to shame. So, it can happen to anyone and no one should ever think that it won’t happen to them.

We work in a very high-risk industry, so we can’t be complacent anymore. We need to be a lot more careful out there.